Big Ben is more than a pocket passer

The Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive line isn't all that familiar with the popular "Where's Waldo?" phenomenon. But the much-maligned unit will have to pretty quickly assimilate to the "Where's Ben?" puzzle when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returns to the field on Sunday afternoon after his four-game league-imposed suspension.

"You're blocking, you're blocking, and you kind of feel him start drifting away, and you're like, 'Why is he drifting away?'," left tackle Max Starks told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this week, when asked about pass-protecting for Roethlisberger. "It's like, 'Oh, God, Ben's coming this way, so let me adjust.' ... It's a special gift, something a defense has to play him for, because they can't necessarily say, 'Keep him in the pocket,' because he can make throws in the pocket. But when he's on the run, it turns into a 'DEFCON 1' for them."

One of the most mobile quarterbacks in the NFL, and arguably the hardest to get to the ground, Roethlisberger typically extends plays with his movement skills. His ability to make plays outside the tackle box, keeping his eyes downfield and waiting patiently for receivers to uncover, is a big component of the Pittsburgh pass game.

Roethlisberger rarely runs, but holds the ball for what some might consider an inordinate amount of time, trying to make passing-game chicken salad out of what might be chicken-feathers for many quarterbacks. The payoff, including two Super Bowl wins during Roethlisberger's previous six seasons in the league, is generally high-reward. The tradeoff: The Pittsburgh offense surrenders plenty of sacks.

Over the past four seasons, Roethlisberger has been sacked 189 times, the most in the NFL during that stretch.

There is no official delineation for how many of the sacks can be attributed to the Roethlisberger waiting game, but estimates are that the Pittsburgh quarterback is probably culpable for as many as one-third. Most of the heat, though, comes down on the offensive line, which surrendered only nine sacks during the suspension, with Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch as the starters.

"It's something you don't worry about," said left guard Chris Kemoeatu. "You just do your job and let (Roethlisberger) take care of business. He's unique, but that isn't very hard to live with, is it? We make it work."

The Steelers (3-1) statistically rank dead last in the NFL in passing offense. But they have weathered the storm without Roethlisberger, and their passing numbers are sure to increase with his return. The mandate in Pittsburgh, from none other than club president Art Rooney II, is to run the ball more effectively in 2010 than the team did a year ago. So the Steelers probably won't welcome Roethlisberger back by throwing the ball all over Heinz Field on Sunday afternoon. Expect, though, that the offense will be much better balanced than in the first four outings.

Said Starks: "It's going to take a little while to get used to having Ben back again. But I don't think it will be that long an adjustment."

Roethlisberger will have to get accustomed, too, to breaking in a revamped line unit. Rookie first-rounder Maurkice Pouncey is the new center. Second-year veteran Doug Legursky has replaced Trai Essex at right guard. And with the team's best lineman, Willie Colon, suffering a season-ending Achilles tendon tear in the spring, venerable 12-year veteran Flozell Adams is the right tackle.

"Tony (Romo) used to move around a lot, so I've got some experience with that," said Adams, who principally played on the left side during his long Dallas tenure. "We'll get used to it."

The return of Roethlisberger means the Pittsburgh receivers can run their routes a little deeper, but also means they must be ready to move back to the ball, or find a void in the secondary, when the quarterback begins roaming around.

In his 11 career starts versus the Browns, Roethlisberger has been sacked 24 times, but eight of those came in an ugly 13-6 loss at Cleveland last Dec. 10. In seven of those 11 starts, Roethlisberger was sacked two times or fewer.

There's no doubt, though, that Roethlisberger is a sack-magnet. In the past three years, he was sacked three times or more 30 times. That includes the last four games of 2009, when Roethlisberger was sacked a combined 20 times.

The Browns, who have notched 10 sacks in five games, are certainly aware of the sack opportunities that Roethlisberger's return presents.

"He keeps plays alive, that's his game, and he'll take some (sacks) doing that," said linebacker Matt Roth, who has two sacks this season. "Hopefully, we can get to him before he makes something happen, but that's hard to do."

Len Pasquarelli is a Senior NFL Writer for The Sports Xchange. He has covered the NFL for 33 years and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee. His NFL coverage earned recognition as the winner of the McCann Award for distinguished reporting in 2008.