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In the storm of social media that accompanies the early days of free agency, many may go unnoticed. So, you may have missed this salvo of a former Steelers carrier, who responded to a message describing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as the Steelers' "real locker room problem" following the trade of Antonio Brown and the lost season of Le'Veon Bell.
Josh Harris, who came out of Wake Forest and played his only season in the NFL with the Steelers in 2014, says that during this season, Roethlisberger intentionally dropped the ball at the end of the match to protest a call. "At that time, I knew what kind of person he was," Harris wrote. (You can read all about this piece right here.)
It's an insoluble enigma, knowing what was in the quarter's head at the time. I'm more interested in this larger idea – co-signed by Harris – that Roethlisberger is the real problem in Pittsburgh. He won two Super Bowls, after all. How can it be bad?
I contacted Harris this week, while Brown and Bell officially joined other organizations. According to Harris, Roethlisberger was simply not interested in knowing his teammates, and that's what hit the Steelers.
"Ben is a great player but he does not try to keep in touch with his teammates," Harris told me this week. "During my stay there, I had conversations with veterinarians such as Heath Miller, William Gay, Cam Heyward, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Will Allen, Ike Taylor, Troy Polamalu, Bruce Gradkowski, or even James Harrison. but never Ben. Troy made an effort to talk to the guys. Not Ben though. And it was like that for others too.
"He's close to the O-Line and maybe a few guys here and there, but for the most part, he stays for himself. During training, when the team was warming up often, he was sitting on the fountains reading the newspapers. So, when Ben publicly criticizes the players without having a relationship with them, it can rub them in the wrong way because they do not know if it's for love or what. And when you call the guys All-Pro, it does not suit them at all. "
Roethlisberger, during his radio show in December, criticized Brown's trajectory in the final sequence of a 24-17 loss to the Broncos, adding that he would have preferred to be receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Roethlisberger then defended the comments. "Being around for a long time, being with a lot of different players, you have to know how to motivate guys in different ways," said Roethlisberger. "It's part of the role of leader and captain: just understand the players. Sometimes you just catch them on the side; Sometimes you have to be honest with them. And so, I think I've earned the right to do it, as long as I'm here. And I will be so critical of myself in front of you.
While Brown was erasing the comments at that time, he later switched the quarterback on Twitter. "No conflict just a matter of respect! Mutual respect! Tweeted Brown. "He has an owner mentality that allows him to call anyone, including coaches. The players know it, but they can not say anything, otherwise their meal ticket is gone. It's a dirty game in a game. #truth"
It's rare to see quarters publicly criticizing routes, but that's no reason to break a relationship with one of the NFL's five-quarters. The weaknesses we are currently seeing in the Steelers organization are deeper and deal with what Harris points out: Roethlisberger did not gain the needed influence from his teammates.
Isaac Redman, who played five seasons in Pittsburgh (2009-13), agreed with Harris.
"He has a lot of power in this team, and some guys like AB may think that they should be at a different level, that Ben should not criticize him publicly," Redman said. "When you only see the guy in the locker room and in the field and you come to a radio show and you say something bad, it will rub the guys on the wrong side. Some things must be kept in the house. You come to them, you do not publish it. When you do that, you expose yourself to criticism. "
Redman said that during his stay in Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger's disengagement with his teammates contrasted with that of his veteran, Charlie Batch, who was organizing an annual spring party for his teammates. use it for free and has regularly attracted a large number of Steelers at its charity events held in and around the city. Roethlisberger, meanwhile, was never elected team captain.
"I think everyone has different personalities," says Redman. "Could he have done more to get the guys together? Yes, but it has never been a problem in the locker room. I do not think he fled the guys, I just think he was very careful about who he was around. "
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