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Bettis gets blunt about the Steelers

Posted by Mike Florio on September 14, 2009 11:07 PM ET

Jerome Bettis, whose NBC gig ended after the 2008 season, is now writing for SI.com.

And his debut column will raise some eyebrows in the 'Burgh.

Bettis explains -- accurately, we might add -- that the biggest flaw with the Steelers is their offensive line.

"This problem isn't anything new," Bettis says, "and I blame the coaching staff for not addressing the line in the offseason.  How did they rationalize not doing anything about it?  Well, they won a Super Bowl.  They won't be so lucky twice in a row.  If Ben [Roethlisberger] continues to get hit the way he did Thursday -- the same way he did last year, then this will come back to haunt the Steelers.  Ben will get hurt.  Ben will miss games.  And they don't have a line to run behind without Ben.  Pittsburgh can't repeat with the line playing like this."

Bettis also echoes our recent item regarding the possibility that Mewelde Moore will leapfrog Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall on the depth chart.

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Here's an Excerpt from his article: Page 2

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com

3. One more reason Pittsburgh's in trouble: these Steelers are a mediocre running team on their best day. I don't think they've reached a panic situation quite yet because the Titans don't allow anyone to run the football on them. But there are serious problems.

Willie Parker: I haven't seen much from him. Rashard Mendenhall: I haven't really seen him, period. One thing I have seen is Mewelde Moore making plays. And I think the little guy's going to get more of those opportunities as the Steelers continue to grow into what I think will be more of a passing team in 2009.

The running back I like least on that team is Frank Summers, the rookie fullback. He doesn't seem to understand what's going on. He's missing plenty of blocks, and that's affecting everything. That definitely has to be addressed off the field this week.

The bigger problem, though, is the offensive line. They have no continuity. On top of not being able to protect Ben Roethlisberger, they're letting running backs get hit before they reach the line of scrimmage. There's not a lot any back can do in that situation.

This problem isn't anything new, and I blame the coaching staff for not addressing the line in the offseason. How did they rationalize not doing anything about it? Well, they won a Super Bowl. They won't be so lucky twice in a row. If Ben continues to get hit the way he did Thursday -- the same way he did last year, then this will come back to haunt the Steelers. Ben will get hurt. Ben will miss games. And they don't have a line to run behind without Ben. Pittsburgh can't repeat with the line playing like this.

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