Filed under: Steelers, AFC North
Pittsburgh was favored to top both the Ravens and the Jets by roughly a field goal and it was no surprise to see the Steelers win each contest at Heinz Field. Now, Pittsburgh is set to play Green Bay for a chance to earn its seventh league title at a neutral site in Sunday's Super Bowl in Dallas.Yet, all of a sudden, the Steelers are viewed as the old, over-the-hill gang that can't defeat the young, hot Packers. It's being downplayed that Pittsburgh is perhaps the best game-planning team in the NFL with their experienced squad and coaching staff.
The reasons that have been given the past two weeks about the Steelers' inability to stop this and that against the Packers are somewhat laughable. Laughable in the sense that Pittsburgh is sometimes discredited because of their two-time champion quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger.
Though nothing has been stated by NFL analysts about wanting the Steelers to lose because of Roethlisberger's off-the-field antics and behavior, it's still become a major storyline and the continuing distraction almost perceived as a weakness. Twice, Roethlisberger has been accused of sexual assault -- in 2009 in Lake Tahoe, Nev., and in 2010 in Milledgeville, Ga., both after he crashed into a windshield helmet-less while riding his motorcycle in downtown Pittsburgh in 2006.
Roethlisberger would miss the first four regular season games of the 2010 season when Roger Goodell determined the Steelers quarterback needed a suspension after the Georgia incident.
"I got a question the other day, 'Are you worried about what he's going to do in the offseason?' No, I'm not worried about Ben in the offseason," said wide receiver Hines Ward. "Ben will be fine, he's a grown man. If we have to start worrying about what grown men are going to do, then you can write stories all day long about each and every individual in this world."
Tuesday night , Big Ben and his teammates were spotted at Pete's Dueling Piano Bar in Fort Worth, Texas. A video appeared on TMZ showing the two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback and his teammates singing and it was reported that Roethlisberger paid the $1,000 tab, including a $200 tip.
The only disappointment from Steelers fans should be that Roethlisberger didn't spend more money; after all, head coach Mike Tomlin wanted his players to follow their normal routine. Perception is important for public figures, but public figures are human, too.
"The guy made a mistake (in the events leading to his suspension). I'm pretty sure he's not going to do the same mistake and go out and do the same thing," said Ward. "He shouldn't have to hide in his house worrying about public perception. If he wants to go out and have a drink or have something with his buddies, he's human, he's having a normal life."
The important part about Roethlisberger's evening with the fellas is that he was with his teammates, not just some of his buddies. He was in a controlled environment and his teammates would have never allowed anything to get out of hand. And all that matters to Roethlisberger is what his team thinks of him as the Steelers turn their attention to Sunday night.
"We went to a piano bar. We sat there and watched two people sing and play music," said tackle Willie Colon. "If that's a bad thing then we don't need to go out ever, ever again. We're not 18-year-olds. We made our curfew.
"It does (tick) me off a lot because Ben's already been through enough with his whole image. He's extremely humble now, he's matured a lot. He wants to put all his bad media in the past, and it gets tainted again because he decided to sit with his fellow linemen at a piano bar and listen to music."
Witnessing the doubt directed at the Steelers -- pegged 2.5-point underdogs in Vegas -- during Super Bowl week is rare and strange considering how well they've performed on the big stage, having already won two Super Bowls since 2006.
Big Ben may never be embraced by the football world like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, or the way Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis eventually would be years after his incident. Lewis plead guilty to obstruction of justice stemming from an altercation that occurred in January 2000.
The following year Lewis was awarded the MVP for Super Bowl XXXV, but he wasn't the face asked to utter the famous words "I'm going to Disney World." Perhaps the public just wasn't ready for it. Former Ravens quarterback and now NFL Analyst for ESPN Trent Dilfer did the honors.
If Roethlisberger has an outstanding performance on Sunday and leads the Steelers to victory, expect him to receive the Lewis treatment. Either way, the Steelers will be ready to pull the upset with their controversial field general.
"We don't get caught up in that. It's people outside," said Ward. "At the end of the day, there's always going to be somebody to say something. If the guy is not causing trouble (by going to a bar during Super Bowl week) and he's enjoying it, let it be. Coach Tomlin ... Mr. (Art) Rooney, they don't get caught up in that stuff. He's done everything up to this point to prove that he is a changed man."
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