Being a second-year starter has made Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger a better player -- and a hairier one, too.
A brown, bushy beard has spread across Roethlisberger's chin over the past couple of weeks. When asked Wednesday why he's grown out his whiskers, Roethlisberger shrugged.
"I guess because it's cold in Pittsburgh," he said, grinning. "I learned from my rookie year."
That's not the extent of Roethlisberger's NFL education.
"This year, he's been in every scenario possible -- coming from behind, doing a two-minute drill, losing a shootout," receiver Hines Ward said. "He's experienced all that, and he's going to continue to grow."
The next step is to evolve into the Steelers' unquestioned leader. With running back Jerome Bettis winding up his career -- Sunday's game against Detroit likely will be Bettis' final bow at Heinz Field -- Roethlisberger already has begun to step into the role of take-charge guy.
"He's very good," Lions interim coach Dick Jauron said. "Very solid in the pocket, very comfortable, doesn't seem to rattle, strong arm."
The physical tools are obvious, just as they were when the Steelers called his name on draft day. Where Roethlisberger has made his greatest strides this year is his mental approach to the game.
"I feel a lot more comfortable," he said. " I understand things on offense, I understand defenses a little bit better, I know who's going in motion most of the time when I send them. Just little things here and there."
Earlier this week, with the Steelers poised to grab a playoff bid that seemed out of reach just three weeks ago, coach Bill Cowher gave a big share of the credit to his quarterback.
Although still bothered by a sore thumb, Roethlisberger owns the second-best passer rating in the NFL. During the team's current three-game surge, he has tossed two touchdowns, run for another and has not been intercepted.
"He is making good decisions," Cowher said. "He is gaining confidence, and we feed off him. I like the frame of mind he is in."
In so many words, Cowher passed the torch of leadership from Bettis to Roethlisberger.
"Ben is a very focused player right now, and he needs to be," Cowher said. "We are all kind of following his lead.
"Being a leader on this team isn't just being a guy who's played six or seven years. It's the role that you have ... and how much of our success is associated with that. I like the way he is playing."
When he came to his first preseason camp in 2004, Roethlisberger knew winning the starting job would not necessarily mean he was running the team. And every time he had a "rookie moment," Bettis was there to offer advice.
"I knew it before I even got here that Jerome Bettis is the face of this team," he said. "He's the ultimate leader."
Yesterday, Bettis smiled when he heard about Roethlisberger's comments.
"I think, right now, Ben already is the face of this team," Bettis said. "I don't think I'm the face of this team; I'm a co-star right now. I'm riding on the bus this time."
Roethlisberger is not a rah-rah guy in the huddle. But he knows how to crack the tension with a quick joke, then go out and make a clutch throw.
"He's a big kid at heart," Ward said.
Roethlisberger acknowledged that he is more at ease on the field and in the locker room this year. But he was careful not to sound as if he thinks he's working on a different level than veterans such as Ward, Bettis and lineman Alan Faneca.
"I'm not trying to take the leadership role away from Jerome, Alan and Hines," he said. "I want to come into the role when it's my turn. I think that slowly, it kind of has gotten passed on to me. Not that I'm the leader over those guys, but I'm equal with them or close to equal with them."
