Steelers the New Bengals

[Dadraftnick]

Did any one catch this story?

PFT Daily: As bad boys go, Steelers have supplanted the Bengals

Posted by Mike Florio on March 29, 2010 1:57 PM ET

The Pittsburgh Steelers have taken great pride in their pristine image.

We hope they enjoyed it while it lasted.

With the news that receiver Santonio Holmes found himself on the wrong end of a civil allegation on the same weekend that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had his latest off-field misadventure, the image is being shattered. And the Steelers might have to take drastic steps to fix it.

Even when PFT compliments us the trash us.

When this story was up it had a story that had someone from the Steelers organization being quoted "we are the new Bengals" when I went to look for the story I couldnt find it at PFT so , I guess they realized it could be bullitin board material and took it down.

For years the running joke in the NFL has been the extensive criminal records of the Cincinnati Bengals. Owner/G.M. Mike Brown has been given the "redeemer" tag on many occasions. He loves to take the high risk/high reward players. He ignores the off-the-field stuff.

But over the past three years, it has been their division rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have been making the headlines for the wrong reasons.

Let's start with the most obvious.

QB Ben Roethlisberger has been involved in some sort of controversy in three of the past five off-seasons. First it was the reckless driving of a motorcycle without a helmet. How can a guy with the concussion problems of Big Ben not wear one?

Roethlisberger did not have a valid Pennsylvania motorcycle license at the time of the accident, only a temporary permit that he had obtained after moving to Pittsburgh which had expired four months earlier. Roethlisberger would later say in interviews that paramedics on the scene stopped the bleeding in his throat just in time to save his life.

Last July Roethlisberger was accused of sexually assaulting Harrah's casino executive Andrea McNulty, 31, in his hotel room while he was in Lake Tahoe for a celebrity golf tournament. He allegedly called her into his room to fix his T.V. When she determined it was working just fine he blocked her from leaving and began kissing her. According to the lawsuit, McNulty required hospitalization for depression after the alleged attack.

Last week, a 20 year-old female has accused him of sexual assault at a college bar in Milledgeville, Ga. KDKA, the CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, reported Roethlisberger told police he did not have sexual intercourse with the woman. He said he had contact with the woman and afterward she slipped and fell, injuring her head.

He may be innocent of the two allegations, but either way his reputation has taken a massive hit over the past year. But he seemingly doesn't care, he continues to put himself in situations that turn into a "he said, she said" ordeal. The latest charge could turn into a painfully drawn out case that sucks millions of dollars in court fees and advertising away from Big Ben

I'm sure he will get out of the charges because he has money, and power, but he has certainly lost everyone's respect.

The QB grabs the headlines, but what about other Steeler mishaps?

Santonio Holmes was busted for smoking marijuana mid-season in 2008, not to mention his domestic violence charges in '06 that were later dropped. All was forgiven when he won Super Bowl MVP.

The kicker Jeff Reed is a one man disorderly conduct storm, collecting two separate charges over the past year. One was for destroying a gas station bathroom.

In March 2008, star LB James Harrison was arrested and charged with simple assault and criminal mischief stemming from a domestic altercation with his girlfriend.

Those are just the current players. Check out the rap sheets on former players (not including the infamous Plaxico Burress).

TE Johnathan Dekker was arrested in January 2009 and charged with obstruction of justice. In March 2008, WR Cedrick Wilson is arrested for simple assault, harassment, and disorderly conduct.

In June 2007, a 19 year-old woman accused LB Richard Siegler of spending several months persuading her to become a prostitute, and he took the first $450 she earned. Najeh Davenport was charged with child endangering, domestic violence, and unlawful restraint after a dispute with the mother of his son in October 2007.

All the above players were cut soon after the charges were filed. The Rooney family sends a loud an clear message: Don't get arrested or you will be cut... unless you are a good player. But since their reputation isn't like the Bengals, fans around the country look at each incident and are surprised.

With the Bengals the general consensus is "just another Bengal arrest". Well it's time for that perception to change. The Bengals did have the Rey Maualuga DUI setback, but other than that they have been quiet in the police blotter for the past three years.

In the past thee years, it's the Pittsburgh Steelers that are making the headlines off the field.

Rothlesburger is accused of RAPE for the 2nd time in a year.

Santonio Holmes is accused of assulting a women

Former Steeler Joey Porter( the guy who ,along with his gang,beat up and robbed Levi Jones) was arrested for DUI and assusting a police officer.

Is it just me or does it seem like when the Bengals did their stupid misdomeanors ( the kind of things you get a ticket for) the media slimed them as the worlds biggest bunch of criminals but, I havn't seen that sliming when it comes to the Steelers.

In the last year the Bengals have had what ? one DUI?

[ArmyBengal]

I can't say as I'm concerned one way or another about how others perceive the Bengals, but find it amusing that the Steelers are the ones dealing with it now. I don't care if they slammed for it or not, as I still think that organization is tops and probably explains the slack. Right or wrong, just how I see it.

[Dadraftnick]

My favorite part of the story is

The Rooney family sends a loud an clear message: Don't get arrested or you will be cut... unless you are a good player. But since their reputation isn't like the Bengals, fans around the country look at each incident and are surprised.

Dont do anything stupid and get arrested!! enless you're good then its OK

The Bengals did have the Rey Maualuga DUI setback, but other than that they have been quiet in the police blotter for the past three years.

[BengalPimp]

Hey, at least our guys aren't Rapists and Woman beaters.

They just get DUI's.

[Stripes]

The Bengals had one complete fluke of a stretch going into the 2006 season, and that's it. Never before, nor after, have they had any alarming problem with players getting arrested.

[HairOnFire]

When the Bengals were making national headlines San Diego quietly matched the Bengals arrest for arrest yet very little was written about the San Diego Criminal Chargers. Since 2006 the Bengals have mostly cleaned up their act while San Diego players continued to be arrested at a blistering pace, and almost always involving far more serious crimes. But again, the media continues to overlook the Chargers....just as they don't give a s**t about teams like the cocaine fueled Jags. And the reason they don't care about those teams is because there's no twist involved. No panache. No zing.

In my opinion a team needs more than simple arrest numbers to take the crown away from the champion. They need a unique person or star player to be the face of their stupidity. For a few examples, the Cowboys had Michael Irvin, the Vikings had the Wizzonator guy AND the Love Boat, and the Bengals had the unique star power/stupidity of the late Chris Henry's crime spree. And along those same lines, the Steelers now have Big Ben and his possee of cops cruising campus bars looking for underage strange to pork in bathroom stalls.

And that's all the zing you need, right?

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

In my opinion a team needs more than simple arrest numbers to take the crown away from the champion. They need a unique person or star player to be the face of their stupidity. For a few examples, the Cowboys had Michael Irvin, the Vikings had the Wizzonator guy AND the Love Boat, and the Bengals had the unique star power/stupidity of the late Chris Henry's crime spree.

I think that's true, and there are a couple other effects in play as well. You have to remember that journalists are lazy bastards who write the obvious story anytime they can. Partly I think the "Bengals as jailbirds" story was a natural tie-in with the whole "incompetent Bengals" thing. It just made an easier story. I do agree that the details of the Bengals' arrests were a little more salacious. Gunplay, underage girls, and barfing on cops sells papers. Finally, one distinction is that the Bengals kept taking guys with known issues even after all their problems, and I think they took hits for that. Frankly, I think it was deserved to a degree.

As for the Steelers, the conspiracy nut in me wonders if God-Dell didn't try to quash some of the press on those. Cat's out of the bag with Toothlessburger's second rape allegation though.