There was some good news and bad news for Ben Roethlisberger this week on 93.7 The Fan with Ron Cook and Andrew Fillipponi. Good news: He was talking about stuff that happened on the field Sunday. Bad news: He spent a large portion of that time on the field throwing interceptions. Five of them.
Roethlisberger, in short, was in good spirits less than 48 hours after the fact. There was no repeat to the "maybe I don't have it anymore" line from his postgame media session.
Not to say he isn't frustrated. He said he is.
"It has nothing to do with me and my stats," he said. "I could care less. It's about letting people down."
Roethlisberger, asked specifically about Martavis Bryant's lack of production, showed confidence in the wide receiver and blamed himself for at least a chunk of his issues.
"I need to keep doing better at getting him the ball in better situations when the opportunity is there and presents itself. Not put him in such difficult situations at times. I think we need to also understand that he missed all last year ... I'm not saying that he's not (himself), but we all need to understand that he's still getting back into it. I'm not down on him, I'm not disappointed in him. We all need to play better.
"How can I be down on a guy like that when I'm not even playing good football? If I play better, if the quarterback plays better, usually the wide receivers play better.
"We're not panicking. Our locker room's great. We've got great leadership. ... We had a bad day at the office. I had a bad day at the office, it's not even like we all did. I did."
Do not interpret that as lack of confidence in himself, though.
"You wake up Monday morning, and you realize, 'Man, I'm still one of the best in the world (to) do what I do,' " Roethlisberger said. "I'm gonna have that confidence. I'm gonna have that when I go out there Wednesday to practice and Sunday when we go to Kansas City.
"I have that belief, that I'm one of the best that's ever done it, (one of) the best that's ever played this position. You have to have that confidence, and that's what I'm gonna have."
Part of Roethlisberger's get-over-it process was doing some research.
"(Brett Favre's) thrown six (interceptions), and he's thrown five, (Dan Marino) _ there's Hall of Famers that have thrown five interceptions. I think that kind of perks you up a little bit," Roethlisberger said. "I honestly don't think this is the worst game I've ever played. Obviously it's the most interceptions but not the worst game, if that makes sense, in terms of reads and things like that.
"I'm a gunfighter. I got in a gun fight and lost. But I'm going to come out as a cowboy next week and go right back at it."
Roethlisberger also flatly denied that mechanics are an issue, and again pointed to the fact that he's capable of overthrowing Bryant as proof that his arm strength is fine.
"My shoulders and elbows feel good. Typically that's the first sign of mechanical issues, is when you start having some elbow or shoulder pain or issues, and I don't have any of that," he said. "Your talent doesn't go away. It goes awry sometimes, but it doesn't go away."
Also addressed: a CBS report that the national anthem disaster played a part in Antonio Brown's eventual tantrum. Is there any truth to that?
"No. None whatsoever," Roethlisberger said. "Yeah, zero."
And then, of course, the obligatory concern over whether Roethlisberger is thinking too much about retirement, which was floated at Pro Football Talk.
"If you're asking me if my heart is still in it, I say 100 percent. I love this game," he said. "I give everything I have. If I didn't care, a game like last Sunday wouldn't have bothered me. (It) peeves me off, it ticks me off that I played that way. Like I said, I'm gonna put it behind me, (but) just because I put it behind me doesn't mean I don't care about it.
"I put it in behind me because I'm one of the best in the world at what I do, and I'm gonna come out next week and do everything I can to play that way."
