Message to Big Ben—Be a leader, a mentor, not a crybaby (Feb. 20)

BEN ROETHLISBERGER

Since shortly before the final 2018 NFL regular season game was played at Heinz Field between AFC North divisional rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, “the soapbox has been turnin’ and reputations have been burnin’”…All while Steelers starting quarterback Ben “Big Ben” Roethlisberger has been using the “fake news” radio and TV outlets to shift the blame for his shortcomings in a way that appears as if as he’s been mentored by the 45th President of the United States.
Roethlisberger is essentially on record saying that he has earned the right to be critical of his teammates. On Nov. 28, 2018, after the Steelers lost a critical game in Denver to the Broncos, USA Today sportswriter Lorenzo Reyes posted the following quotes from Roethlisberger after he called in for a radio interview trying to blame everyone except Jed Clampett for tossing the game-ending pick. “I think I have earned the right to be able to do that [criticize his teammates] with as long as I have been here,” Roethlisberger said. “I’ll just be just as critical on myself as well in front of you guys. You have to know how to motivate different guys in different ways. I think that’s part of being a leader, being a captain, just understanding players. So sometimes you just grab them off to the side, and sometimes you have to be honest with them.”Hey “Big” Ben, how about being honest with yourself when you throw game-ending picks?
Is Ben Roethlisberger the quarterback, the head coach and the offensive coordinator all wrapped into one? It has been also rumored that in a team meeting he allegedly said this to Antonio Brown: “I don’t have to throw you the ball.”
Does that statement by Roethlisberger reveal that he thinks that he is superior to his offensive coordinator and head coach? Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown seems to think so. Brown recently tweeted the following. “He has an owner mentality like he can call out anybody including coaches. Players know but they can’t say anything about it otherwise they meal ticket gone. It’s a dirty game within a game.” Roethlisberger has that entitled, “I can’t do anything wrong attitude.”
Roethlisberger also criticized rookie wideout James Washington for failing to reel in an overthrown errant pass thrown near him by “Big Ben” late in the third quarter. “He has to make (the catch),” Roethlisberger said. “I just think he didn’t trust his hands.”
Has Roethlisberger become a mind reader?
“Yes, he’s a rookie, but you can’t be out there if you’re not going to make those plays for us.”
“Big” Ben must have forgotten that all of his veteran teammates were not totally thrilled with him during his rookie year. Lest we forget; on Sept. 21, 2004, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sports columnist Ed Bouchette penned an article shortly after the Steelers then-rookie QB Roethlisberger took over for the Steelers’ injured starter Tommy Maddox. Former Steelers O-lineman Alan Faneca was asked was it exciting that the young quarterback was at the helm. “Exciting?” Faneca replied to a question in an are-you-crazy kind of way. “No, it’s not exciting. Do you want to go work with some little young kid who’s just out of college?” It’s a learning process for him. He’s a No. 1 pick, he’s fresh out of college and that’s the big thing. He’s throwing in a new offense. He’s not in that Miami, Ohio, offense that he sat in for three years, four years. He has to learn that, too, so there’s a lot to soak in.”
Hey Ben, there is a lot of knowledge that younger players have to soak in. It’s also a process for James Washington. Remember that you were rookie a couple of decades ago and they trusted in your “raw” abilities. Now is not the time for tears and sniffles. Be a leader, a mentor and not a crybaby.
 
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