Roethlisberger Not Guaranteed Starting Job On Return From Suspension

Added on Sep 07, 2010 by Jason Kearney in

NFL

NOW do you people believe me when I tell you that all is not well between Ben Roethlisberger, his teammates and the Steelers’ coaching staff?!? Yesterday, I wrote a piece about Roethlisberger not being elected captain this year and stressed strongly that this was a real bad sign for ‘Big Ben’. I went on to suggest that it wasn’t just a matter of having to ‘re-earn the trust’ of his teammates but that he’d completely lost their confidence and respect. So I head down to my local cigar bar to enjoy an Ashton ESG while watching the Boise State game last night, and a couple of Steeler honks give me the business that I’m completely off base and that everything his hunky dory between their quarterback and the rest of the team.

This morning on Sirius NFL Radio Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin wouldn’t commit to giving Roethlisberger the starting gig back upon his return from suspension. In a classic case of saying a lot by not saying anything, Tomlin was asked point blank if ‘Big Ben’ would regain the starting job upon his return and he responded:

“I’m going to dodge that one and not artfully. I’m not going to back myself in a corner.”

Now, you can make a case that he’s just saying this to better motivate interim starter Dennis Dixon–thinking that he’ll be more likely to put up a strong effort with the ‘carrot’ of a starting job dangling in front of him. But let’s not kid ourselves–NFL football players are professionals, and the first thing they learn to deal with is the fact that everyone on the team plays a role. Dixon is a good kid, and he understands this. There’s no reason that Tomlin couldn’t say ‘Ben is our starter’ or something equally definitive. Question answered, and no story here.

Instead, he intentionally chose his words in such a way that the media would send a message so he wouldn’t have to. This isn’t Roethlisberger’s team anymore. He’ll get a shot upon his return, but if Dixon goes out there and strings together some wins he’s not going to get benched. Also significant is that while Tomlin was tight-lipped talking about Roethlisberger’s role with the team, he was effusive in his praise of Dixon:

“Dennis has had a very productive preseason and training camp. He went into the training camp as a young guy, second in the pecking order behind Byron Leftwich. He did a nice job and made it extremely competitive. He waged a battle and got some first-team reps in some preseason games. Largely, we’ve been very impressed with how he’s handled himself in game situations.”

Dixon has been pegged as the future of the Steelers’ QB position, and this could be a changing of the guard. He could use some more experience, but as the situation has developed he’s become the starting quarterback without Tomlin having to elevate him over anyone–except maybe that guy who thinks that doing bodyshots off of sorority girls is an acceptable social life for a grown man.