Kovacevic: Get over it, Ben

[polamalubeast]

Ben Roethlisberger's disposition seemed as sunny as the skies over the Steelers' South Side fields Tuesday morning. It was the opening of organized team activities, and he looked as loose and lively in drills - "I've lost a few pounds," he explained - as he did in animatedly engaging his teammates.


Big Ben, bundle of joy.

Right up until someone brought up the playbook.

And even then, through media questioning of how the franchise quarterback is handling new offensive coordinator Todd Haley's wholly new playbook, Roethlisberger at least went with a grin-and-bear-it approach.


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http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/...en-coordinator

[steelerdude15]

Seriously, why is the media attacking Ben and making it much worse then what it is..... O WAIT, its the American Media. Fuck the media in this country.

[fansince'76]

fansince'76: Get over it, media

[steelerdude15]

fansince'76: Get over it, media

[Bluecoat96]

I just don't understand why the media continues to attempt to paint a picture of Ben as a malcontent? Is it solely based on selling papers and getting hits on a website?

[Michael]

I am very pleased of this forum's awareness of the media and its overall unacceptable purpose in this country. Too dam many reporters and comentators insulting our ability to think for ourselves . Who gives a dam what Ben thinks aoout the playbook. Ben will learn it. Every team in the NFL knew our entire pathetic playbook during the Arian reign. It did not take long for anybody to learn our plays.

[tube517]

I am very pleased of this forum's awareness of the media and its overall unacceptable purpose in this country. Too dam many BLOGGERS, "reporters",blowhards, ex players, and comentators insulting our ability to think for ourselves . Who gives a dam what Ben thinks aoout the playbook. Ben will learn it. Every team in the NFL knew our entire pathetic playbook during the Arian reign. It did not take long for anybody to learn our plays.

Fixed it for ya.

[Wallace108]

Did anyone read the article before coming to the conclusion that this was just another hit piece on Ben? It wasn't all negative. Here's a snippet:

And with each passing answer, it became that much more transparent that Roethlisberger has a long way to go to accept how the Steelers treated him this offseason.

I don't blame him.

First, team president Art Rooney publicly stated that Roethlisberger needed to "tweak" his game, meaning to scramble a lot less and stay healthy.

Think Robert Kraft suggests positional philosophy to Tom Brady?

Next, Rooney and Tomlin fired Bruce Arians, Roethlisberger's offensive coordinator of five years, and stunned pretty much everyone. Including Roethlisberger.

Think the Packers pull that with Aaron Rodgers?

Finally, Tomlin hired Haley, also without Roethlisberger's input, and is implementing a brand new offense.

Think Peyton Manning didn't pack his own playbook when he flew off to Denver?

I thought the article was a fair and accurate analysis of the situation. Ever since Arians was let go, Ben has said the wrong thing on more than one occasion. And it's not just one or two reporters who have taken him to task. The only people who feel the media is unfairly attacking and criticizing Ben are Steelers fans. I'm willing to bet that if we were talking about Flacco or Brady instead of Ben, everyone would have a much different perspective.

[X-Terminator]

Did anyone read the article before coming to the conclusion that this was just another hit piece on Ben? It wasn't all negative. Here's a snippet:



I thought the article was a fair and accurate analysis of the situation. Ever since Arians was let go, Ben has said the wrong thing on more than one occasion. And it's not just one or two reporters who have taken him to task. The only people who feel the media is unfairly attacking and criticizing Ben are Steelers fans. I'm willing to bet that if we were talking about Flacco or Brady instead of Ben, everyone would have a much different perspective.

Not everybody likes change, Wallace. That's why Ben has given the answers that he has, at least at the beginning. But recently he has done everything he can to show that he IS moving on, and I maintain that the media and some Steelers fans are reading WAY too much into his answers, looking for a reason to bash him. Now granted, I did read the article and came to the same conclusion you did. It really wasn't a bad piece all things considered. But at this point, I think Ben needs to realize that he will never win with the media and some of the fans, no matter what he says or does. So the best thing for him to do is to just focus on learning the new offense, go out there and play ball, and let the chips fall where they may.

[JayC]

that's ben being ben. he's a drama queen at heart and can't just say things are going well/progressing with the playbook and move on to the next question. he gives the reporters the bait to write these articles.

[Wallace108]

Not everybody likes change, Wallace. That's why Ben has given the answers that he has, at least at the beginning. But recently he has done everything he can to show that he IS moving on, and I maintain that the media and some Steelers fans are reading WAY too much into his answers, looking for a reason to bash him. Now granted, I did read the article and came to the same conclusion you did. It really wasn't a bad piece all things considered. But at this point, I think Ben needs to realize that he will never win with the media and some of the fans, no matter what he says or does. So the best thing for him to do is to just focus on learning the new offense, go out there and play ball, and let the chips fall where they may.

I'm glad someone got the same thing out of the article I did. The writer defended Ben and said Rogers, Brady, and Manning wouldn't have been treated the way Ben was this offseason. But he said Ben needs to move on. Ever since Arians was let go and Haley was hired, Ben has let his agitation show in his comments. He could learn a thing or two from Brown and Sanders on how to handle the media:

“He has been making it simple for guys to understand,” said wide receiver Antonio Brown. “It’s been really fun. It was great to get out and start to run some of the plays. It’s going to be great when guys get on the same page and start executing it.”

“It’s going to be a good year,” said Sanders. “I am loving the offense right now. It’s based off of play action. We have a lot more of the offense to put in, but right now we are heading in the right direction.”

I work in the media, and I'm probably a little sensitive to baseless media bashing. Believe me, there's a lot of bad reporting out there, and I'm the first one to point it out when I see it. But Ben has brought this on himself. Most Steelers fans think everything has been blown out of proportion ... because we're talking about Ben. Had this same situation happened to Flacco, those same people wouldn't be defending him and criticizing the media ... they'd be making fun of Flacco and calling him a big baby.

[Wallace108]

that's ben being ben. he's a drama queen at heart and can't just say things are going well/progressing with the playbook and move on to the next question. he gives the reporters the bait to write these articles.

Exactly. And it's the offseason with little news to write about. But reporters still have to write stories, so they're going to grab a hold of whatever they can. That's just the nature of the beast. And Ben's not a rookie ... he's been around the media enough to know how to handle them.

[fansince'76]

1. It would never happen with Brady as the media slobs his knob nonstop 24x7x365 as "God's gift to the NFL" regardless of what he does or says. Same with P. Manning and Rodgers to a somewhat lesser extent.

2. When Ben proclaims himself to be the best QB in the league like Flacco did after posting a very pedestrian 57% completion rate and 80.9 QB rating for a season, then he'll deserve to get bashed.

3. Personally, I'm tuning the sports media out until preseason starts and they actually have something to talk about.

[fansince'76]

that's ben being ben. he's a drama queen at heart and can't just say things are going well/progressing with the playbook and move on to the next question. he gives the reporters the bait to write these articles.

Or maybe he simply speaks him mind with no BS and doesn't give a rat's ass how it comes off, which is refreshing in this political-correctness-run-amok society. If/when Tomlin and/or Rooney tells him to shut it publicly, that's when it will actually matter.

[steelerdude15]

Or maybe he simply speaks him mind with no BS and doesn't give a rat's ass how it comes off, which is refreshing in this political-correctness-run-amok society. If/when Tomlin and/or Rooney tells him to shut it publicly, that's when it will actually matter.

This.

[zulater]

Or maybe he simply speaks him mind with no BS and doesn't give a rat's ass how it comes off, which is refreshing in this political-correctness-run-amok society. If/when Tomlin and/or Rooney tells him to shut it publicly, that's when it will actually matter.

Nice!

[steel striker]

Like usual the media tries to create crap on Ben and, no matter what Ben does or says it will be wrong. First some people said he needs to be a leader and, when Ben does lead they call him out on it. Hell he could pull out 50 people out of a burning building and, they would have some problem with that.

[BlacknGoldBabe]

Unfortunately, Ben has had his share of issues with the media. However, I do think his conduct while doing this piece was appropriate. Personally, I'm sick of the political correctness having to play a part and I'm much more apt to respect someone who speaks their mind. Tell the truth and damn the consequences.

[SteelGhost]

Exactly. And it's the offseason with little news to write about. But reporters still have to write stories, so they're going to grab a hold of whatever they can. That's just the nature of the beast. And Ben's not a rookie ... he's been around the media enough to know how to handle them.

Ding ding ding