Ben talks -- again.

Ben Roethlisberger spoke with members of the media for the second time in two days, which is something of a rarity -- think Bigfoot holding a presser to talk about his upcoming match at Heinz Field against the Loch Ness Monster (with unicorns sliding down black & gold rainbows booked as the halftime show).

Ok, maybe not that rare.

But during the regular season he usually meets with reporters on Wednesdays only during the practice week and of course, after games. Yesterday, he spoke briefly about becoming a father. Here's what he said earlier this afternoon on a wide range of topics ranging from the new offense, his style of play, how he's changed over the years and the missing Mike Wallace ...

Does anyone ever tell him to avoid hits -- to just go down to the ground or get out of bounds?

"Yeah, all the time. My mom, my wife, and my grandma."

Will he change that aspect of how he plays?

"I'm not going to change my game. Coach can do what he wants to add protection and things like that, but I'm going to play the game the way I know how. It's worked OK for me so far."

How can he stay healthy?

"I haven't really thought about that yet. I don't think there is this big revelation like I need to do this or do that -- it's just 'Don't take hits.' But I don't know how not to do that."

Can a quarterback older than 30 improve?

"I think the one you look at when you come to that is [John] Elway. Elway won two [Super Bowls in his mid-30s] ... it's just a comfort level, you get comfortable with the guys around you, with the offense, and if you can stay healthy, you can keep playing."

On a newspaper story in which teammates praised the way he's changed for the better since the motorcycle accident in 2006 and the high profile incidents in Nevada and Georgia:

"I haven't read it, but to hear that from those guys -- to me that’s an honor.  It’s a neat thing. I've tried every day to be the best teammate, and now the best husband, and soon to be father that I can be – that’s the way it should be. It has been a long time since that, but every once in awhile I still wake up and remember that day [of the accident]. But it’s a learning lesson."

On support he's gotten from fans in the wake of past two years ...

"I feel like its gotten even stronger. I think a lot of that has to do with my website – I don’t have a Twitter page or anything like that – that’s my way of connecting with the fans. That’s how we released about [his wife] being pregnant is on the web site because I wanted my fans to know first because I felt like I owed it to them because they’re so awesome. I try and connect and go a lot of places, and get a lot of love from fans and that’s great because I love them and wanna be the best I can be for them both on and off the field."

Is his public persona 'sincere'?  

"I’m not just putting on a front for you guys and the fans – what you see is what you get. I’m just enjoying life and they’res too many blessings in life to not appreciate all of them."

Is there anything you like in the new offense? 

"No."

{he was kidding and went on to say ...}

"There are. There’s some really good things. We’ve done some kind of neat things where we’re – we’ve added some blocking protections but yet getting our backs out after they chip, after they help block. I think we can really take advantage of checkdowns as you’d call it to get them the ball quick and big plays can be made after we get them the ball."

Will Mike Wallace be at Latrobe:

"I expect him to be at this afternoon’s practice."

{again, he's kidding}

"I think he will be – I don’t know anything, I’m not behind the scenes. I do talk to Mike, I know Mike wants to be here bad but … there’s a lot of moving parts. I do anticipate him being here for training camp."