Ben Roethlisberger, citing “bad coaching,” suggests that the Steelers’ legacy may be over.
In retirement, Ben Roethlisberger has no problem criticising his long-time team. The two-time
Super Bowl champion didn’t hold back after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 21-18 loss to the New England Patriots on Thursday.
“Perhaps the Pittsburgh Steelers’ legacy is over,” he remarked in a Monday audio episode of “Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger.”
The 41-year-old had several complaints about the team’s defeat in Week 14. He began by dissecting the team’s attempt to rally in the second half without using any timeouts at all.
Roethlisberger played for Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin from 2007 to 2021 before retiring in 2022. However, Roethlisberger continued to target Tomlin despite their previous relationship.
“You can’t afford in the second half of games to burn silly timeouts and to not have them late in the game,” Roethlisberger stated. “To me, that’s bad coaching.”
He continued by sharing his thoughts on how the match ought to have been run:
“There’s some feel you have to have in those situations because timeouts can be so valuable, as we saw in this game,” he stated. “Give Boz [Chris Boswell] a 60-yard opportunity, and we can work the middle of the field if we have one more timeout there and we get a completion. If you give him a chance, he will level the score. They scored all of their points early, and the momentum had shifted, so I like my chances in OT.”
Roethlisberger is unfamiliar with the Steelers’ present situation. In his eighteen seasons with Pittsburgh, he never had a losing season and was a part of three Super Bowls. Following their setback last week, which came after a loss to the
Pittsburgh’s team has been displaying a lot of verbal and physical fury both on and off the pitch, despite their offensive struggles. It appears like Roethlisberger believes the problem stems from a lack of leadership in the locker room.”Who is grabbing someone by the face mask and saying, ‘That’s not what we do’?” Inquired Roethlisberger. “Is that taking place? Although you have players on defence doing it, you also need players on the other side of the ball. Someone has to say, “Hey, this isn’t what it means to wear the black and gold,” and take offence in that room.”
Pittsburgh’s team has been displaying a lot of verbal and physical fury both on and off the pitch,
despite their offensive struggles. It appears like Roethlisberger believes the problem stems from a lack of leadership in the locker room.”Who is grabbing someone by the face mask and saying, ‘That’s not what we do’?” Inquired Roethlisberger. “Is that taking place? Although you have players on defence doing it, you also need players on the other side of the ball. Someone has to say, “Hey, this isn’t what it means to wear the black and gold,” and take offence in that room.”
Last season, Roethlisberger made the remark that younger Steelers players were “coddled,” but he later withdrew it after defensive lineman Cam Heyward took issue. It’s probable that people will respond similarly to Roethlisberger’s most recent remarks.
