In what looks like it may be a different kind of off season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hinted at a possible retirement from the National Football League. Many Steelers fans are panicking that the franchise quarterback may have played his final snap and it came without much warning. But if we have seen the last pass that the quarterback will throw in the league, you can blame it on just about anyone but the man himself.
Don’t Blame Ben Roethlisberger If He Decides to Hang It Up
The AFC Championship game was supposed to be a battle in which the two sides fought until the clock struck 0:00 and one team had outscored the other. Instead, the Steelers never held the lead and the closest they got to tying the New England Patriots was when the score was tied 0-0 to open the game. They got clobbered 36-17. Roethlisberger had himself a pretty solid game by my estimation. He went 31/47 with 314 yards. He had a touchdown and an interception. The interception came late in the game when he was trying to throw deep and make a big play down by a big margin to try and spark a momentous comeback. The latter did not happen.
The reason for the clobbering they took was not only being out coached. I question if they were even coached at all.
Both head coach Mike Tomlin and defensive coordinator Keith Butler watched as Tom Brady picked apart the Steelers zone coverage that they ran throughout the first half. So instead of making the necessary adjustments at halftime, they watched as Tom Brady did the same thing in the second half which helped lead them to scoring 36 points. That was the highest output all season long against this improved defense.
Of course, Tom Brady is one of the best to ever sling the ball around for a living. But to be able to take the check down pass on every play and have it amount to chunks of yardage the whole game is inexcusable.
How does this affect Roethlisberger?
Not many quarterbacks are going to fare well against Bill Belichick in any sort of chess match. The coaching staff never gave Big Ben the chance to win that game. He could’ve tossed five touchdown passes and still lost that game because they allowed the best quarterback in the NFL to do what he’s best at: find the open receiver. His receivers dropped 119 yards worth of passes. They didn’t help him either.
All of this could be just a plot to scare the organization and put them into an expected panic to fret life without Roethlisberger. It could be his way of making sure they respect the fact he’s nearing the end of his career and everyone wises up to accomplish winning a seventh Lombardi Trophy.
The Dad Among Grown Children
The Steelers punched in their first touchdown of the game by handing the ball to DeAngelo Williams. That didn’t go over well with star wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Reports surfaced Tuesday that Brown was pouting on the sidelines after that touchdown while the rest of his teammates celebrated.
Why you might ask?
Because he didn’t get the ball.
A grown man who’s supposed to be a role model for the young kids who want to be a star at that position in the league one day complained like those same kids because he didn’t get the touchdown catch.
Goodness gracious, Antonio Brown.
Between his countless foolish antics that I won’t even waste my time listing and the immaturity of guys like Martavis Bryant (currently suspended for violating drug policy) and Le’Veon Bell (was suspended first three games for DUI), Roethlisberger has to act like a father. In a locker room full of grown men, immaturity takes over and Ben Roethlisberger has to take care of them. He’s the one who has to sit them down and tell them to start acting like a professional. He’s the one who has to slap them on the wrist and tell them that distractions don’t win a team championships. The franchise quarterback can’t babysit grown men on top of his own child that he had with his wife. It wears on him to do these things and I promise you that weighs heavily on his mind.
You Do You, Big Ben
Fans certainly don’t want to see their franchise quarterback pack up his cleats for the final time because the Steelers won’t be the same franchise. But objectively as a fan, I can see that Roethlisberger doesn’t want to deal with this baby stuff that the immature man-children on the team cause him to deal with.
His coaches blew what could’ve been his last chance to beat Brady in a playoff game, not to mention an opportunity at winning his third Super Bowl ring.
Roethlisberger is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and doesn’t deserve to deal with the kind of antics he’s been presented. The Steelers have won three playoff games in the last six seasons and have basically wasted away the prime of their franchise, gun slinging quarterback.
If he feels it’s time to hang it up, let him go into the wind. Don’t bash him for what he DID do for the Steelers. Bash the people around him for what they DIDN’T do to make his career a more successful one.
