Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger on public criticism of teammates: 'I've earned the right'

My issue has little to do with what Ben stated but rather what people have been asking him for years to do. However, when Ben does said action, he gets ridiculed. It just seems a bit oxymoronic to me.



To me, leadership is not just about owning responsibility for one's mistakes but to motivate them in a way that will not only benefit those groups of individuals but the entire team themselves. That is why Franchise Quarterbacks are among the most difficult position to acquire. Nevermind accountability but the ability to motivate your teammates not just properly but in a way they themselves can correlate is no small feat.


This leads me to these two questions;


First, given the fact that Ben had not stepped forth and critiqued the offense's performance in the past (something some Steelers fans did want him to do then), why is it so draconian now for Ben to do so? Second and, for that matter, why are some of the Steelers faithful, the media no less, ultimately miss both the direct and indirect message Ben was giving to the media?

 

“He has to make it [the catch],” Roethlisberger said of the deep incompleted third quarter pass to Washington on Sunday. “I think he just didn’t trust his hands. For some reason he jumped-slash-dove. I’m not really sure what he was doing. We looked at it and coach got on him pretty good yesterday and we took a long hard look at it. James needs to just run through that and it’s a touchdown. JuJu’s was a little tougher but James’, he needs to make that play. Yes, he’s a rookie, but you can’t be out there if you’re not going to make those kinds plays for us.”

This is part of what he said. Besides the fact it was unnecessary to say it on a radio show. Some of the parts that bother me are where he said "he jumped slash dove. I'm not really sure what he was doing" that sounds a little harsh to me. Like he doesn't know what he's doing out there.Then he has to say that " coach got on him pretty good". Who's business is that? Or is he trying to justify his criticism?
" we took a long hard look at it " wow he dropped the pass lets really bring attention to it.
Yes Ben he's a rookie ....your a 15 year veteran still making rookie mistakes .

 

Any QB says that pics don't bother him is nuts.

 

That's why I said I was okay with it only if he criticized his own play too. As for the rest, I think there comes a point when handling things in-house and behind closed doors just isn't a good option. I assume that these guys were doing that before and they still went out and laid a big pile of crap on the field in Denver. When that happened, those guys, in my opinion, lose the right to hide behind the locker room. They deserve to get called out by anyone and everyone publicly. That's why I was glad when they started throwing Bell under the bus. He doesn't need protecting and neither does the rest of the team. No matter how much we like to pretend the younger guys are still kids, they aren't. They are old enough to be trusted with a lot of things that are more important to life than football. I'm okay with a little leeway to start a season, but we're past that point now. Time to grow up. If they are so emotionally weak that they can't handle public criticism then they need to find a different career. I'm not ready to give up on guys like Washington, but just look at his season vs Juju's last year and Juju was younger. As for your comments about Ben, you might be right, but I still say call'em all out.

 

Me too. I hope Ben cleans up his game as well....

 

Did Ben not do a Russell Wilson superbowl impersonation/implosion?? It happened last year against the Patriots!!! Ben should look in the mirror if he's looking for blame. Tom Brady would never ever implode like that ...#choke

 

The sign outside the stadium should read Heinz Middle School not Heinz Field. Drama almost every day. The last 2 years has been tough to get comfortable.