If you have ever listened to Adam Schein over the years, you probably know by now that he has never been overly complementary of the Pittsburgh Steelers, so it should come as no surprise that he listed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and offensive coordinator Todd Haley as his top combustible relationship to watch in 2013.
Didn\’t he post the same thing last year or was that one of the other 20 people that wrote that these two would be at each other\’s throats in 2012?
Schein points to Roethlisberger\’s post game comments following the loss to the Dallas Cowboys last season as a boiling point and a prelude to what will come in the duo\’s second season of working together. He also reasons that the Steelers just won\’t be very good in 2013 both offensively and defensively, and that will lead to the veteran quarterback trying to do too much. Schein also states that Roethlisberger routinely goes away from a scripted play at the first sign of trouble and scrambles to make something happen. Hyperbole much, Adam?
Look, it was obvious that Roethlisberger didn\’t like losing Bruce Arians last season and his comments heading into the year regarding having to learn a new offense probably weren\’t the most professional. There is no denying; however, that Roethlisberger was on his way to perhaps one of his best seasons ever before he suffered the serious injury against the Kansas City Chiefs that forced him to miss three games. I am sure he is well aware of that.
Growing pains between these two head strong individuals were expected last season and quite honestly they did not manifest themselves in a way that many expected they would. There was no sideline yelling or visible on-the-field tension between the two all season. Roethlisberger has mentioned several times this offseason that Haley has been open to accommodating some of the things that he likes for this upcoming season, and the two seem to have gotten past the awkward stage. Do they really have a choice if they expect to win?
Schein states that the television cameras will be trained on these two at all times in 2013, and that we are sure to catch some sideline fireworks as a result. I am pretty sure that there will be disagreements between the two during the season, but the same can likely be expected on 31 other sidelines in the NFL as well.
Schein should stick to doing what he does best and that is blasting the New York professional teams.
