Ben Roethlisberger On Antonio Brown 'Temper Tantrum': 'It's Unfortunate He Acted That Way'
Follow 93-7 The Fan: Facebook | Twitter
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan)- Coming off the teams 26-9 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, Ben Roethlisberger joined The Cook and Poni Show for The #1 Cochran Ben Roethlisberger Show and talked about the offense's overall performance, why he thinks they took a step forward and what he thought of Antonio Brown's "temper tantrum" on the sideline after not being thrown the ball.
Speaking on Brown's sideline antics, Ben walked us through what happened on the play that upset AB and why he was disappointed in the way he reacted.
"He got upset because he was open, which I can understand, sometimes that happens...it's not like I intentionally missed him, it's not like I intentionally didn't throw it to him. I was doing what my reads tell me to do, I don't even want to say I made a mistake, because I was reading the side I was supposed to read. It's just unfortunate that it happened, and it's unfortunate that he acted and reacted that way."
Ben even took us onto the sidelines and shared what he said to Brown right after the play.
"I told him on the sideline, 'AB, just come talk to me, ask me what happened, tell me that you were open.' You know, if that were Heath Miller, I'd probably ask Heath on the sideline, 'Hey Heath, were you open?' and he'd probably tell me 'No,' because he wouldn't want you to feel bad, that's just who he was...that goes a lot further than throwing a temper tantrum."
It wasn't just Ben that Brown was mad at as he also had a moment with offensive coordinator Todd Haley.
"We all try to talk to him and it didn't help. I think it's bad in the sense that we have a lot of young guys that see that too. Juju [Smith-Schuster] sitting right next to him and looking at that, and what's Juju thinking? Is he thinking that it's ok to act that way? I don't know."
And it's not just the young guys that Ben is worried about in this situation as he talked about the distraction it can be for everyone.
"I don't know that he needs to react that way. He's super human on the football field and when that happens, it almost brings him back to being a mere mortal if you will, because it gets in his head and it just messes with all of us a little bit."
In the end, Ben said he's "not trying to call AB out" but added that "this is causing a distraction that none of us really need."
One player who did have a big day was Le'Veon Bell as he looked like his old self again and Ben told us how great it is to see their lead back again.
"It was fun watching him work," Ben told us. "Those weren't easy yards" he added as Bell rushed 35 times for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns. To hear Ben say it though, there was even more out there. "He really got into the flow, we got a couple of screens to him, I missed him on another screen...I think it would have been another big play."
Click the audio link at the top of the page for more from Ben as he also talked about his performance in the passing game, getting a road win over the Ravens and the approach the team took to their AFC North road matchup.
Like The Fan On Facebook
Follow The Fan On Twitter
The #1 Cochran Ben Roethlisberger Show is heard exclusively every Tuesday at 11 am during the Steelers season on The Cook and Poni Show on Sportsradio 93-7 The Fan.