updated 4:28 p.m. ET Feb. 20, 2006

NEW YORK - Don’t be surprised if Jerome Bettis throws a player or two under the bus during his new television gig.

The former Steelers running back prides himself on his honesty, and promises to tell nothing but the truth when he starts his NBC job as a studio analyst for Sunday night football games.

(NBC is a partner in the joint venture MSNBC).

“It won’t be difficult at all,” Bettis said during a conference call Monday to talk about his career move. “The nature of this business is to call it as you see it. If you look at my track record in Pittsburgh, I’ve always told the truth. Honesty is the best policy. If a guy is not playing well, he knows it. I’m just telling the truth. As long as I call it like I see it I’ll be fine.”

The Bus retired after helping the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 in the Super Bowl earlier this month in his hometown of Detroit. His first game will be in Pittsburgh on Thursday, Sept. 7, when the Steelers receive their Super Bowl rings.

NBC Universal chairman Dick Ebersol said he wanted to be sure Bettis wouldn’t have to choose between being in a studio or attending the game.

“Now he’s got the best of both worlds,” Ebersol said.

Bettis wasted no time giving his opinions, especially on his former team. When asked what the Steelers need to do to improve, he said they needed to find depth on the offensive and defensive lines and in the secondary.

He also defended running back Duce Staley, the former Steelers starter who was hurt for most of the season and took heavy criticism for his inability to stay healthy. He played in five games last season, as Bettis and Willie Parker carried the load.

“Nobody knows this but he told Coach (Bill) Cowher, ’When I am 100 percent, if there is a question about who plays, I want Jerome to play because this is probably his last year,”’ Bettis said. “For him to do that amid a lot of criticism he was going to take, that was a very unselfish approach that he took. I really believe he’s got a lot left in the tank.”

Bettis ended his playing career after 13 seasons, retiring as the NFL’s No. 5 career rusher. In recent seasons, though, he was relegated to more short-yardage or goal-line situations. He finished with 43 yards on 14 carries in the Super Bowl.

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But his career almost ended on a flub. With the Steelers looking to close their 21-18 playoff upset of Indianapolis in the AFC divisional round, Bettis fumbled at the Colts 2. Luckily for Bettis, Mike Vanderjagt missed a potential tying 46-yard field goal and the Steelers held on.

Because of that he can sympathize with Lindsey Jacobellis, who used a flashy move when gold appeared to be hers in the snowboardcross and instead fell. She settled for silver.

“My career could have ended on a play that I went out on the field arrogant, I did some things I never should do,” Bettis said. “I learned a valuable lesson in that. If you go out there with a sense of arrogance and you haven’t accomplished anything, you set yourself up for failure. Looking at that and looking at her miscue, it brought back some painful memories for me.”

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