Would you like to see these former athletes represent Notre Dame in a different type of contest?
Those of you of a certain age might remember “College Bowl”, a program that featured teams of college students testing their knowledge. Well, NBC is bringing it back in June with Peyton Manning as host and Cooper Manning as his assistant. Presently, Notre Dame is not listed among the schools that will participate. But wouldn’t that be cool if it did?
In fact, what if their was a “College Bowl” version in which the schools were represented by famous athletes that went there? Notre Dame certainly would have its pick of the litter with all of the big names associated with it. With only three spots available, that makes the selection process even tougher. However, we think we’ve picked a team that would be perfect to represent the Irish, one that was put together by virtue of name recognition, if not qualification to be quizzed on their knowledge of the world we live in.
SportsPulse: Mackenzie Salmon spoke with Jerome Bettis at USA TODAY Sports’ virtual radio row and the hall of famer discusses what he feels the future holds for Ben Roethlisberger.
SportsPulse: Mackenzie Salmon spoke with Jerome Bettis at USA TODAY Sports’ virtual radio row and the hall of famer discusses what he feels the future holds for Ben Roethlisberger.
Former Steelers fullback, Tim Lester, known as “The Bus Driver” for his talent as the lead blocker for Jerome Bettis, died Tuesday at age 52.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers fullback, Tim Lester, known as “The Bus Driver” for his talent as the lead blocker for Jerome Bettis, died Tuesday at age 52.
Drafted in the 10th round by the Los Angeles Rams in 1992, Lester came to the Steelers in 1995. Bettis followed in 1996 after he was traded from the Rams, and the reunion proved rewarding. For three seasons, Lester led the way as “The Bus” gained 4,281 yards and 21 touchdowns.
In four total seasons and 41 games (34 starts), Lester carried the ball 15 times for 38 yards and two touchdowns and added 26 receptions for 176 yards.
At age 31, Lester signed as a free agent with the rival Dallas Cowboys in 1999 and appeared in five games.
Former NFL fullback Tim Lester, founder of the Milton Steelers youth football program, died Tuesday, Jan. 12, due to complications related to COVID-19 at the age of 52. https://t.co/idRPsArRF9
“The Bus” says the Steelers need to re-establish a commitment to the run, or they’re going to lose games they can’t afford.
Who knows better about running the ball in Pittsburgh than Steelers former running back Jerome “The Bus” Bettis?
Bettis, a Hall-of-Famer who plowed through defenders for 10 seasons in Pittsburgh, is “sick” about his former team’s inability to score/convert in short-yardage situations and the deficiency with their run game as a whole.
Like all of us, Bettis was baffled by the Steelers being repeatedly stopped on the goal line in the Washington Football Team loss.
The Steelers were stood up five times from the Washington 1-yard line Monday night.
“I was sick. Unbelievable,” Bettis told Ed Bouchette of The Athletic. But he also knows there’s time to fix what’s ailing them.
“You have to work on your deficiency before you get to the playoffs. Their No. 1 priority should be re-establishing the running game because when you get to the playoffs, if you have a weakness, you will be exposed.”
Though the Steelers had a perfect season until Week 13 without much of a run attack to speak of, Bettis says the playoffs are a whole different ballgame.
“When you get to the playoffs, you play complete football teams, and you will have a harder time beating playoff-caliber teams if you can’t run the football.”
Pittsburgh ran into a team — the Washington Football Team — that exposed their incompetence on the ground. Incompetence they’ve had for a good part of the season but could still pull off wins.
One of the best short-yardage backs in the history of the NFL, Bettis knows the one thing that is lacking in Pittsburgh’s run game.
Commitment.
“The only solution in fixing the running game is the commitment,” he said. “You got to be committed to it because once you commit to it then the offensive linemen, they have a different attitude about it, the running backs look at it differently, just the whole offense changes. You can’t just fix the running game with Xs and Os. It doesn’t happen that way.”
To be committed, you must be consistent, and abandoning the run game entirely will hurt the Steelers chances of winning their next four games and, subsequently, their chance at keeping the top seed.
Bettis says once the offensive linemen know there’s a commitment to toting the rock, their approach will change. He also believes the Steelers have the backs to be efficient.
“Between Conner and Snell, you got two tailbacks who can pound the football, OK?” said Bettis. “They came from running schools in terms of what they did in college, so they can do it. Now the problem is you have to allow them to do it.
It all goes back to the C-word.
“All they need is the commitment to pound the football because in practice everything changes, and when you come out in the game, it changes,” Bettis said. “You can’t ask Ben to throw 51 times every game. As great as he is, if you ask Ben to throw 50 times, Ben will win 8 out of 10 of those games. The problem is, chances are one of those two games he loses is a playoff game that you can’t afford to lose.”
Former Pittsburgh Steeler and Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis is challenging you to a weekly fantasy series to win cash and prizes.
Former Steeler and Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis has teamed up with Modelo and DraftKings to celebrate the return of football.
In doing so, Bettis has a challenge for you: Beat him in fantasy football –DraftKings style — with the Beat Bettis challenge.
The fantasy football series, exclusively on DraftKings, gives NFL fans who “beat Bettis” a $5,000 split. After the nine-week contest ends, the grand prize winner gets a trip for two to Las Vegas and two tickets to a future Las Vegas Raiders football game.
In talking with Bettis, his enthusiasm was evident. He’s thrilled about the Beat Bettis challenge and thinks fans should be, too.
“I’m excited to motivate fans to compete against me in this Beat Bettis challenge fantasy football series,” Bettis told Steelers Wire. “If they can beat my score each week, then they’ll have a chance to share in $5,000. If they can bring their fighting spirit week-to-week and go head-to-head against me, if they think they have what it takes, then all they have to do is sign up, and we can get it on!”
“Teaming up with Modelo is that it’s such an authentic partnership,” Bettis said. “We both champion the fighting spirit, and that’s really what motivated me to want to be involved in this partnership.”
“When I think about my fighting spirit, it showed itself when I was going to retire back in ’04, and I decided to come back for another year to try to become a champion. That’s where I was really able to see it in me, burning brightly.”
To help tell the story of Bettis’ fighting spirit, Modelo produced a short appropriately titled, “The Fighting Spirit of Jerome Bettis“. To film the spot, Bettis returned to the scene of his last stop in Detroit and was flooded with emotions reminiscing about the 2006 Super Bowl.
“To go back to certain spots on the field and think about those moments… Coming out of the tunnel and remembering all of those Terrible Towels swirling, and the energy that was in the building, it was really special. To know that [the Steelers] had the fighting spirit. That’s what it was about.”
That’s why it all ties in to [the campaign] with Modelo.
Pittsburgh Steelers famed running back Jerome Bettis filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of his co-owned trucking company.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis has filed a lawsuit against Pittsburgh-based energy group EQT in an effort to recover monies lost after a business agreement went south.
As first reported by Jarrett Bell of Steelers Wire parent company USA TODAY, IntegrServ, a trucking company partially owned by Bettis, filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday, which seeks $66 million in damages. The trucking company is seeking this amount due to breach of contract and the defaming of IntegrServ’s reputation.
Together, Bettis and his brother own 51 percent of the trucking company.
Bettis claims that racial discrimination caused EQT to withdraw from an agreement with IntegrServ, one that began as a “commitment to use minority-owned businesses”. Their contract was set to run through February 2021.
“We brought the lawsuit to fight for what is right,” Bettis told USA TODAY Sports. “I have to stand up and say something when I see what I believe to be racial injustice. I am calling it out because it’s wrong, and the time is now to do something about it.”
The lawsuit also states that the new CEO of EQT, Toby Rice, detested IntegrServ and stated, “He’s stealing my money,” in reference to the previous agreement Bettis had with EQT prior to Rice becoming CEO.
In a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports, EQT denies any wrongdoing and states it will “vigorously defend ourselves against this unwarranted lawsuit”.
Several former Pittsburgh Steelers were selected as best to wear their respective numbers.
Eight players from the Pittsburgh Steelers past made CBS Sports’ list of “best players to wear each jersey number in the NFL,” half of whom were career-long Steelers.
The list combed through each jersey number, and CBS Sports selected the best player to wear it.
Denver Broncos former quarterback John Elway beat out Ben Roethlisberger as the best player to wear No. 7. Since it’s a league-wide list, that’s an easy mistake to make. But CBS really lost me when they also considered former Cincinnati Bengals QB Boomer Esiason.
Here’s what CBS Sports had to say about the four players who spent their entire careers in the black and gold:
No. 43: Troy Polamalu, DB
Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers
Polamalu had an instinctual feel for the game. Images of him timing the snap to hurdle the offensive line and sack the quarterback were common on Sundays. The Pro Football and College Football Halls of Fame inductee recorded 32 interceptions, 14 forced fumbles and three touchdowns. The California native won two Super Bowls in addition to being named a six-time All-Pro and an eight-time Pro Bowl selection.
He was the No. 16 overall selection in the 2003 NFL Draft.
No. 58: Jack Lambert, LB
Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
Lambert won four Super Bowls as a member of the Steelers. The NFL Defensive Player of the Year recorded 1,479 tackles, 28 interceptions and 23.5 sacks. He has been selected to nine Pro Bowls and is an eight-time All-Pro. Lambert was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
No. 59: Jack Ham, LB
Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
Former Steelers are dominating yet another list. The same happened with our Ultimate NFL Draft last month. Ham has recorded 32 interceptions and two touchdowns. The Pro Football and College Football Hall of Famer went to eight Pro Bowls and was an eight-time All-Pro. Like Lambert and Blount, Ham was named an honorable mention to the CBS Sports Steelers Franchise Five.
No. 75: “Mean” Joe Greene, DT
Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
The former No. 4 overall selection played 13 seasons in the league. He won four Super Bowls and was an eight-time All-Pro during that period. His No. 75 jersey is one of two — Ernie Stautner being the other — to be retired by the Steelers franchise. Greene also made 10 Pro Bowls and has been inducted into the Pro Football and College Football Halls of Fame.
Others appearing on the list include defensive backs Rod Woodson (No. 26) and Donnie Shell (No. 31), running back Jerome Bettis (No. 36), and linebacker Kevin Greene (No. 91).
Every Sunday as a kid, Kevin Dotson sat in his basement surrounded by Steelers memorabilia, cheering on his favorite football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Twenty years later, he’s now a member of that very team. Instead of wearing a player’s …
Every Sunday as a kid, Kevin Dotson sat in his basement surrounded by Steelers memorabilia, cheering on his favorite football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Twenty years later, he’s now a member of that very team. Instead of wearing a player’s jersey as a Steelers fan, he’ll be wearing his own jersey as a Steelers player.
Dotson was just two days old when his favorite player, Jerome Bettis, suited up for his third game as a Pittsburgh Steeler. Dotson was 10 when he watched Bettis play in the first Steelers Super Bowl of his young life.
One of the many things Dotson inherited from his father, Kelcy, was a passion for Steelers football. He quickly understood what it meant to be part of Steeler Nation — fans who love their team’s winning mentality and hard-nosed battles on the gridiron. “Somebody like The Bus running eight people over, running over the team’s best player,” Dotson said. “And Hines Ward, he wasn’t just catching the ball, he was coming across the middle of the field and laying players out.”
Only quarterback Ben Roethlisberger remains from those teams he grew up watching. “That’s another thing that’s been crazy for me. When I was just a kid, I thought, I’m going to block for Big Ben when I get older. But now I actually get to do it. So, this is going to be one of those dreams to get to play with people that you’ve looked up to for pretty much your entire life.”
Dotson’s road to Pittsburgh started at Louisiana-Lafayette, where he was part of the Ragin’ Cajuns offensive line. Future NFL guards, Donovan Williams and Mykhael Quave had a grip on the guard positions, so Dotson redshirted his 2015 freshman season and served as a member of the scout team. “[Williams and Quave] were there for five years and won four bowl rings,” Dotson said. “So, there’s no way I was going get in there and start. I wish I did my research on that… But once the next year came along, I said, ‘There is no way I’m sitting on the bench again.'”
And Dotson made (beyond) good on that statement. He earned the starting job at right guard the second week of the 2016 season, where he entrenched himself for the remainder of his collegiate career. Dotson quickly became a well-respected leader on the team, and his 52 consecutive starts were the second-most by any offensive lineman by 2019.
When asked where Dotson got that grit, he didn’t hesitate. “I get it mostly from my dad. Since I was young, he taught me if you’re hurt, you get up; if you’re injured, then you’re down. So, there’ve been a lot of games that I’ve been hurt. I feel like I’ve been hurt enough to get out of the game, but I knew I could keep playing. So, I always kept playing.”
Dotson has athleticism in his blood. Kelcy played outside linebacker at Louisiana, and his late mother, Denise, was a sprinter. His uncles, Alvin and Dennis McKinley played for the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals. Alvin’s six seasons with the Browns included 12 games against the Steelers, one of which was a 36-33 loss in the Wild Card round of the 2003 playoffs when McKinley sacked Tommy Maddox for a five-yard loss. Alvin also blocked a Todd Peterson field goal in 2002 and an attempt by Jeff Reed in 2006.
Nothing negative
Louisiana was one of the best running teams in FBS Dotson’s senior season. His powerful run-blocking helped pave the way for a ground attack that finished fifth overall nationally. The Ragin’ Cajuns were ranked third nationally in yards per carry (6.28), fourth in rushing touchdowns (42), sixth in rushing yards per game (257.4), seventh in total rushing yards (3,604), and fifth in fewest sacks allowed per game.
Not only was Dotson awarded the prestigious first-team AP All-America honors but also earned spots on the USA TODAY, Sports Illustrated and Pro Football Focus first-team All-American squads.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Dotson
Incredibly, despite his touted career at Louisiana, Dotson was not invited to the NFL Combine. And with his pro day canceled due to COVID-19 concerns, he had to scramble to make up for lost visits. His agent, Martin Fischman, coordinated a local crew to help professionally record credible measurements and combine-like drills. Video footage of height, weight, broad jump, vertical leap, bench press, positional, pass protection, and lateral drills — everything teams’ scouts would typically evaluate at the combine and pro day — were expertly packaged and sent electronically to the masses.
Dotson’s numbers spoke for themselves. His 4.80 40-yard dash would have landed him first among offensive linemen at the combine; 34 bench presses, third; 32-inch vertical, seventh; and his broad jump, 11th.
These unusual circumstances of a global pandemic have caused a shift in how the NFL offseason typically operates. With the travel ban in place and pro days canceled, the Steelers had to rely on tape and word-of-mouth perhaps more than they usually would.
It worked in Dotson’s favor.
“I knew once I watched the tape, this guy was on our list,” Steelers OL coach, Shaun Sarrett, said after the NFL Draft. “The first game I watched him, he popped on film, and then from there, I continued to watch more film, and he just got better and better. The Steelers did a great job of identifying him in the scouting department, and they got him to me, and I watched him, and I agree with them.”
Not only did Dotson shine on game tape, but people who know Dotson best remarked glowingly. “There were no negative things,” said Sarrett. “I kept trying to find something negative about the kid, and I couldn’t find it; talking with people, talking with coaches. I’ve got a lot of texts already from coaches around the league saying that’s a great pick by us by picking this guy.”
Though the Steelers never had the opportunity to give Dotson a physical or work him out before the draft, general manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin conversed with him on FaceTime, and the Steelers sent a rep to scout him at the East-West Shrine Bowl.
That virtual pro day may have just sealed the deal for Dotson going to the Steelers in the fourth round. “I don’t know what it was, but I just wasn’t anticipating even getting picked right then and there,” admitted Dotson. “But I felt like I’d done enough to get picked in that round; in my mind, I was hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.”
Self-motivated man
So far, this offseason has been a bizarre one for the NFL, and the rookie class has taken the brunt of it. Not only was the glitz and glamor of the draft nonexistent, but instead of the rookie transition program and minicamps, newcomers are faced with virtual learning and Zoom meetings.
Dotson thinks this offseason is going to reveal a lot about the rookie class. “It’s going to make or break a lot of people because a lot of people aren’t self-motivated,” Dotson said. “There is going to be a great divide of who’s really been working and who’s not.”
The young guard counts himself among the former. “That’s one of the things I pride myself on is being self-motivated; I don’t need somebody around to make me work. I’m going to get the work done just to make sure I’m good.”
For Dotson, training hasn’t changed — he knows there’s a gap between being drafted and being a starter and he wants to make sure that gap is filled. “I’ve still been training like I haven’t gotten on the team yet, so I’m training just as hard. I’m working for that spot.”
It’s a tremendous challenge for a rookie to come in and supplant a veteran for a starting position, but no more difficult than this year — players haven’t even met coaches, and the existence of a traditional training camp is still in question.
The challenge certainly doesn’t faze Dotson. If anything, his experience at Louisiana propels him to be a starter in 2020. “I’m not one of those people that came here to sit on the bench. If it comes down to it, I will… just know I’m going to be trying to get on the field every week.”
“I know what type of player you have to be to be an offensive lineman for the Steelers. It’s all what football represents — being a tough guy, being a guy who knows what he’s doing, and being able to come off hard every play. So, I guarantee I’ll be that guy for the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Dotson injects youth into an offensive line that is the oldest in the league. He represents the first player drafted as the future of the offensive line, and will soon embark on what the Steelers hope will be a decade as a starter.
Whether Dotson sits behind a veteran this season or earns himself a starting position, the Steelers are that much better for having him on the roster.
