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2018 was a tough year for Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even though they finally managed to beat the Patriots, they blew a few big games and ended up missing the playoffs as they finished a half-game behind the Ravens in the AFC North.
The entire season was engulfed in drama thanks to the situations surrounding Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. The campaign effected Roethlisberger's public image a bit, as he was criticized for talking about teammates in the media. Mike Sando of The Athletic recently spoke to a bunch of executives and coaches across the league, and got their thoughts on Roethlisberger and the rest of the league's top passers.
One evaluator took issue with Roethlisberger's comments.
“I have no problems with our quarterback calling our players out here in the building,” he said, “but to do it in public on that radio show, I can’t believe they allow that.”
Roethlisberger's comments were the subject of a lot of controversy last year, and Big Ben has seemed to acknowledge he was at least partially in the wrong. This offseason, Roethlisberger has said he wasn't the type of leader he should've been last year.
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As for his play on the field, at least some coaches seem to think it's declining.
“He is getting older and cannot carry it like that anymore,” a defensive coordinator told Sando. “They have to have a run game. He is a winner and he can throw the ball and he is great for them, but I just don’t know if you fear him every week because he doesn’t read coverages like the rest of them. Ben can beat you when he’s got help.”
Roethlisberger should have a big chip on his shoulder in 2019 for the first time in a while.
He has a lot of people he needs to prove wrong, and it'll be very interesting to see how he responds.
