Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger wants to play against the Bengals “like it’s a normal football game” Animosity is no stranger when the
Bengals and Steelers are playing one another. No shortage of injuries
Dre Kirkpatrick Jersey , fines, and suspensions are handed out after every matchup, and it’s taken its toll on those involved.“Every game I’ve been
in against the Steelers has (had) some type of aggressive hits, or something
dirty going on,” said Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd.Nobody wants to see this.
The fan bases don’t like to watch these games. While there are some NFL fans
that will say this is good old-fashioned football, most others will say that
rivalries like this are bad for the game. But the players are the ones that
despise these kinds of games the most.“You know, it’s AFC North football,” said
Steelers’ quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. “It’s one of those game that can get
chippy at times. You hope it doesn’t. You hope it’s just a hard-fought football
game but sometimes it gets a little chippy. So, we’ll do our best to put all
that in the past behind us and play like it’s a normal football game.“It’s not
about just the physicality of the football game to me,” he continued. “It’s when
it gets the extracurricular stuff that you wish would be cut out of it — and
hope is cut out this time.”That is all well and good, but it is easier said than
done. It will take more than a snap of the fingers to put years of ugly history
in the rear view mirror.“Well, I think on our side, we’ll put it behind us,”
said Roethlisberger. “We are going to go in and play like it’s a normal football
game. AFC North physical football game. We can only control half the players out
there though, so we know how important this game is for us to try and get a
‘W.’”By only mentioning “half the players,” Roethlisberger happened to omit the
one player that comes to mind whenever anyone thinks of this rivalry: Vontaze
Burfict.It’s no secret that the Steelers don’t see eye-to-eye with Burfict. For
instance
http://www.thebengalslockerroom.com/authentic-c.j.-uzomah-jersey , in the latest installment of this series, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster
delivered a devastating blow to Burfict’s head, ending the linebacker’s season.
When Smith-Schuster was asked about it in a postgame interview, his teammate
Antonio Brown was heard yelling “Karma,” over his teammate. That play has become
so iconic in Steelers’ lore that the image of Smith-Schuster standing over an
unconscious Burfict with “Karma”in the background has been made into a
T-shirt.Smith-Schuster has since confessed: “I don’t have to pay for anything.
When I go to bars, I don’t have to pay for drinks or anything. ‘Yo, we
appreciate what you did,’ and stuff like that.”But despite all the beef between
Burfict and the Steelers, Roethlisberger decided to take the high road.“He’s a
good football player,” said Roethlisberger of Burfict, “Honestly, I have said
this to him on the football field, he is a phenomenal football player. [He’s]
very smart, physical, can make all the plays and so you need to know where he is
in that sense, yes, because of how good he is.”Roethlisberger even came up with
a plan to protect himself against Burfict.“[I’ll] just tell the linemen to block
really well.”Even if Roethlisberger didn’t mean what he said
Womens Kevin Huber Jersey , he still made a solid effort to ease the tension as much as he could. We’ll see on Sunday if the Steelers really do keep
themselves under control.Dre Kirkpatrick offers some perspective on how he was
able to keep his emotions in check.“Before me and [Brown] got cool, we didn’t
like each other,” said Kirkpatrick. “I’m going into the game... like ‘How could
I get into it with him?’ At the end of the day, that’s not playing football.
That’s going out there trying to bull somebody or pick fights. At the end of the
day, we lost, so we’ve got to change something.”“At the end of the day, it’s
football,” said Boyd. “You can’t go out there and play scared, play frightened.
You’ve got to go out there and hit. It’s hit or be hit. Those are the games that
are going to be hard fought and those are the games you have to bring it to get
the win. It’s a (divisional) game. Not saying we don’t come out and bring it
every game, but it’s something about the Steelers when we play them, and the
Ravens. Those type of games, we’ve got to be super locked in, super prepared and
focused.”Even though we’re not even halfway through the season, this upcoming
game against the Steelers already seems like a must-win for the Bengals. As
Cincinnati is chasing their first postseason berth since 2015 — which was ended
in a dramatic fashion against the Steelers— picking up a division win would go a
long way to help. Staying focused will be very important, especially since the
Steelers will enter this game as the most penalized team in the NFL.Let’s hope
that good football wins out over high tension. There are only four teams still
fighting for the 2018 lives at this point in the season, which means 28 other
teams are looking forward to the 2019 season. That means they are thinking about
free agents and draft picks, really anything that could improve their team so
they are still playing this time next season.The NFL is very particular about
when certain things happen during the offseason. One such thing is when team are
permitted to talk to upcoming free agents
Kevin Huber Jersey White , and when teams with new head coaches are allowed to start training camp. Here are some of the most important dates for
the 2019 offseason:February 3: Super Bowl LIII, Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta,
Georgia)February 19: First day for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition
PlayersFebruary 26 - March 4: NFL Scouting Combine (Lucas Oil Stadium -
Indianapolis, Indiana)March 5: Deadline for clubs to designate Franchise or
Transition PlayersMarch 11: Clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into
contract negotiations, with the agents of pending Unrestricted Free Agents on
other teams. Often referred to as the “legal tampering period.”March 13: New
League Year and Free Agency Begins at 4 p.m.All players, whose contracts expire
this offseason, will officially do so.Top-51 Rule begins, which means all clubs
must be under the 2019 Salary Cap. However, only the top-51 salaries are counted
against the cap until rosters are paired down to 53 in September.Teams may begin
signing free agents from other teams.Teams may officially begin trading players
still under contract for the 2019 season.Prior to 4 p.m on March 13: Clubs must
submit qualifying offers to their Restricted Free Agents with expiring contracts
to retain a Right of First Refusal/Compensation.Clubs must submit a minimum
salary tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with
expiring 2018 contracts who have fewer than three accrued seasons of free agency
credit. March 24 - 27: Annual League/Owners Meetings (Phoenix, Arizona) April 1:
Clubs that hired a new head coach (this includes the Bengals) after the end of
the 2018 regular season may begin offseason workout programsApril 15: Clubs with
returning head coaches may begin offseason workout programsApril 19: Deadline
for Restricted Free Agents to sign offer sheets with other clubs.Mid-April (Date
TBD): Full NFL regular season schedule releasedApril 25: First Round of the 2019
NFL Draft (Nashville, Tennessee)April 26: Second and Third Rounds of the 2019
NFL Draft April 27: Fourth - Seventh Rounds of the 2019 NFL Draft May 3-6 or May
10-13: Rookie mini-camps may be held (teams can choose which of these dates they
prefer, but not both)
