Jerome Bettis is known as one of the greatest running backs of all time.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame running back established himself as one of the best running backs in the NFL during the 90s and early 2000s as a member of the Los Angeles Rams early in his career before moving on to the Pittsburgh Steelers. During his 13-season career, Bettis went to the Pro Bowl six times, he won Offensive Rookie of the Year and won the Super Bowl in his final game at the conclusion of the 2005 season.
The burly running back -he was 252 pounds during his career at a 5-foot-11 frame- is known as one of the best players in Steelers history, spending the final 10 years (1996-2005) of his career in Pittsburgh.
With Bettis preparing for his participation in the American Century Championship, the largest celebrity golf tournament will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock , from July 10 through July 12, he took the time to talk about a range of football topics concerning his former teams, the Steelers and the Rams.
Q: I want to ask you about the Steelers. Aaron Rodgers has officially come back, he has said that this is going to be his last season. What are your overall thoughts on him coming back and what constitutes a successful season in his last year?
Bettis: A successful season is winning a championship. That's the goal every year. What does he measure as success? That part I don't know. But when you play for an organization like the Pittsburgh Steelers, the goal is to win a championship. If you win the division, that's always a nugget, because we play in the toughest division in football, so that's always going to be a challenge in and of itself. There's going to be small wins, but ultimately the goal is to win a championship.
Q: Obviously for that franchise, you know better than anybody, the expectation is to win a championship now. Obviously they've made some additions. They brought in Michael Pittman Jr, they brought in the running back Rico Dowdle. Do you think that this team stacks up better than it did last year, as far as contending in a tough AFC?
Bettis:Oh, 10 times better. They got more talent. The key when you are diminished from a talent perspective, you don't give yourself a chance. And I think that's what was happening. They just didn't have enough. They had some talented players, but they just didn't have enough talented players to compete with some of the other top caliber football teams, and you saw it once they got to the playoffs, the latter part of the season when they started to struggle.
I think they understood that, and they went and tried to retool and get more talent in the building. That's what they've done, and so let's see what happens this year. Obviously, there should be some motivation knowing that this is Aaron's last year, and I think that should carry through to the team, and hopefully play with a sense of desperation.
Q: Obviously, Mike McCarthy is an offensive guy and him and Aaron Rodgers, they worked so many years together. Rodgers is embracing this reunion, calling it a full circle moment. There's no doubt in your mind they should be a better offense this year. That's the expectation, right?
Bettis:100%, they should be a much better offense. Not only because of McCarthy, but because of the talent that they brought in. When you upgrade from a talent perspective, you should be much better on that side of the football, and that's that's what they'll get offensively.
Q: When you look at Rodgers and his overall accomplishments through two-plus decades. What is his legacy, having played in the same era as Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and so forth. What is his overall legacy to you?
Bettis: It's gonna be one of the greatest quarterbacks that has ever played the game. He won a championship. He showed us what great quarterbacks look like. He's a four-time MVP. His credentials speak for itself, and he's one of the greatest quarterbacks to have ever played the game. I think he'll go down as that and that'll be his legacy.
Q: I want to talk about Drew Allar. That pick was actually made during the draft and whatnot. Pittsburgh is preparing for the future. What are your overall thoughts on him and what do you think he learns from Aaron?
Bettis:Well, hopefully he can pick up a whole lot. When you have a Hall of Fame player at your position in the building, you should soak up everything you can, right. Hopefully that happens, and Drew sees it, understands it, and utilizes it. Because that's a rare opportunity to have a player of that stature and ability in the building, so hopefully that helps springboard him to a great career as well.
Q: Why do you think Pittsburgh selected him? What traits stand out most to you?
Bettis:You look at him, he's a dynamic football player. He's made some bad decisions in his day, and I think that's what you gotta clean up. But you look at the physical traits and ability, it's there. You look at him at the end of his junior year, there was talk about him being a top 10-15 pick. He decided to come back, and it didn't work out the way he wanted to, and got injured, and his stock fell, but it doesn't change that his ability is still there. His capabilities are there. I think he's a really good quarterback that just needs to learn the NFL game, and you can't ask for a better teacher than Aaron Rodgers.
Q: I don't know if you're great with player comparisons, but with Drew, is there a certain quarterback you can think of in comparing him to somebody?
Bettis:He's a pretty big kid. He's definitely not as athletic as Ben was. Ben could move, he was a big, big dude, but he could move. I don't know if he's as athletic as Ben, but in terms of size, he's got that size. I'm thinking of the guys in the league that are that tall, he's got to be 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 right. He's up there, so I just think from the physical perspective, he's supremely talented. He's got a big arm. He can make all the throws, so it's just about learning the NFL game, and I think he's in a great position to learn behind Aaron Rodgers.
Q: I want to talk about the Rams. Obviously, it's an interesting situation with them. They go with Ty Simpson in the first round, even though they have a Super Bowl-caliber roster. They're trying to get over the hump. What are your overall thoughts on that pick? Obviously, they're preparing for the future, but do you feel that they maybe should have tackled another position of need as they try to win the Super Bowl right now?
Bettis:Here's the thing. When you talk about championship caliber teams, there's not much need there, right? And it's about depth. So you say, do I add another receiver? I got two great receivers, but do I add another one in depth? Do I add another offensive lineman? With them you're always gonna question the decision. If they got another receiver, people would have said you already got two. You got more depth, but it doesn't make you say, 'Wow.' No pick that they were going to take was going to make you say, 'Wow.' Because they're a championship caliber team, so I believe they did the right thing.
When you're drafting for depth, where do you want the best depth? At the quarterback position? So they did exactly what they were supposed to do. You draft for depth when you're a championship team, and the quarterback position is where you ultimately need the best depth over the course of the season, because when you lose your starting quarterback, you're in big trouble unless you've got depth right. You got another really good player right behind him, and that's what they've done.
Q: The Rams are preparing for a situation before Matthew Stafford even retires. They're preparing for the future. You look at the Stafford situation, he just signed the extension, he signed the new contract. Could you see Matt honestly playing another few years, because this could be one of those situations where he's not even close to retiring. Could you see that happening?
Bettis:The possibility exists, but it could also go the other way. There was talk of retirement a year ago, two years ago, so it could go either way. From an organizational standpoint, do you want to take the chance of not having a quarterback for the future. I think what they're doing is the right thing. You've seen the organization that did it that way, you look at Kansas City, you look at Green Bay, you look at some of the teams that did it the way that the Rams are doing it. You can't knock what the Rams have done, because when you look at teams, for instance, you look at the Steelers. They were playing for championships, and did they ever think about the quarterback position? They did not, not until Ben was in the latter part of his career.
And by that point they were still good enough to win games, but they didn't have the opportunity to be high in the draft. That's the scenario that you deal with, and when you don't have that luxury, you wish you had it, and that's what's happening now with the Steelers. But the Rams, I think they did the right thing.
Q: When you, when you look at this Ty Simpson kid, obviously he's not Drew Aller, he's a little bit on the smaller side, he's about 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, give or take. What are your thoughts on him? Do you have a player comparison for him?
Bettis:Not really, you got a lot of smaller guys who have been really good. One of his superpowers is accuracy. You look at the quarterbacks that have been accurate through their careers. I don't really have a comparison, because I don't want to start comparing these guys to Hall of Famers. You gotta let them develop but obviously learning behind a Hall of Fame caliber player in Matthew Stafford, you can't beat it.
Q: With the Rams, they're so close, right? They almost beat the Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game. What do they need to do to get over the hump? Are they your favorites entering this season, or is it still the Seahawks or somebody else?
Bettis:One of the favorites. The problem is, they're playing in a division that they beat each other up. They got three of the best teams in the NFC in the same division. That's tough, right? It's going to be a challenge, but yeah, I really like the Rams. The last couple years they have been an outstanding football team. They can continue on the same path.
Q: Is it just one of those things where they need to execute in situational football? Because one play is the difference against a team like the Seahawks.
Bettis:That's right, it's just a few plays that make the difference. They could have easily won the football game against the Seahawks. That's how close they were.
Q: What are your overall thoughts on Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame alum like yourself? Do you have any sort of relationship with him and your overall thoughts on him?
Bettis:I got a chance to meet him, just chopped it up. Very, very minor, but he is exceptional. He's going to be spectacular as a running back. I just hope that the Cardinals give him the resources he needs to be successful. That's been a knock on the Cardinals. They haven't given the really, really good draft picks the opportunity to be great, and so that's when you look at, are they going to beef up the offensive line? Would they do some of the things that they need to do to allow him to be as great as he possibly can be?
That's yet to be decided, we know that, but as an individual talent, I think he's one of the best running backs that I've seen come out in an awful long time. I was super high on Saquon Barkley when he came out of Penn State. I'm super high on this young man coming out of Notre Dame. He is a special, special talent.
Q: Who is the best running back in the NFL right now?
Bettis: Bijan Robinson, no question. He does everything well, he's exceptional, runs with a lot of contact, balance, physicality. Runs inside, he does everything well. He catches the ball out of the backfield extremely well. He's super talented and he's found his kind of way in terms of the NFL as a running back. You gotta figure it out and he's figured it out and you're gonna see him explode the next couple of years.
Q: Talk about the American Century Championship.
Bettis: It's just gonna be exciting. It's the 37th year of it, and it's getting better every year, so it's gonna be outstanding to be a part of. But for the fans, if you get a chance to watch it or see it, it's gonna be spectacular.
Q: What is a good finish for you this year?
Bettis:My highest finish is 15th. I would love to get somewhere in the 20s. I want to be in the 20s, maybe late 20s. That's my goal. If I can get there, then it's a mission accomplished.
