Serby's Sunday Q & A with ... Terry Bradshaw

By STEVE SERBY
New York Post
http://www.nypost.com
January 30, 2011

The Post's Steve Serby chatted with the Fox "NFL Sunday" studio analyst, who will be working next Sunday's Super Bowl and won four of them as the quarterback of the Steelers.

Q: Your relationship with Ben Roethlisberger?

A: I don't know him. My sense is he doesn't like me. I sense being around him, he doesn't care anything about me or getting to know me.

Q: What did you tell reporters who asked you years back about what you thought of him riding his motorcycle?

A: "Park the motorbike. You can ride it when the season's over. You can drive it into a wall when you retire, nobody will care." Four months later he had that wreck, remember? We don't even have a relationship.

Q: Does that bother you?

A: No! I'm 62 years old, you kiddin' me? The only thing I care about is my family.

Q: Will you sit down with him this week?

A: I've been told we're trying to sit down with him. I'm not sure that he'll sit down with me. I want to sit down and interview him.

Q: What would you ask him?

A: I'll obviously bring up the past offseason, and how it affected his life, and the transition he's made. I'll ask him about everything you think I should ask him about. It could be when I bring it up, he'll tell me, "It's none of your [bleeping] business. I think I have to ask that question and have him tell me to "kiss my [bleep]" . . . It's not personal.

Q: If Art Rooney owned the Steelers, would Big Ben still be the quarterback?

A: I believe if the old man had been alive, he would have traded him. He would not have put up with that. It wasn't all about winning championships with him. He would not have tolerated it. He would have given Ben a chance. The second time, I think, would have been too much.

Q: Roethlisberger the quarterback?

A: He's accurate . . . determined . . . he's poised . . . makes great plays in big games . . . unflappable . . . competitive as hell . . . strong as hell. He's such a throwback. He's a Joe Kapp-Roman Gabriel kinda guy.

Q: Hall of Fame?

A: I think he's in the Hall of Fame now.

Q: Aaron Rodgers?

A: Quickest release I've seen in the NFL . . . great athleticism. He's cool, he's calm. If he had a line he had to cross over, I thought earlier, he couldn't bring his team from behind in either half. Obviously, he has grown in leaps and bounds as a quarterback, so that's a good sign. And he's poised. And he is a good guy, man.

Q: What were your emotions in the tunnel before your first Super Bowl?

A: You hear the crowd roaring outside. Your heart starts racing. You take a deep breath. You try to focus. You go through your opening series of plays. You try to get control of your emotions, which is impossible to do. You can't prepare yourself when you break into those light bulbs. I had a fear of losing. You just say to yourself, "I do not want to lose this game. This is the most awesome feeling I've ever had in my life. I could not imagine walking off this field being world champion. It was almost overwhelming for me.

Q: Advice for Rodgers?

A: Everybody handles things differently. Just find your comfort zone -- everybody has one -- and know how to get to that. Take a deep breath and try to relax. The more stirred-up you are emotionally, the more mistakes you'll make early You won't read coverages well. Your eyes'll be glazed over because of the adrenaline rush. Defensive players are notorious for jumping up and down going nuts. Get away from those people.

Q: Your favorite Super Bowl victory?

A: The first one. I think just because I think we were underdogs, I'd been benched and put back in. Seeing Mr. Rooney get his trophy. (And) the fourth one. You put so much pressure on yourself. I had kinda sensed as a group we'd come to the end of our rope.

Q: Prior to the 2004 NFL Draft, you liked Philip Rivers first, Eli Manning second and Roethlisberger third.

A: Everything about a quarterback I liked, he (Rivers) represented.

Q: How would you rank them now?

A: Ben No. 1, Rivers 2, and Eli 3. Eli doesn't capture me. If someone says to me, "Terry, football game's on tonight, Rivers is the quarterback" -- can't wait. "Terry, football game's on tonight, Roethlisberger is the quarterback" -- can't wait. "Terry, football game's on tonight, Eli is the quarterback" -- I may go find something else to do. He doesn't grab me. It's not his fault. It's mine, I guess. No disrespect toward Eli. It just doesn't work for me with him. Maybe Ben's more my type. Rivers is more my type . . . juicy . . . just kinda roughneck out there. They make things happen.

Q: Mark Sanchez?

A: You know what? He's someone I wouldn't turn the TV on to watch either, but dammit, if he isn't doing a nice job, man. I love his release. He's making better decisions. He's a gamer, as they say. He's only gonna get better and better.

Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana are the only two quarterbacks to have won four Super Bowls. Bradshaw was voted MVP in Super Bowls XIII and XIV.

Q: Were you surprised the Steelers kept Roethlisberger but traded Santonio Holmes?

A: No. He (Dan Rooney) couldn't keep both on the team 'cause now you look like you're running an asylum. Who are you gonna get rid of, a quarterback or a wide receiver?

Q: Troy Polamalu?

A: He's kind of a Jack Lambert at safety.

Q: Clay Matthews?

A: Relentless. Howie (Long) always tells me about technique and shows me. He's got great technique, but he's relentless. He can take on a pulling guard. He can outrun most backs. Could be the two fastest defenses we've seen in a long time.

Q: James Harrison?

A: Would I like playing with that guy! He's scary. I wouldn't even want to interview him. I wouldn't want to (tick) him off (laughs). I interviewed (ex-Packer MLB) Ray Nitschke one time, and CBS had shown me a tape where I put my shoulder down and ran him over in a preseason game.

Q: And you proceeded to remind Nitschke about it?

A: He got up out of his chair and decked me and was laying on top of me! I thought it was a joke. He was serious, my friend!

Q: How long was he on top of you?

A: As long as he wanted! I think it may have been his last season. In other words, he was not in his prime when I did this. I want Ray's family and everyone to know I could never run over Ray Nitschke!

Q: Could Rex Ryan play in Pittsburgh?

A: I don't know, man. He plays well in New York. I think I you're winning, people will overlook and put up with anything, to a certain extent. I don't like all that [junk] -- the Brady, the Belichick, and "we're gonna do this," the "Hard Knocks" thing. I don't get that. I'm old-school too. But he's brought a toughness to his football team and maybe he brought some confidence to a team that was sorely lacking it.

I've been told I would have liked playing for him. That's not how I was raised: You respect your opponent, be kind to your opponent. Kick their (butt) though. It's a different NFL than the one I grew up in. People ask me all the time would I like to still be playing? No. I'm glad I played when I played. I like to go at a slow pace. . . . I can't even call my kids. But I text 'em (chuckles).

Q: Mike Tomlin?

A: He's got a great defensive mind. The best thing you can say about any coach is his players play hard for him. Most good coaches have a plan and they don't deviate from it. He's a typical Pittsburgh coach, and he represents the city the way the city wants to be represented. He understands the tradition of Pittsburgh.

Q: You believe there will be a lockout?

A: Yes.

Q: The owners asking the players to take 18 percent less of the pie.

A: When you give a child a piece of candy, and then you say, "No, no, give it back to daddy," that child will pitch a freakin' fit. That's gonna be a hard sell.

Q: You're in favor of a rookie wage scale?

A: You don't give someone millions of dollars and say, "I hope you earn it. I hope you justify my faith in you." There are too many JaMarcus Russells and Ryan Leafs in the world. You gotta take care of the players who have made the game great and are hurting.

Q: You think the owners should give up the 18-game season?

A: I think (giving it up is) a good idea.

Q: How will the fans react to a lockout?

A: The ratings this year will tell you how (ticked) they're gonna be. We hear the Super Bowl could be moved back next year a couple of weeks. I've heard the season could be pushed back a couple of weeks and this thing could go all the way into the season. Or we could go all the way through August and then have a two-week grace period after they sign it and maybe we miss a couple of games.

Q: Which former Super Bowl teammates do you stay in touch with?

A: Joe Greene; Franco Harris.

Q: What about Lambert?

A: He still scares me to this day. Jack's someone I stayed away from. I never thought he liked me. He intimidated me, and I just left him alone. I stayed away from him.

Q: Glad you didn't have to play against the Steel Curtain?

A: I played against 'em in practice; I scrimmaged against 'em. I don't even know if I ever completed a pass.

Q: Michael Strahan?

A: I named him Red Carpet because he knows every celebrity. He's fun to make fun of, and it catches him off guard when you put him in his place because he's just not used to it, 'cause quite honestly, he is a megastar. He's larger-than-life, got a monstrous personality. We take great pride in everybody getting a verbal beating who comes on our show.

Q: Strahan and Jimmy Johnson eventually will be joining you and Howie (Long) in the Hall of Fame.

A: And then we'll get Curt (Menefee) in the Broadcasting Hall of Fame!

Q: Super Bowl prediction?

A: I'm a Pittsburgh guy. I'm gonna pick Pittsburgh, even if I thought the other team was gonna win.

Q: Score?

A: I think it could be like 31-27.