PITTSBURGH — Maybe his sore thumb is feeling better. Maybe he's not burdened by the overwhelming pressure he felt a season ago as the first unbeaten rookie quarterback to lead a team into the NFL playoffs.

Whatever the reason, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger flashed a rarely seen side of himself as he began practicing Wednesday for Sunday's playoff game in Cincinnati: Gentle Ben.

The same player whose confident-as-can-be demeanor and impatient edginess have been credited with accelerating his development into one of the NFL's top young quarterbacks almost tripped over himself praising Bengals QB Carson Palmer.

"I think Carson's a much better quarterback than I am," Roethlisberger said.

Gone was the brashness that saw Roethlisberger declare earlier this season he wanted to be remembered someday as one of pro football's all-time greats. Instead, he accepted responsibility for the Steelers' postseason failure last January, saying he wasn't as prepared as he thought for the challenge of winning playoff games for a top-seeded team.

He also said that just because Palmer has never started a playoff game — just as he hadn't until last season — doesn't mean the Steelers will have a major advantage.

"I always talk about how I feel I can be a better quarterback, but just because I feel like I'm more experienced and better doesn't mean I'm going to play better," Roethlisberger said. "You'd like to think so. But with Carson as their quarterback, and as good as he is, I don't think their lack of experience will hurt them too much."

A year ago, Roethlisberger was 13-0 as a rookie starter on a 15-1 team, but the Steelers barely got by the Jets 20-17 in overtime in the playoffs before losing to New England 41-27 for the AFC championship. Roethlisberger looked very much like a rookie in both games, throwing a combined five interceptions.

After getting by for weeks on momentum and adrenaline, Roethlisberger said, he admittedly ran out of gas once the playoffs arrived. He now blames that performance on playing or practicing for almost two nonstop years, through his senior season at Miami of Ohio, the draft combine, the NFL draft, the Steelers' training camp and a full season.

"Mentally, your brain is fried," he said. "I know it sounds crazy to say, but you're trying to learn a new offense. Every week you're putting new plays in. Mentally, I was trying to figure out what was going on. Physically, my arm felt like it was dragging on the floor."

Because he missed four games this season with knee injuries, Roethlisberger played more games (13) last season than he did this season (12). Despite a right thumb injury that still requires him to wear a protective splint, he feels much fresher now than he did last January.

"I'm not nearly as wore down as I was last year and, hopefully, it will translate into better football," he said.