Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II issued a short statement Tuesday to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette following the team’s 0-4 start.
In a football season you can’t worry about your last game, or your last four games. The team has to focus on the next opponent and do what is necessary to improve each week of the season. If we continue to work hard and play with intensity, good things will come.
Not exactly ‘Win one for the Gipper’, is it?
While it is hard to read too much into such a short statement, the use of the word “continue” could give one the notion that Rooney isn’t totally turned off by the effort he’s seen over the course of the last four weeks.
Rooney is careful not to point any fingers at his front office or coaches, but at the same time there’s certainly no pats on the back, either.
You can’t blame the paper for asking Rooney for an interview, afterall it’s been 45 years since the Steelers last started a season 0-4 and that’s worthy of some sort a response. As Ed Bouchette points out in his report, Rooney was in high school the year that happened.
Rooney’s statement is merely a few words to put off the media until the season is over. However, should the Steelers continue their losing streak, you can bet he will be asked to comment once again. Should that happen, a 51 word bland statement won’t suffice.
What, if anything, do you read into Rooney’s statement?
