There probably aren't many players in the NFL ready to get started as much as Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who surely wants to get the bad taste of 2018 and a tumultuous offseason out of his mouth.
The Steelers went 9-6-1 and missed the playoffs last year in spite of a 7-2-1 start, prompting many to call Roethlisberger's leadership ability into question this offseason, especially due to the Antonio Brown fiasco.
Well, now, the dust has finally settled, and Roethlisberger will finally get to resume normalcy this Sunday when he and the Steelers take on the New England Patriots.
So, what should we expect from Big Ben in Week 1?
Probably more of the same of what we have seen from him throughout the first 16 years of his NFL career.
Of course, you never know when Father Time is going to make his presence known, and Roethlisberger is 37 years old with a whole lot of mileage, so there are no guarantees.
But, assuming that Roethlisberger is feeling good and has plenty left in the tank (which he appeared to have last season), there is no reason to believe that he won't look good in the season opener.
No, he no longer has Brown as his No. 1 receiver, but JuJu Smith-Schuster is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he hauled in 111 receptions for 1,426 yards and seven touchdowns and seems more than ready to take over the lead role.
Veteran Donte Moncrief is no slouch, either, and many are expecting big things from second-year wide out James Washington. Plus, there is tight end Vance McDonald, who had a good year in 2018 and seems to be a sleeper candidate heading into 2019.
Not only that, but running back James Conner is a pretty good pass-catcher out of the backfield, and Pittsburgh also has a dynamite offensive line.
So even with No. 84 gone, Roethlisberger still has plenty of weapons, and he should have get more than enough protection from his offensive line to find time to locate his receivers.
The Patriots may be defending Super Bowl champions, but they don't have a lockdown defense, so Roethlisberger should be able to make some things happen in Foxborough.
The Steelers are fortunate enough to have some balance in their offense, as Conner is a very good halfback on the rise, and they have numerous options in the aerial attack.
For that reason, there won't be a ton of pressure on Roethlisberger to throw a lot of passes, but based on the fact that he led the league with a robust 675 pass attempts last year, it seems safe to assume that he will throw the ball quite a bit in Week 1 and beyond, AB or no AB.
Roethlisberger also led the NFL with 5,129 passing yards in 2018.
Now, I do think Mike Tomlin will pull the reins back on Big Ben just a bit this season, as not having Brown does hurt, and I just don't think Roethlisberger will be airing it out around 700 times again.
So, it might be a bit too much to expect Roethlisberger to throw the ball 40 times in Week 1.
But, it would not be the least bit surprising if Roethlisberger finishes with 30-35 pass attempts, which should provide him with the opportunity to throw for 300 yards and a couple of touchdowns.
Of course, gunslingers like Big Ben are also prone to mistakes, so he might throw an interception or two, but overall, you shouldn't really expect a major change in Roethlisberger's style of play in the season opener.
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