Brady awed by Big Ben

PITTSBURGH -- When Tom Brady started the AFC championship game here three years ago, he was a second-year quarterback who had barely gotten on the field as a rookie.

So he knows what Ben Roethlisberger faces when the Pittsburgh Steelers play the New England Patriots in Sunday's conference title game.

"It was my second year but my first year as a player," Brady recalled. "My rookie year there's no way I could have done what he did. I was awful. I couldn't do anything."

The Patriots are seeking their third NFL title in four years. And they enter the game as the favorite even though they lost to the Steelers 34-20 on Oct. 31 and Pittsburgh is riding a 15-game winning streak.

Why are they favored over a team New England coach Bill Belichick and his players repeatedly call "the best team in the NFL?"

Maybe it's because the guys who make the odds and the public that lays down the money have more confidence in Brady's two Super Bowl MVP trophies than in Roethlisberger, whose two interceptions in his first postseason game last week against the New York Jets almost led to Pittsburgh's elimination.

However, Big Ben's season has been the most successful ever for a rookie quarterback. In Brady's eyes, Roethlisberger is already all grown up.

"I wish I didn't lose a game this year," Brady said. "Maybe I should get some pointers from him."

Roethlisberger became a starter in the third game after Tommy Maddox was hurt in a loss in Baltimore -- the Steelers' only defeat of the season. He went on to shatter the record for consecutive wins (six) by a rookie QB, winning 14 straight and becoming the first quarterback to be voted offensive rookie of the year. At that position, rookies either struggle or sit.

There were different expectations when each arrived in the NFL.

Brady was a sixth-round pick after starting at Michigan only in his senior year.

As a rookie in 2000, he threw three passes, completing one for 6 yards and was considered a long-range project -- at best. He was behind Drew Bledsoe, who was seemingly locked into the starter's spot; veteran journeyman John Friesz, and the much more athletic Michael Bishop.

But he moved up to No. 2 behind Bledsoe the next year and became the starter when Bledsoe was injured in the second game. He went on to lead the Patriots to a Super Bowl victory and was voted the game's MVP after leading a last-minute drive that led to Adam Vinatieri's game-winning field goal.

Brady was MVP again last year in a 32-29 win over Carolina and is often compared to Joe Montana because of his calm under pressure. Neither was a first-round pick (Montana was a third-rounder) and neither has the powerful arm of John Elway, Dan Marino -- or Roethlisberger, for that matter.

Roethlisberger, a mobile 6-foot-5, 241 pounds, was a first-round pick, 11th overall from Miami of Ohio and the third quarterback taken last April after Eli Manning and Philip Rivers.

He got his chance right away, but broke in slowly as the defense and running backs Duce Staley and Jerome Bettis carried the team.

But he performed when he had to, leading late drives to beat Dallas and Jacksonville, and his passer rating of 98.1 was fifth in the NFL behind only Peyton Manning, Daunte Culpepper, Drew Brees and Donovan McNabb.

"It's not like he is 14th in the league or anything," Belichick says. "He is up there at the top with and above a lot of guys who have a lot more experience. I don't think he is just a guy to stand there and hand the ball off to Bettis and Staley. He makes plenty of plays himself in that offense."

But that was before last week.

Against the Jets, Roethlisberger had an interception returned for a touchdown. He threw another that gave New York a shot at a game-winning field goal -- Doug Brien missed from 43 yards and the Steelers ended up winning in overtime. Meanwhile, the Patriots shut down Peyton Manning and high-scoring Indianapolis 20-3 in the snow at Foxboro with Brady his usual efficient but unspectacular self.

Sunday's game will be a test of Roethlisberger's resilience -- he says it took just 10 minutes to put last week's game behind him. (It would have been a lot longer had the Steelers lost).

"You can't afford to feel like a rookie," he said. "If I go out and play like a rookie this week like I did last week, we'll definitely lose the game."

Brady had his ups and downs in his first playoff season -- his "rookie" year as a starter.

In his first postseason game, he "fumbled" in the snow of Foxboro with the Patriots trailing Oakland by 3 points in the final minutes. But the fumble was negated by the infamous "tuck rule" replay, the Patriots tied it and Brady was 6-of-6 in overtime to set up a game-winning field goal by Vinatieri.

The next week in Pittsburgh, he injured his ribs in the first half against the Steelers and Bledsoe relieved him and threw for the Patriots' only offensive touchdown in a 24-17 win. Brady was back for the Super Bowl, led the Patriots to an upset over favored St. Louis and established himself as one of the game's top quarterbacks -- not a statistical machine, but a winner.

Both quarterbacks have a lot of support, especially on defense.

The Patriots set a record with 21 straight wins -- 18 in the regular season -- before the loss in Pittsburgh.

They have done it with everyone on the roster making big plays -- especially Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel and Richard Seymour on defense and Corey Dillon and five different wide receivers on offense.

But when starters go down, others step up -- like wide receiver Troy Brown, who had a punt return for a touchdown in the title game in Pittsburgh three years ago. Brown plays offense, special teams and is a third cornerback because both starters are out.

The Steelers rushed for 154 yards a game in the regular season, second in the league. Their defense allowed the fewest points and the fewest yards as James Farrior had a career year at linebacker and second-year safety Troy Polamalu emerged as a playmaker.

But quarterback is a glamour position, so Brady and Roethlisberger are likely to get the credit.

Or blame.

"This business is about being accountable," Steelers coach Bill Cowher said of Roethlisberger, who made no excuses for last week's mistakes. "To admit when you haven't done well is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of strength. Sometimes you're going to have a bad game. But you learn from it, you move on, you grow from it."