(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Ben Roethlisberger is 39 years old and heading into his 18th season, and being that the Steelers collapsed down the stretch last season, losing five of their last six games, including the embarrassing loss to the Browns in the wild-card game at Heinz Field; many are down on the Steelers, especially Roethlisberger.
It seems like every week a national media pundit is taking a shot at Roethlisberger. The Big 3 who are constantly bashing Roethlisberger are Mike Tannebaum, Adam Schein and Jason La Canfora.
Tannenbaum probably had the most outlandish take of the three last week when he said Roethlisberger would be benched by midseason.
“He’s going to be bad, and I expect him to be benched by the middle of the season,” Tannenbaum said. “Ben Roethlisberger was a big, physical, get-the-ball-down-the-field quarterback. Stats don’t always paint the picture, but, in 2015, Roethlisberger was third in the NFL in yards per pass attempt. Last year, at 38 years old, he was 31st. He just checked the ball down.”
It was revealed yesterday by reporter Ryan Burr that Roethlisberger hears it all from the media and it has added extra motivation for the future Hall of Famer. Burr even mentioned that a source says Roethlisberger is taking a Tom Brady approach to his diet, and it's reportedly even stricter than Brady's.
“Ben will never mention the beating he has taken in the media but says from a dedication standpoint has never seen anything from Ben close to this in past," Burr tweeted. "Source says (he's) obsessed with diet & workouts. “
Bill Cowher had his Pro Football Hall of Fame press conference via Zoom yesterday, and he touched on the topic of so many people doubting Roethlisberger and the Steelers.
"Consistently, year in and year out, he is a great competitor," Cowher said via Nate Davis of USA Today. "I'm sure he's just thriving right now on the fact that everyone thinks that he's done, (that) the Steelers are done.
"I used to always say to people, 'The greatest thing in sports is to do something nobody thinks you can do.' And I think right now, Ben is just thriving on that, and he can't wait to get out there – probably chomping at the bit to prove (it). I would be very surprised if he didn't have a great year this year."
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