Fellow 330-pound lineman Marcus Gilbert said, along with other things, he went with a lightweight blazer and boat shoes: “I wanted something to rock with some khakis…like a California look.”
Center Maurkice Pouncey went a little different way:
“I got a couple of different linen outfits. We all could get around $3,500 to $4000 worth of stuff.”
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Thursday night each of the Steelers starting offensive linemen was fitted for custom suits and other looks by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s personal tailor.
Each could add shoes, shirts, whatever they wanted to complete their ensemble.
This was all part of the Christmas gift the Pittsburgh quarterback got his linemen this year.
And yet it was not the best thing he did for them in the past few days, said Foster.
Roethlisberger's best gift came Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium when he directed a come-from-behind 24-20 victory over a Cincinnati Bengals team that again self-destructed in the intense emotion that now fuels each game with their heated AFC rival.
And as long as linebacker Vontaze Burfict is in the lineup for Cincinnati and the opponent is Pittsburgh, the game is going to end up part hard-hitting football and part pro-wrestling theatrics.
That was again the case Sunday and that’s when Roethlisberger gave the team its best gift, said Foster:
“What a guy! Today he showed his leadership skills like none other, Man!
“With all the extra stuff going on, he kept us steadfast on what the ultimate goal was. His verbal communication today, just his presence in the huddle, he was settling today in a way that was unprecedented. He controlled us in a way no other player could. He kept us away from all the bullcrap that was happening.
“You can’t pay him enough money for the stuff he does, especially on a day like today.”
Early in the game the Steelers were caught up in the chippiness as well and they trailed 20-6 with less than three minutes left in the first half.
Pittsburgh then scored 18 unanswered points and Roethlisberger – thanks to four straight penalties by the Bengals, a meltdown that brought back memories of last January’s final seconds collapse against the Steelers in the AFC wild card game here – finished off the winning drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Eli Rogers with 7:29 left.
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“Ben kept reminding us to stay focused, we had bigger things in mind down the road,” Foster said.
Roethlisberger said that was his job:
“That’s what a leader is supposed to do. I’ve been playing this game a long time. I’ve been playing against these guys a long time. I told the guys before the game that I’ve played (Cincinnati) well over 25 times.
“I told them there’d be a lot of emotion – there’d be highs and lows, kind of a roller coaster — but we just had to play. We had to stay calm and under control. And I think we did a very good job of that today.”
Since coming out of Miami University as the Steelers first-round pick in the 2004 – and the 11th pick overall in that draft — Roethlisberger has put together a sure-fire Hall of Fame career that includes a pair of Super Bowl victories.
No place on the road has he had been more success than in Cincinnati, where he’s now 13-2 against the Bengals. Right behind that, he’s 10-2 in Cleveland.
“This is his home state, he doesn’t want to lose to these guys or Cleveland,” Foster said of the quarterback who was born in Lima, raised in Findlay and played three years of record-breaking college ball in Oxford.
“I’m just glad we got him. They had opportunities to get him and they didn’t.”
When Pouncey heard that Roethlisberger was 13-2 in Cincinnati, he gushed:
“Man, I wish I could play every game in this place!”
On Sunday, Paul Brown Stadium certainly resembled home to the Steelers. Everywhere you looked in the crowd of 62,096 you saw those yellow Terrible Towels swirling in glee.
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One did fly out on the field just after Bengals running back Jeremy Hill scored on a 4-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
After dancing in the end zone – and drawing a flag for excessive celebration – Hill picked up the towel and grimacing like a wrestling heel, he twisted it and tried to tear it in two. When he couldn’t, he threw it to the ground in disgust.
“He didn’t have much success with it,” Gilbert deadpanned. “And it came back to bite him in the (butt.) I think he was pretty quiet in the second half. I don’t even remember seeing him out there.”
As he thought about that and other Bengals antics , Gilbert shrugged dismissively:
“WE are the Pittsburgh Steelers. They play out there like they want to be us. But I don’t care as long as we got the win today. Those guys are in my rearview mirror now. It’ time to move on.”
And they’ll be doing so in style, thanks to Roethlisberger, who wanted to show his appreciation for the protection his line has given him.
He’s been sacked just 17 times – once Sunday – in 14 games this season. That’s second lowest in the NFL.
Last year he got the linemen individual platinum series watches from the Swiss company Omega.
Pouncey missed last season due to injury, but he said he wasn’t forgotten at Christmas:
“I didn’t play one snap for Ben, but he bought me a nice watch that cost a couple of thousand dollars. He’s awesome. He does stuff like this for us every year. And he told us we still have another gift coming that’s even better.
“The guy’s a great dude.”
Roethlisberger, who dressed in a stylish blue suit complete with pocket square after the game, talked about his Santa style each season:
“I try to mix it up. This year I just gave them the option with my suit guy. They could get whatever they wanted – shoes, pants, shirts, jackets. They had free rein.”
As he thought about those five lineman, each over 300 pounds, he started to laugh:
”That’s a lot of fabric.”
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