For those who love to distort, misinterpret or exaggerate sound bites or quotes from prominent athletes, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger provided a brand-new arsenal of material during his weekly radio show.
What’s going to confound many of those people is that these comments flowed in the exact opposite direction of his most recent pronouncement.
"I'm one of the best in the world that do what I do," Roethlisberger said Tuesday morning on 93.7 The Fan. "I'm one of the best that's ever done it. You have to have that confidence."
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These statements came just two days after he told reporters gathered around his locker, following a five-interception disaster in a loss to the Jaguars, "maybe I don’t have it anymore."
Several reporters who were in that crowd understood he was being sarcastic, frustrated about his enormous contributions to the 30-9 defeat, and reinforced that with how they handled the quote in their own printed work and subsequent discussions.
If people can't see Roethlisberger's post-game comments were not him questioning himself, I fear for the free world. He was being sarcastic
— Dale Lolley (@dlolleyor) October 10, 2017
But tone and context often don't matter when a quote is compelling or inflammatory enough, and many who weren't in the room took that comment where they wished.
Roethlisberger seemed to have learned a bit about this in the time since Sunday, because he reiterated the "best in the world" theme at least once. It's easy to imagine that being turned against him in a number of ways, from the suggestion he is delusional given his meager 2017 stats to the contention he is arrogant to say such things about himself.
Roethlisberger quite publicly considered retirement following the Steelers' appearance in the AFC championship game to close the 2016 season. His dreadful play against Jacksonville on top of four previous mediocre games led some to speculate he had one foot out the door.
"If you're asking me is my heart into it, I'd say 100 percent. If I didn't care, a game like last Sunday wouldn't bother me," Roethlisberger said. "It peeves me off, it ticks me off that I played that way.
"I put it behind me because I'm one of the best in the world at what I do, and I’m putting it behind me so I can play like that."
Entering Sunday afternoon's game against the unbeaten Chiefs — on the road, no less — Roethlisberger ranks ninth on the NFL's career passing yardage list, 10th in yards per attempt, 10th in touchdowns and 11th in passer rating.
This season, however, his passer rating ranks near the bottom of the league, and he's only 26th in yards per attempt. A fairly soft early-season schedule has produced only a 3-2 record.
Roethlisberger said he discussed with his agent, former California Bears quarterback Ryan Tollner, whether there was something wrong with his throwing mechanics. They came to the conclusion there was nothing wrong in that department.
"My shoulders and elbows feel good," Roethlisberger said. "Your talent doesn't go away. It goes awry sometimes.
"I had a bad day at the office."
Roethlisberger did suggest he might get back an undervalued weapon, wide receiver Eli Rogers, who was inactive the past two weeks and replaced by free agent acquisition Justin Hunter. He caught one short pass in each of the past two games — out of five total targets. Rogers caught 48 balls for the Steelers last season, half of which produced first downs.
He also said there would be times when rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster, who took over Rogers’ job as slot receiver, would play outside to give unproductive Martavis Bryant a break.
"Unproductive" is my word, not Roethlisberger's.
Just so we're clear there.
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Roethlisberger responded to back Le'Veon Bell's criticism that Pittsburgh should have run more against Jacksonville's statistically weak rushing defense by explaining the Jags were stacking the box with eight- and nine-man fronts.
Bell did get 15 carries, from which he produced only 47 yards. The Steelers rushed on consecutive plays after gaining a first down at the Jags' 13 on their first possession, but those produced a combined two yards and led to the first of three field goals on red-zone possessions.
Roethlisberger did not offer an answer to why an offense with such grand expectations was struggling so terribly, saying only that if such a solution were obvious the team would have corrected it by now.
"We can’t keep messing around like this," he said. "It doesn't get any easier this week, obviously."
