Aww, shucks, Big Ben can't figure out Jets

PITTSBURGH - Ben Roethlisberger twice used the word "mastermind" to describe Jets coach Rex Ryan and his defense Wednesday. He also marveled at the magnitude of the Jets' accomplishment in winning road playoff games against the "two best quarterbacks in the game," Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

If those two couldn't beat the Jets, Roethlisberger said, "I don't know how I'm going to do it. They're good."

With the clock ticking down toward Sunday's AFC Championship Game at Heinz Field, Big Ben's chimes rang a little false when he met with the media. Roethlisberger holds title to two Super Bowl trophies, and he possesses a couple of qualities that set him apart from the Colts' Manning and the Patriots' Brady and make him more dangerous to the Jets' defense: strength and escapability.

The Jets barely escaped Heinz Field with a 22-17 win on Dec. 19 when Roethlisberger drove the Steelers into the red zone only to see the game end on two end-zone incompletions. Having studied what the Jets did to Manning and Brady, Roethlisberger acted as though he's not in their intellectual ballpark in terms of reading defenses.

"It's a lot of confusion," he said. "It starts with coach Ryan. He's a mastermind at what he does. It's extra study, extra walk-throughs, it's as much as you can do."

In the past two games, the Jets have blitzed less, played more coverage and used more zone defense than normal under Ryan. But when Roethlisberger was asked how they look different from the last time he saw them, he said, "The first time, they came in here and put a hurting on us here at home. They try and confuse. Rex Ryan did it with Baltimore, and now he's doing it with the Jets. It's bringing guys from all over the place. You don't know where people are lined up. They're hard to identify. It's a big challenge."

Unlike Manning and Brady, Roethlisberger is mobile; he can shrug off pass rushers, and he throws well on the run. That makes it tough on defensive backs to hold man-to-man coverage when he extends the play. It's a weapon.

"Yeah, I guess," Roethlisberger said. "But those two are also the best in the pocket at doing what they do. All I have to say is they went to Indy and to New England and beat the two best quarterbacks in the game. Enough said, in my opinion."

In the last meeting, Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis held Hines Ward to a mere two catches for 34 yards. The veteran receiver later complained that he was open, but Roethlisberger was so intent on avoiding Revis that he looked in other directions.

"Absolutely," Roethlisberger said, "but then you get in trouble if you go to the other side and there's [cornerback Antonio] Cromartie. Sometimes it seems like there's 15 other guys that you've got to deal with. But absolutely [avoid Revis]. He's a stopper."

It almost sounds as if Roethlisberger would throw in a "Terrible Towel" if he owns one, but the Jets shouldn't believe that for a second.