BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- There's a crude old saying about opinions and about how everyone has one, just like a certain body part, a nose, for example.
Former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis made his opinion known regarding the fact Pittsburgh not only did not make it to Super Bowl 52, it did not even get the opportunity to play for that chance after losing, 45-42, to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.
Appearing with Adam Schein of SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio here on Thursday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame running back was frank in his criticism of his former team and specifically Mike Tomlin.
“It’s a lot on the players because obviously they went out there and didn’t play well, but it’s an awful lot on the coaching staff as well. Coach Tomlin, he didn’t have them prepared," Bettis said. "He didn’t have them ready, had them looking past this football game, and you just can’t do that in the NFL when you’re playing in the playoffs. Each team in that playoff deserved to be there, and they didn’t give the proper amount of respect. And I don’t think they were prepared enough for that football game.”
Everyone is open to criticism when they lose. And the Steelers fell behind in that game, 21-0, before battling back against a team that also beat them 30-9 in the regular season. And it's criticism Tomlin opened himself up to when he sat down with NBC's Tony Dungy and openly spoke of playing the Patriots twice this season, once Dec. 17 in Pittsburgh -- a disputed game the Steelers lost, 27-24 -- and in the playoffs.
But given that the Jaguars beat the Steelers twice, couldn't the possibility just be they were a better team than the Steelers in 2017? That's an argument that can at least be made, as well.
Former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch didn't disagree with Bettis' statement when I spoke to him Thursday. But he didn't agree with it, either.
"That's Jerome's opinion," Batch told me. "I can't say that. I don't know what the extent of the question to Jerome was. I can't say I agree wholeheartedly because I don't know how Jerome meant that."
As for the Patriots, they didn't seem to have much of an opinion one way or the other regarding Tomlin's statement or one that came from the Steelers, including safety Mike Mitchell in Sports Illustrated, that said they looked forward to playing the Patriots again.
"We were just business. We were focused on what we had to do," New England running back Dion Lewis told me. "That’s just how we keep our focus. The outside noise is not important to us."
So they took no offense at those statements?
"It’s always good to be confident," Lewis said.