As The Southside Turns: Ben Exerts Control Over Steelers Yet Again
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) – As a kid, my grandmother would call me in from a morning of street hockey, wiffle ball, and "release" on Ruthwood Avenue in Baldwin around noon every day for lunch. I'd dutifully sit there and enjoy some nice tuna salad on toast as she hummed to herself and the KDKA-TV noon news murmured in the background, Ray Tannehill and Patti Burns updating us on the latest mill closing. At 12:30 though, whether I was interested or not, Ray & Patti gave way to Victor Newman and Jack Abbott and their blood feud over Nikki and the future of Genoa City. Those first few piano notes of the theme song signaled it was time to chug the last of that red Kool-Aid and get back outside, maybe for a game of street football.
Who knew football and that soap opera could have gone so well together in bringing me back to my youth?
Heck, who knew football and daytime drama could pair together so well, just over the hill from Baldwin, on the Southside?
When Ben Roethlisberger "dropped a bomb," as one caller described it, on 93.7 The Fan Tuesday morning while talking to Ron Cook & Andrew Fillipponi about not guaranteeing a return to football in 2017, he may have been snapping off some rounds of ammunition. To think they were mortar shells though, and nothing more than more blanks across the bow of his Head Coach's desk, is foolish.
Let's first put Roethlisberger's remarks in some perspective, as it would not be the first time – nor even the second time – he levied criticism at the leadership and coaching staff of his team this season. There was the questioning of the intensity at training camp practices just before the Steelers went into a 4-game tailspin this October. Then there were questions of discipline and accountability that, at the time, seemingly helped put the wraps on that 4-game losing streak in mid-November.
Ben is a 13-year veteran and 2-time Super Bowl Champion who's persisted through multiple rape allegations, a face-caving motorcycle accident, a head coaching change, the ouster of his BFF/Offensive Coordinator, and over 450 sacks to become the most powerful person in the UPMC Sports Complex not named Rooney.
To think he's not going to exercise that power from time-to-time would be foolish.
The timing of this exercise however, is worth questioning.
Without having gone through his 2016 exit interview with Mike Tomlin yet, the prudent thing to do would have been to wait to tell Tomlin face-to-face about the questions regarding his future he and his wife have discussed. It would have given the coach, General Manager Kevin Colbert, and Steelers senior leadership the opportunity to develop plans for their offseason as they relate to their three superstars on offense. The question of "Will Ben be here in 2017?" would have jumped to the front of the line ahead of "How do we keep Le'Veon Bell?" and "What do we do with Antonio Brown?"
Instead, Roethlisberger, seeking to assert that he still is the most powerful guy in the organization, did just that by forcing Tomlin to a good portion of his season-ending press conference discussing him.
Like it or not, it forced Tomlin to acknowledge – maybe not publicly, but certainly when he got back to his desk around 12:40 Tuesday afternoon – that he's not fully in control of this team.
How then, is Tomlin supposed to affect the change in discipline & accountability Bossman Roethlisberger wants him to enforce if, in fact, he's not even the most powerful guy in the building? And again, don't be fooled, that's exactly what is happening here: Ben Roethlisberger isn't happy that he's not Tom Brady, and he's choosing to take his frustrations with that out on Tomlin.
Perhaps I'm being jaded and cynical, but do you really think this guy – or any person, for that matter – is going to walk away from the $40+ million left on his deal?
Have we not seen this episode before? Wasn't it on right after Ray & Patti and the story of that runaway truck hitting the Parkway West sandpile?
Or was that the story of the quarterback with the runaway ego getting trucked by the Patriots in New England? Either way, I'm headed back outside for a mean game of street hockey. Let me know when Nikki decides between Victor or Jack.
