Broncos' Great Mark Schlereth Defends Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger With Spectacular Video Blast To His Trolls

On April 11th, Former Pittsburgh Steelers 2x Super Bowl-winning quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger made several comments on his Footbahlin' podcast regarding the Baltimore Ravens QB, Lamar Jackson. If you would only read the backlash that came in response to the comments made by Roethlisberger, you would think that the former Steelers QB went out of his way to detail how bad of a quarterback Jackson is, but the reality of the situation was much more simple and not malicious - despite the immediate rage at a Steelers player questioning a Ravens player.

When discussing the signing of Odell Beckham Jr. to Baltimore, Roethlisberger explained how having that possibly-dynamic WR on the edge would change how defenses tend to, or should, defend a player like Jackson:

"With Lamar, you want to bring safeties down to help stop the run, cause you're not -- you don't really fear Lamar's arm, his accuracy, all the time. He's got a huge arm, he can make things happen when he scrambles and whatever, but you don't fear him just sitting in the pocket and picking you apart. So, you can bring safeties down cause you do fear him running because he's a different level runner. So you fear that; you bring safeties down..."

That prompted David Helman of FOX Sports to give his view on the situation while on Speak, which simply was that Roethlisberger had no business saying anything of the sort. While that opinion was fine to have - even if it was wrong - Helman continued his rant by stating that since Jackson had a better pocket-passer rating (97.9 in comparison to Roethlisberger's 94.2), the comments made were insulting to Jackson and beyond unnecessary. Helman didn't just say that Roethlisberger was out of line, he went one step further:

"To say that, it implies that Lamar Jackson cannot win as a passer. If you want to word it differently and say, ‘Lamar Jackson’s dynamic ability as a runner has to be line one when you're figuring out how to defend him,' that's fine. But to say that he can't hang back in the pocket and pick you apart is blatantly untrue. The stats are the stats."

Schlereth chimes into Steelers - Ravens drama

All this came to a delightfully entertaining apex when Hall of Fame former player and overall football expert, Mark Schlereth, made his feelings known on Twitter through a very direct video. Schlereth begins by explaining exactly what Roethlisberger said on the Footbahlin' podcast about how teams need to bring defenders in from the secondary because they should fear Jackson's legs more than his arm - which is both accurate regarding what was originally said, and simply true about how teams should approach Jackson's style of play.

With fervor, Schlereth continued to speak on the "Lamar apologists" or "numbers geeks" that rolled into the situation for the sole purpose of blindly defending Jackson by echoing stats and referring back to what Helman had gone on about:

"And, of course, all the 'Lamar apologists,' all you numbers geeks come running to his defense. 'That's just not true! Lamar has a better quarterback rating than Ben Roethlisberger from the pocket.' Are you kidding me? Really? That's like me saying, 'Hey listen, Shaquille O'Neal's a better shooter than Kobe Bryant because Shaquille O'Neal shot 58% from the field during his career, while Kobe only shot 44% from the field during his career. Context is important. Learn the game."

Steelers understand the context

What does all this uproar say about everything going on in this situation? Well, first, anyone who watched the careers of both Roethlisberger and Jackson in any kind of unbiased way couldn't possibly come to the conclusion that Jackson is the better pocket passer. Steelers fans know more than most how a quarterback can be elite, and win multiple Super Bowls, yet somehow needs to be defended every time he is put up against any other of those top-tier quarterbacks.

What Schlereth said is right on the money, because, for every quarterback that can create plays with their legs to the extent of Jackson, there are ten other careers that are shortened by an inability or refusal to adjust one's playing style. Roethlisberger was never close to being the runner that Jackson is, even in his prime, but that didn't stop him from extending the play without the need to cross the line of scrimmage. While that style was effective - proven by records and rings - it did place Roethlisberger on the injured list more often than not. It was clear that to have the career length he wanted to have, that "gunslinger," running around behind the line and making the pocket sideline-to-sideline method would need to change.

All this is to continue to show how the defense of Jackson isn't always incorrect, but in this particular situation, it is just a group of people angry or confused by the entire situation in Baltimore. Is Jackson a better quarterback than Roethlisberger? Not by a long shot; in or out of the pocket. Now, if the discussion is purely the leg ability, Roethlisberger already admitted to Jackson's superior athleticism and talent, but for some reason, there seems to be an opinion that the two can be broadly compared and Jackson will come out on top.

There are many more years and opportunities for Jackson to understand his decision between "his style" and a longer career, but all of that is currently being overshadowed by a back-and-forth, no-win scenario for the Ravens and Jackson. Until that is anywhere close to resolved, there is a ridiculous amount of residual anger and frustration boiling beneath every purple-jersey'd fan, and the moment Jackson is spoken about in a way that isn't full-throated praise those emotions fuel the response.

Like Schlereth said so poignantly: "Learn the game."