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OK folks, here is some news and tidbits from the Steelers first practice of the season Saturday morning at St. Vincent College

-- And the quarterback to take the first snap during 11-on-11 drills is...Ben Roethlisberger. The QB pecking order, at least for the morning practice, was Roethlisberger, Byron Leftwich, Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch.

“This is still his team,” wide receiver Hines Ward said of Big Ben. “He’s still the franchise quarterback.”

-- Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said the plan for the first week of camp is to rotate the top three quarterbacks every three plays with Batch taking some occasional snaps. Arians said the Steelers want to ease that quarterbacks into practice so the team isn’t dealing with tired arms in a couple of weeks.

“Once we get in a little better shape we’ll rotate every five plays,” Arians said, “but the first day you keep them to three (repetitions) so there’s no fatigued injuries.”

-- Roethlisberger did not issue an apology to his teammates during the first team meeting Friday night. That is something he did last season after teammates arriving at camp were bombarded with questions about Roethlisberger getting accused of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit.

That doesn’t mean Roethlisberger isn’t trying to make it up to his teammates for the behavior will cost him at least the first four games of the regular season –- and has made him the biggest storyline of camp.

“He’s changing as far as being more personable with guys, hanging out with guys and stuff like that,” Ward said. “You can see him making an effort to go out and be a better teammate than what he was.

“For many years a lot of people didn’t really know what was going on with Ben and his situations but he’s starting to open up and be more personable to guys. I think you could really see it (Saturday morning), the excitement he had amongst his teammates and out here competing and playing football.”

-- Strong safety Troy Polamalu practiced Saturday morning and later said there are no issues with his left knee, which he injured twice last season.

Polamalu said he doesn’t plan to take any practices off to rest his knee. Coach Mike Tomlin, however, is sure to keep a close eye on Polamalu and rest the five-time Pro Bowler from time to time.

“My knee feels fine but sometimes when it’s a little weaker and you’re driving like a race car then other things start getting nicked here and there,” Polamalu said. “Camp’s long. You always want to make it out healthy.”

Translation: the Steelers will (and should) err on the side of caution when it comes to Polamalu.