Follow Roethlisberger lead

By STEVE KING

Way back in the day, when the Pittsburgh Steelers were trying to catch up to the Browns, they hoped that their quarterback would be just like Otto Graham, then Frank Ryan and finally Bill Nelsen, whom they traded to Cleveland, where he blossomed when finally surrounded by talent.

Now that the Browns are trying to catch up to the Steelers, I’m hoping that their quarterback, Baker Mayfield, will be just like the one in Pittsburgh, Findlay native and Miami of Ohio product Ben Roethlisberger.

And when I say just like Roethlisberger, I mean it – in every way there is.

The obvious trait, of course, I hope Mayfield follows is Roethlisberger’s production on the field. He’s a been a big winner – and a late-game star – for a decade and a half. One of the best quarterbacks in the game during that time, he is headed someday to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Then there’s the off-the-field stuff. Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert, who does an outstanding job, is taking a lot of heat, all of it coming from the no-nothings, about his comments last week that Roethlisberger, in that he is the unquestioned leader of the team, has has the right – even the green light – to criticize anybody on not just the team, but also in the entire organization, including Colbert.

Despite what you may see, read or hear elsewhere, that is exactly as it should be. The quarterback must be the face of the franchise in every aspect if that franchise wants to win the Super Bowl. The Steelers have won two Super Bowls and have been in contention for such every year since Roethlisberger arrived in 2004. That’s not a coincidence. They did it on Roethlisberger’s back, more so than the 1970s Steelers captured their four Super Bowls on back of their HOF quarterback, Terry Bradshaw.

So Roethlisberger knows what it takes – and doesn’t take – to win it all, and if feels that some of his teammates aren’t doing their jobs, then he should indeed call them out in public.

I hope that Baker Mayfield would do the same.