Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"No one, none of you guys, anyone thought we could win this game except for the guys in this locker room."
-- Ben Roethlisberger
Amid the seemingly endless ESPN stable of former NFL players hired to do commentary for the network, Ron Jaworski might be termed somewhat of a second-teamer.
Jaws, as he's known, was a competent NFL quarterback in the 1970s and '80s, but he doesn't bring the superstar cachet that so many of his ESPN colleagues do. His one regular gig, which he shares with Merril Hoge, is on so early Sunday mornings many people are still asleep.
But Jaworski takes his job a lot more seriously than most of his colleagues. He might not second-guess like Sean Salisbury or spew cliches like Michael Irvin or attempt to create controversy like Mike Ditka, but he does his homework like none of his contemporaries. He studies film like he's a coach with a game the next Sunday, dissects it with the intelligence you might expect from someone who spent 15 years in the NFL and presents it in an intelligent, articulate and lively manner.
So when Jaworski speaks, it's always a good idea to listen. Which is not good news for the "Us-Against-The-World Mentality" the Steelers have maintained since late in the regular season.
Appearing on ESPN's "Pardon The Interruption" Monday, Jaworski was asked to pick a winner in the AFC championship game Sunday between the Steelers and the Denver Broncos.
He said, "Right now, when I look at what Pittsburgh has done the last couple of weeks -- go to Cincinnati, a hostile environment, win; go to Indiana, which is absolute bonkers, and win that football game.
"I really like the way Ben Roethlisberger is playing and the way [defensive coordinator] Dick LeBeau has got the defense organized. I really like the Steelers right now."
Such words are a dagger to the heart of the mantra the Steelers have been spewing since late in the season. Now that a member of the national media, no doubt the first of many, has picked them to win, what's left in their arsenal of whining?
That's right, the Steelers have been acting like whiners, the very trait their fans so detest in other teams. It's a trait that doesn't fit this team and one usually not expected of it. This is a locker room filled with first-rate guys. But at some point in the season, probably in the midst of their three-game losing streak, they began to feel disrespected and started talking about it. And talking about it and talking about it.
Let it go, guys. It's unseemly, especially in such an outstanding team.
As the Steelers pranced into their locker room after their upset win Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, many of the players were in full voice. They weren't so much celebrating their victory as they were whining about the lack of respect they believe they receive. This is a tired, old, illogical mantra that has been used too many times by too many teams.
"Ain't nobody gave us a chance," said Hines Ward, a variation of a line he has been using for weeks.
Larry Foote and Roethlisberger offered similar observations and Roethlisberger went so far as to begin his news conference about 15 minutes later with this statement:
"No one, none of you guys, anyone thought we could win this game except for the guys in this locker room."
In ridiculously suggesting no one gave them a chance, the Steelers are disrespecting the millions of fans across the country and the world who fervently believed they not only had a chance but that they also would win the game.
They are ignoring the fact that although they were a sixth seed playing on the road, they were a favorite against the Cincinnati Bengals, a game, by the way, which they said no one gave them a chance to win.
To compound their whining, Joey Porter proclaimed after the Indianapolis game that the officiating crew "cheated." In doing so, he inspired thousand of Steelers fans to believe the league was out to get his team.
Granted, the officials displayed a high level of incompetence, especially for a game that is expected to draw the best the NFL has to offer. But to suggest cheating was involved is preposterous. That makes as much sense as saying Jerome Bettis fumbled on purpose.
Officials are humans, not robots. Like Bettis; like Roethlisberger, who threw an interception; like Peyton Manning, who played well below his ability; and like the Colts offensive line, which allowed five sacks; they make mistakes.
Porter deserves a five-figure fine for undermining the integrity of the game and if commissioner Paul Tagliabue doesn't deliver it he's guilty of dereliction of duty.
Even Bill Cowher had to step in and offers reasonable words.
"The referees are doing the best they can," he said. "At times there will be mistakes. There's no conspiracy. That's ridiculous."
Cowher also spoke of the grand challenge the Steelers have against the Broncos, an excellent team playing at home. He said the Steelers will have to play better than they did in their excellent performance against the Colts.
The belief here is they can. So in an honest opinion and in an attempt to stop the whining: Steelers 24, Broncos 20.
(Post-Gazette sports columnist Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1468.)
No comments:
Post a Comment