Bill Cowher isn’t blaming Ben Roethlisberger’s frequent interceptions for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ terrible record. Or a major falloff by the special teams. Or a surprisingly inconsistent offensive line.
Cowher is faulting the boss.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of disappointment to be sitting here at 2-5. I accept full responsibility for that,” Cowher said Tuesday. “It starts with me. There’s been a lot of frustration … in the different ways we have found to lose. The bottom line is we have lost.”
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Bill Cowher is sticking with Ben Roethlisberger as his starting quarterback despite the turnovers. Cowher calls this season a learning experience for Roethlisberger, who was so successful winning with ease during his first two seasons.
To read more of John Clayton’s Quick Hits, click here.Cowher dismissed his own uncertain future as a reason for the Super Bowl champions’ stumbling — he hasn’t said if he will return in 2007 — and that topic is almost never mentioned by his players.
What has become worrisome is that the Steelers already trail Baltimore (5-2) by three games in the AFC North with the season not yet half over.
Watching the Steelers this year, I have felt like I am watching a completely different team than the past few years. They just don’t have “it,” whatever “it” is. I guess going deep in the playoffs two years in a row really takes a toll on a team- that is the only explanation I can muster.
jcricket
I feel the same way this season about the Seahawks, but at least I can point to a couple of injuries and pretend that’s the problem.
It’s like the precarious state of the economy has given the whole country the case of the “mopes”. And I include NFL teams in that.
I know it’s probably not to blame, but if Roethlisberger continues to have problems and eventually flames out, I suspect his little motorcycle idiocy will go down as one of those spectacular dumb moves in sports history.
Andrew
I’m happy that the Deadskins are collapsing. The Panthers suckage, not so happy.
Steve M
And the Pats just keep on rolling… :)
mds
And the Pats just keep on rolling… :)
I blame gay marriage.
David
Apparently it’s harder to read coverages and throw precise passes when you’ve had two traumatic head injuries and emergency surgery to remove a diseased internal organ. Who could have known?
Seriously, Cowher needs to start Charlie Batch before he gets his quarterback of the future killed.
bobzilla
Cheer up John. This’ll be a net win for the Steelers after this year…
Next year: (presumably) healthy Rothlisberger
added bonus: much higher draft pick than they’d normally have
RalphF
My own belief is that it has a lot to do with the loss of the “Bus”. Both his talent and his leadership.
foolishmortal
Yeah, the Pats in ’02 suffered from a similar effect. But Pittsburgh has a strong foundation and, with a good coach, losing can has much of a team-building effect as winning. The Steelers aren’t out of it yet, but if they do tank don’t panic. If Cowher (or whoever) can avoid freaking out in the offseason, you’ll have a dynasty in no time.
teak111
Funny when you talk about it. The Chargers have not played particularly well and played only a few tough teams, but this year we seem to have it. Of course, we shall see. Last year, Sd v Pitt, you guys had a winning formula, smash us for three quarters, then give the ball to the Bus for the win in the fourth. This year, we won the game and that winning Steeler formula seemed to have disappeared. But I recall last year the Steelers got hot in the second half, won the WC, then the SB. So there is still hope.
ThymeZone
Try being a Cardinals fan.
Right now 1-15 is looking really good.
Bombadil
Well, it’s a good thing they didn’t make it to the Super Bowl, or they’d really suck! :)
SeesThroughIt
That championship hangover is a bitch, I guess.
It sure has been (and likely will continue to be) a frustrating season, though. Everything just looks a little bit off. No Bettis. No Randle-El. Ward is a bit gimpy. Big Ben looks downright awful. The running game isn’t quite what it was last season. Polamalu isn’t quite the terror he was last season. And so on and so on. There’s all these niggling little factors that are adding up to big problems.
Jake
Never mind going deep into the playoffs, losing the old and wise leadership figure in the locker room takes a toll, as does your quarterback slamming his head into the pavement at high speed. There’s plenty of people out there who take a blow to the head and are never quite the same – look at Merrill Hoge – it’d really be a shame for Ben to be one.
Maybe that’ll motivate him to do helmet-safety PSA’s. “I had a promising NFL career, one super bowl ring, and the prospect of many more. Now people compare me to Kordell Stewart and Mike Tomczak. Don’t let this happen to you.”
Buck
Start paying more attention to the Mountaineers. They are number 3 right now in the BCS and are going to go undefeated.
Surely that is something to celebrate.
Jimmmm
With the Steelers O line performing below standard, Worthlessburger gets exposed for the fraud he is.
Bender
It’s been a bad year for sports. In my opinion, we currently have probably the worst champions ever in all 3 big pro sports: Steelers, Cardinals (gack!) and Heat. I can’t think of worse teams to have won it all. It’s really shocking when you think about it.
jcricket
Ooh: Worthlessburger
Maybe I’m obtuse, but I didn’t see this one before. I rank it right up there with Peloshiites as my favorite new epithet of this week.
(yes, this week. Republican talking points keep morphing so fast that new fun epithets are created faster than DougJ can spoof them.)
Rusty Shackleford
Da Bears, Da Bulls, Da Bulls, Da Bears, Da Bears, Da Bulls, Da Bulls, Da Bears…Dit-ka!
Jimmmm
Actually, Peloshi-ites is kinda funny, in a simple-minded, knuckle-dragging Red State sorta way.
But St. Ben has been getting away with murder in The Burgh for nigh on two years. Bully for him, winning Supe 40 last year. But–and I say this as a Patriots hater–he’s no Tom Brady. Hell, he’s not even James Brady.
Mike
Its all chemistry. One drop too little, or too much, and the whole formula goes awry.
jcricket
How about Wayne Brady? Greg Brady? Jan?
Yes, Tom Brady rules (I’ve got divided loyalties between the Patriots and my adopted Seahawks). And I really like Bill Belichick, unlike a lot of the other blow-hard coaches, he seems to understand how to create a team that’s successful for more than a single year.
SeesThroughIt
Is Ben Roethlisberger gonna have to choke a bitch?
Punchy
JC, did you delete my post? Something about Worthlessberger passing a ball about as effective as passing breakfast thru this digestive system unimpeded? How, with all those concussions, the throws downfield as much as he throws up…
jcricket
If we wants to run for Congress as a Republican he will.
Ryan
I think you can chalk up this Steelers team to luck; same as last year, but with the opposite sign. Last year, they caught a crazy run of good luck at the right time: half a dozen end of the season scenarios breaking the right way to get them into the playoffs, Kimo falling on Palmer’s knee in the first game, getting to play a Broncos team they matched up well against instead of a Patriots team they didn’t. It wasn’t all luck, obviously, but if you replayed last season 100 times, I don’t think they win the Superbowl more than 5 times. This year, they just aren’t getting the breaks they got last year and they’ve been on the other end of a number of bad breaks. We want there to be an reason so that the ship can be righted, but sometimes it’s just a 2 sigma kinda year.
peterp
“Obviously, there’s a lot of disappointment to be sitting here at 2-5. I accept full responsibility for that,” Cowher said”
Imagine if Bush said something like that. I think the world might stop spinning on its axis.