An emotional game
Big Ben says it’s OK to cry and players should not be ashamed of it
There’s no crying in baseball, but it’s OK to cry in football, according to Ben Roethlisberger.
There has been some debate the past few days about if, or when, it’s ever acceptable for a football player to show emotion on the field after a report out of Oakland stated Raiders quarterback Derek Carr lost respect among his teammates because he cried during a game against Seattle after getting injured.
Carr has denied he cried on the field, but many in the game are fighting back against the notion that football players can’t be moved to tears. Roethlisberger was not entirely up to speed on the situation with Carr and the Raiders but said he has cried in the locker room in front of his teammates after games. In fact, there is a picture hanging in the Heinz Field press box that shows Roethlisberger speaking to the team with tears in his eyes.
“As men in general, we all need to show emotion,” Roethlisberger said Wednesday morning. “There is a misconception out there as men that we shouldn’t show emotion. I think that’s wrong. We need to show emotion whether it’s in a movie if you want to cry, if it’s funny, if it’s sad. If you want to be around your wife or girlfriend … just because you cry doesn’t mean you’re any less manly. That’s a false narrative.
“When it comes to football, if something hurts … he might have been hurting. Who knows? I know I’ve cried in the locker room before from both joy and pain. You lose a football game … if you’re not showing emotion, if he gets up and is laughing, then he’ll get chastised for not showing enough emotion. I don’t know the exact story, but for me, I don’t think it makes us any less manly to show emotion.”
Roethlisberger got emotional after the game in Cincinnati two weeks ago when he discussed with reporters what it was like to walk off the field with Ryan Shazier, who sustained a severe spinal cord injury in Cincinnati last December.
Plenty of other Steelers have openly cried over the years. Former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch also came out in defense of Carr. He tweeted a picture of him hugging Ben Roethlisberger after Batch led the Steelers to a victory against Baltimore the same week his dog, Roxie, passed away from cancer.
After the Steelers lost in the 2004 AFC championship, Hines Ward was moved to tears the next day during an interview when he discussed the possible retirement of Jerome Bettis.
Larcenous defense
With a ball-hawking secondary and talented edge rushers, the Cleveland Browns have become the most opportunistic defense in the NFL. The Browns lead the league with 20 turnovers in their first seven games and created six in the Week 1 game against the Steelers that ended in a 21-21 tie.
The Browns have 11 interceptions and nine fumble recoveries. Roethlisberger threw three interceptions in the first game against the Browns game and also fumbled. The Browns set up one of their touchdowns in the fourth quarter with a fumble return to the Steelers 1.
“Anytime you turn the ball over you’re disappointed,” Roethlisberger said. “I don’t know if it was one of those games whether it was elements, them making plays, us not making plays … there were a lot of factors involved. At the end of the day they made the plays and made us turn the ball over.”
A couple of Cleveland’s recent No. 1 draft picks were front and center in the turnover-fest. Rookie cornerback Denzel Ward, the No. 4 overall pick, intercepted two Roethlisberger passes, and Myles Garrett, the No. 1 overall pick in 2017, caused the fumble that led to the Browns’ second touchdown.
“It starts with the pass rush,” Roethlisberger said. “Myles is one of the best in the business. He’s long. He gets after the quarterback. He gets good jumps. In the secondary they catch the ball. We always joke defenders play defense because they can’t catch. But they can catch the ball. They just don’t bat it down. They make plays.”
Injury update
Morgan Burnett, projected to be the starting strong safety against Cleveland, went through a full practice Wednesday in anticipation of him playing for the first time since the second game of the season. Burnett missed the past four games with a groin injury. Linebacker L.J. Fort also went through a full practice after missing one game with an ankle injury. Tackle Marcus Gilbert (knee) did not practice Wednesday and tight end Xavier Grimble (concussion) was limited.