Ward's outburst only hinders Steelers' focus down stretch

BALTIMORE -- The Pittsburgh Steelers have bigger problems than a three-game losing streak. Wide receiver Hines Ward has all but questioned the team's decision to sit Ben Roethlisberger for Sunday's 20-17 overtime loss to Baltimore, suggesting the team needed him to win a critical game.

Big Ben might be questioned for being inactive, but the decision wasn't his to make. (AP)

The team needed him all right, but Roethlisberger had a good excuse for missing the game: Coaches wouldn't let him play. And they wouldn't let him play because the team's neurosurgeon suggested it, citing post-concussion symptoms that Roethlisberger experienced in last week's practices.

So Big Ben sat. The Steelers lost. And Hines Ward isn't happy.

All of which I understand. Now it's time someone tells Ward to button up. Hines Ward is paid to catch passes, and he's good at it. Very good. He's not paid to offer amateur advice on concussions -- especially other people's concussions -- and it's high time Mike Tomlin, Roethlisberger or his teammates clue him in.

Because now, more than ever, the Pittsburgh Steelers need to pull together for a stretch drive that could put them in the playoffs. But if they have Ward publicly questioning his own quarterback -- the quarterback who, by the way, delivered Pittsburgh two Super Bowls in the last four years -- they're in trouble.

After Sunday's loss, Ward insists he wasn't interested in engaging in "a war of words" with Roethlisberger, wasn't dividing the team and wasn't questioning his manhood. But the more he tried to explain himself the more you wondered what exactly he was trying to say, especially after Ward pointed out that he played through concussions and lived to talk about it.

"We needed him out there," he said of Roethlisberger. "We wanted him. This is a big game."

I understand that, too. But I also understand it's only a game. We're talking about someone's career here, someone who suffered four concussions since 2006, and, I'm sorry, I defer to the experts -- not Hines Ward. So does Tomlin, telling Roethlisberger on Saturday that he wasn't playing and that backup Dennis Dixon -- a guy who had thrown one pass in his pro career -- would take his place.

"It's simply this," Tomlin said. "He passed neurological tests throughout the week that we gave him repeatedly. He had headaches with exertion, which is a symptom of post-concussion deals. It persisted throughout the week. We didn't feel comfortable allowing him to play."

Sounds simple to me. So Roethlisberger sat down, Dixon played and the Steelers took Baltimore into overtime -- losing when an interception produced a game-winning field goal. Maybe some people blame Dixon for the loss, but I'm not one of them. Given the circumstances, he played -- and the Steelers played -- far better than I imagined, taking the Ravens to the mat in a game Baltimore absolutely, positively had to win.

But what good feelings there might have been were mitigated by Ward's comments, and it's time Tomlin sits down for a heart-to-heart with his receiver. Ward is one of the veteran leaders of the Steelers, and he should be frustrated with a loss that drops the defending Super Bowl champions two games behind division leader Cincinnati and casts doubt over their playoff future.

But let's be real here: Tomlin didn't have a choice. He should not have played Roethlisberger. Ward's complaint, he said, was that Tomlin didn't tell him ... or some of his teammates ... until Saturday, calling it "a shocker," but big deal. So he didn't tell them. His first concern is the health of one of his players, not a division within the locker room Roethlisberger's benching might produce.

"Maybe Hines was uninformed," Tomlin said. "I didn't give him a detailed explanation that went down into the decision-making in terms of what Dr. [Joseph] Maroon [the team neurosurgeon] suggested. In response to that, I will give him that information. I will give our football team that information. At the time that the information came down I was more concerned about getting Dennis ready to play."

As I said, Dixon did OK. He threw a touchdown pass. He ran for another score. And he wasn't sacked. So he threw a fatal interception. It happens, especially against Baltimore. Get over it.

Now it's time for Pittsburgh to get its act together for the next month, and that can happen if Hines Ward is along for the ride. He promises he will be, and I don't question the guy. What I do question is why he'd ever wonder what Ben Roethlisberger is doing on the sidelines after suffering a concussion -- especially after everything the NFL has been through the last couple of weeks.

"It's tough," he said of Roethlisberger's situation. "You don't want to jeopardize your future. It's a toss-up: You either play and jeopardize your future, or you sit out and worry about the big picture.

"Ben had a concussion. He's been in an accident. I can't judge another man. But I've played with a concussion before. I think everybody [has]. It's unfortunate they decided to hold him out. The frustrating part is we didn't know until Saturday, but we came in here and fought our tails off.

"This is the biggest game of the year. We lost and kinda dug ourselves a hole. Me being a competitor I just wish we would've had all our weapons out there. Fortunately, Dennis came in and did well, but we just fell short. It's frustrating."

I'll tell you what's frustrating: The Steelers have Roethlisberger ready to play next weekend, and we're wondering -- or Ward is wondering -- why he didn't play Sunday. Forget about it, OK? And look what's ahead.

The Steelers' next two games are against Oakland at home and in Cleveland -- both of which they should win. Then they have Green Bay and Baltimore at home, and based on what I saw Monday there is no reason to believe they shouldn't beat the Ravens. Then it's a season finale in Miami.

I see that schedule, and I see a team that can make a run like its 2005 finish, but only if it stays together. Hines Ward is going to have to trust his head coach here. Then he's going to have to shut up. The Pittsburgh Steelers have a chance if they don't pull apart.

"We will not go gently," Tomlin promised. "We will unleash hell here in December because we have to. We won't go into a shell. We'll go into attack mode because that's what is required."

No, what's required is going into attack mode with everyone moving forward. And, yes, Hines Ward, I'm talking about you. Forget about Roethlisberger and start worrying about Oakland. And Cleveland. And Green Bay.