Earlier this week, we mentioned a recent SI.com column of former Steelers great Jerome Bettis containing a bare-knuckled assessment of the team, and we later compared it to an item he had submitted to Steelers Digest, which conveyed a much softer message.
On Thursday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin appeared on ESPN’s Pardon The Interruption. He was asked about the strong words in SI.com from Bettis.
“I don’t worry about criticism,” Tomlin said. “If those are his observations then I accept those. He’s paid to entertain and I’ll let him do what he does. If Bussy wants to help us with those issues, let him know I have a helmet and a locker space available.”
Tomlin chuckled as he offered the final line, and Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon laughed in response. But maybe it shouldn’t have been a joke. “Bussy” is a large man, and he probably could do a better job of blocking for Ben Roethlisberger than either Max Starks or Willie Colon, the two starting tackles.