Ben Roethlisberger“The quarterback’s got to play better,” Ben Roethlisberger said after the Steelers’ 20-10 loss to the Bengals on Monday night. “And he will.”

Ben Roethlisberger thinks Ben Roethlisberger has to play better. So why did Ben Roethlisberger refer to himself as Ben Roethlisberger? Well, that’s the big mystery.

I’ve always been fascinated by reporters, broadcasters and even the Steelers themselves, referring to Roethlisberger by his first name. The NFL brodcasters will say “Ben drops back” or “Ben throws it across the middle” or “Ben violated the NFL’s personal conduct policy in 2010.”

If it’s not “Ben” it’s “Big Ben.”

Is “Roethlisberger” too difficult to say? No one refers to Joe Flacco as “Joe” or even Tom Brady as “Tom”. It’s almost as though everyone is old drinking buddies with “Ben.”

Either way, Roethlisberger says the quarterback (whoever that may be) has to get better. After watching their arch-rivals the past two weeks, Ravens fans don’t expect to see much improvement from Pittsburgh.

Ben approves of the Steelers’ use of “Ben.”