Tag Archives: Jerome Bettis

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Jerome Bettis Was The Main Event In Canton

The Bus made his final stop last night. Jerome Bettis was the clear headliner at a ceremony that honored stars of NFL past like Tim Brown, Junior Seau, Charles Haley, Bill Polian, and others. “We’ve gotta get one thing understood tonight,” Bettis said to an audience dominated by Steelers fans, “we’re in Canton, Ohio, but this is Steelers Country.” He wasn’t kidding. The audience looked like a Steelers 1:00 home game.

Bettis exemplified humility and class as he told the story of his journey from meager beginnings in Detroit to Hall of Fame inductee. He thanked several people, and said heartfelt thanks to his family.

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What came as a surprise, to me at least, was his thanking Ben Roethlisberger for “the tackle”.  “Brother, without you saving that tackle, I still might be on the doorsteps, brother,” Bettis said as the camera closed in on a laughing Roethlisberger. “I owe you for life.”

His public speaking prowess was on full display as he spoke to the sea of spectators at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I got goosebumps when he started a chant of “Here we go Steelers” and looked for my towel when he led the first of a couple Terrible Towel waves. Here’s his speech in its entirety. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFXbJNg1MV4

 

 

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Jerome Bettis Elected To Pro Football Hall Of Fame

The Bus will finally arrive in Canton this summer. Former Steelers Running Back Jerome Bettis has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his fifth attempt.

https://twitter.com/steelers/status/561686676821377024

https://twitter.com/JeromeBettis36/status/561684406566670336

Bettis was with the Steelers for 10 years, and finished his career after winning Super Bowl XL. His 13,662 yards rushing yards were the 6th most in NFL history. He was a bruiser on the field who would get the tough yards, but was surprisingly nimble footed for such a big back. Over his career, he had 8 1,000 yard seasons (5th most in NFL history) and 61 100+ yard games (also 5th most in NFL history). 50 of those games were with the Steelers.

Bettis will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday, August 8th.

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Jerome Bettis And Kevin Greene Among 15 Hall Of Fame Finalists

The finalists for the class of 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame were announced last night. Most notably, Jerome Bettis was among the final 15 for the 5th straight year. In 13 seasons, Bettis amassed 13,662 yards, the 6th most in NFL history, and remains the only one of the eligible top 14 career rushing leaders not inducted into the Hall of Fame.

https://twitter.com/JeromeBettis36/status/553382518431293440

Other former Steelers are also in the top 15. Former Steelers linebacker Kevin Greene, who recorded an amazing 160 sacks over the course of his career, is in the running again this year.

Tony Dungy played Safety for the Steelers in ’78 and ’79, and later returned as a defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator. It is his second year of eligibility.

The 2015 class will be announced on January 31st. Is this the year the Bus stops in Canton?

Ryan Clark And Jerome Bettis Voice Opinions On Michael Sam

If you haven’t heard by now, NFL draft prospect Michael Sam announced to the media today that he is gay. It goes without saying that this will be a vigorously discussed topic for the next few months leading up to the draft (and beyond). There is already plenty of debate about whether or not this will negatively effect his draft stock. Today on ESPN, both Jerome Bettis and Ryan Clark shared their opinions, and both were supportive.

Bettis said that he thinks 90-95 percent of NFL players will welcome Sam. “I think this is the perfect opportunity for the NFL to now make this a point to communicate to every NFL team now you have to understand, now you have to bring these players to this moment,” Bettis said on SportsCenter. Adding, “For him to make it public that he is gay, the key word is he knows who he is and he’s comfortable with who he is. I think that sends the message that it is OK and I think that’s what everyone needs to take from that. It is OK that he is gay and wants to play football in the NFL.”

Lastly, the former Steelers running back said, “You’re always going to have one or two guys that feel strongly in a different capacity but that’s going to be in any situation you deal with. You understand that and hope those players allow him to be in that locker room and give him the respect he deserves being in the locker room.”

Steelers Safety Ryan Clark expressed optimism, and concerns about the situation. “If he’s willing to put his hand in the pile and be a part of the solution to winning a championship and winning football games, then guys will accept him,” said Clark. “The one thing we know about NFL locker rooms and NFL teams is it’s the ultimate team sport and you want that camaraderie, you want that chemistry,” Clark told ESPN via telephone. “I think before he steps into a locker room people will talk to leaders in the locker room, leaders on their team to see how do they plan to accept him as a teammate.”

“This is the thing people have to understand about NFL locker rooms: It’s a lot of ornery veterans,” Clark said. “There’s a lot of veterans that don’t like talking to rookies. There’s a lot of veterans that don’t really mingle with guys coming in playing their positions or guys they feel like haven’t earned their spots. So we’ve had situations where there are veterans that don’t talk to the young guys or that don’t necessarily accept them until they’ve proven themselves in certain ways.”

Clark went on to say that he thinks people will need to be careful to not judge guys who don’t come out openly supporting Sam, as opposing him. “For a lot of guys it’s going to take some time to get used to that has never been through this situation. For us, it’s about being patient with the whole process and allowing the guy to play football.”

Here’s my take: Sam was in an awkward place before this announcement. He’s a good pass rusher, but he isn’t very easy to find a place for on a NFL team. He’s essentially a 4-3 DE who’s predominately a third down pass rush specialist. You’re going to hear lots of people asking if the Steelers will or should draft him. The easy answer is- probably not, and it has nothing to do with who he kisses goodnight. He doesn’t have the size to be a 3-4 DE, and I don’t believe he is likely a good candidate to convert to OLB due to mechanics.

Jerome Bettis Falls Shy Of Hall Of Fame Again

The 2014 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees have been officially announced , confirming what was leaked all over the internet earlier, Jerome Bettis has not been inducted. This is the fourth year in a row that The Bus was not chosen.

“As disappointed as it is to not get in, I’m happy for the players who got in,” said Bettis when asked about being snubbed. “They all deserve to be in. So I can’t be mad, I can only hope that next year is my year.”

Here is the list of inductees:

LB Derrick Brooks

WR Andre Reed

DE Michael Strahan

DB Aeneas Williams

OT Walter Jones

Seniors candidates- DE Claude Humphrey and P Ray Guy.

Ray Guy is the first punter to make it in. Former Steelers LB Kevin Greene also did not make it again this year, nor did Tony Dungy.

In 13 seasons, Bettis ammassed 13,662 yards, the 6th most in NFL history, and remains the only one of the eligible top 14 career rushing leaders not inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Bettis and Steeler Nation will have to repeat what they’ve said for the past few years- “Next year for sure.”

Jerome Bettis and Kevin Greene Named Finalists For Hall Of Fame

Jerome Bettis and Kevin Greene are among the top 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame- class of 2014. Both players were finalists last year, but did not receive the 80% vote necessary to be selected. The Bus is the only eligible top ten rushing running back not in the Hall of Fame.

The class of 2014 Hall of Fame inductees will be selected and announced on February 1st.

Bettis: “I’d Blow Up The Offense”

During his regular appearance on ESPN earlier, Jerome Bettis talked about the Steelers problems on offense, and what he’d do to fix them.

“If I was Mike Tomlin…the first thing I would do was address the offense, and I would blow up the offense.”, Bettis said. “I’m going to go with this no huddle offense, because … I want to keep the ball in the best player’s hand, and that’s Ben Roethlisberger.”

He goes on to talk about the importance of the no huddle and the difficulty the offensive line is having. Ultimately, the Bus says there’s cause for concern, but not panic. You can watch below.

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Ryan Clark, Bettis To Be Contributors On ESPN

Starting this September, Jerome Bettis will be joining ESPN as a NFL analyst. The Bus already hosts his own show on WPXI on Saturdays. The season is scheduled to premiere September 7th at 7:00pm.

http://www.wpxi.com/s/jeromebettisshow/

Also joining ESPN as a contributor is Steelers Safety Ryan Clark. Clark has made appearances on ESPN in the past, most notably on First Take, and expressed interest in a possible career in broadcasting after football. At the Super Bowl, he went as far as asking an ESPN producer if he could intern there.

“Whatever you need me to do, I will do. I want to be an ESPN NFL intern.”

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/news/20130505/media-circus-fox-sports-1-charissa-thompson-ryan-clark/

The exact details of Clark’s involvement weren’t immediately available, but he will reportedly be an in-season and off-season contributor.