A lot has been made of the comments made by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger following the loss this past Sunday to the Dallas Cowboys and with good reason.
After the game a clearly frustrated Roethlisberger was critical of the play calling and the use, or lack of use, of the no-huddle offense. On Wednesday Roethlisberger had his normal mid-week chat with media and Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports via Twitter that the Steelers quarterback said that he came in on Monday and apologized to Todd Haley and the Rooney family for those comments.
During his Tuesday press conference head coach Mike Tomlin said that he also had talked to Roethlisberger on Monday and let it be known that his quarterback was still on board with Haley as far as the offense goes.
“Yes, he is and it’s just as you stated,” said Tomlin, when asked if Roethlisberger is still on the same page with Haley. “That was a tough, hard-fought football game, an emotional one, and when you come up short there are frustrations associated with that. I’m sure if anything was read into his comments, it was just that. I met with Ben yesterday and he’s ready to move forward with this week and he’s on-board with what it is we’re doing.”
Frustration? Sure, without a doubt, but like it or not there is still some disconnect here. The same disconnect that started after Bruce Arians “retired” and Haley was named as the new offensive coordinator.
Is this the boiling point that we have all been waiting for? Perhaps we had a Festivus “Airing of the Grievances” at the Southside on Wednesday. That\’s not necessarily a bad thing if indeed that took place the last few days.
The last thing this team needs heading into the game Sunday is distractions and it seems as if the elephant in the room has been addressed. The Steelers just need Roethlisberger to be himself on Sunday and hopefully Haley accommodates that a bit more. If not, the stage might be set for a Southside “Feats of Strength”.
If they can get wins in their final two games the team will have some much needed momentum headed into the playoffs as they look to add a seventh sterling silver Festivus pole to their collection.
