Mike Silver of NFL Network on Big Ben

I love that article. It oughtta be a sticky and all of us should individually forward it to NLFN.

 

He's hit the nail on the head there.

I also particularly liked the comment one person left:

 

Utter Nonsense and rhetorical hyperbole!
Everyone would be considered aging when the reality is if you're not_You're dead.
Ben is not 37 nor will he be for some years to come.
He's capable of hurting a team's D in mere seconds and teams, league wide, game plan for dealing w/ Roethlisberger. He's relevant, can throw, a constant threat on the loose. There is plenty left in the tank.

Nooooooooo,
Getting rid of your franchise QB, only to start the hunt for one all over again, is a great way to set your team back and ensure no SB victories for a long long time.

 

Playoffs in 1982, 83, 84...division titles in 83 and 84...AFC Championship game in 1984...I guess it depends on one's definition of "lean" years." Compared to other decades, the 80s were not a good decade. But it wasn't horrible, either.

 

And the Giants won a Super Bowl with a 9-7 record. I'm not sure what your point is.

Of the 28 teams in the league at that time, the Steelers finished 15th in wins. That's middle of the pack. Not great, but not bad. I don't see how "suck" can describe it.

And I don't see what Tomlin has to do with that. The game was different in the 80s and early 90s than it is today.

 

This is a really great way of summing up Ben as a QB. I always thought of Ben as a different kind of elite QB. He wasn't someone who surgically took you apart, but he was a guy who was a competent enough QB along with being able to usually make 4-5 flat out plays that virtually no other QB in the league could make anymore. But he seems to be losing that magic and combined with a questionable defense they really are going to have a hard time being competitive.

 

I agree. The eighties weren't as bad as most people make them out to be. Bad by recent Steelers standards, but not bad by a long shot.

 

But it's an asinine fear. Guess what, folks...Ben will not be the QB forever. He will "retire" eventually. So will Brady and Rodgers and Brees and Peyton. Let's take a poll of those fans and see how many of them are wasting their time trembling in their boots over the day their QB is done. I mean, seriously, is that what we're discussing?

I don;t know if Seahawks fans were fearful of Hasselbeck's departure...or Atlanta fans were fearful of life after Vick...or Colts fans were fearful of Manning leaving. But in each of those cases, things turned out just fine.

 

Ben's early success in the league probably hurt his development, relationship with Whiz, and made him a stubborn player. Ben watches film and did some great things. We don't see great Ben enough. I don't believe Ben did the necessary things to take his game to the next level. As a result, the team has always had an inconsistent offense with him as the QB. It shows up in the way Ben plays on Sundays.

I listened to an interview Stan Savran had with Dulac on 8/27/13. Dulac stated that the Steelers wanted Ben to take ownership of the offense this year. It's one reason why they didn't bring Batch or Leftwich back. There were times that Ben didn't know the plays within the offense. When questioned about the offense Ben would respond, "I dunno, ask Charlie." If Ben didn't know plays within his own offense, how much did he know about the oppositions defense?

It's possible that not having a veteran presence like Batch that knew the Steelers offense is hurting Ben's game this season.

This isn't the first time teammates questions Ben's work ethic off the field.
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=5132299

Ben helped this team win a lot of games on his talent alone. Ben's not going to improve physically as he ages. What happens now that the gifts that made him a good player are on the decline?

 

No, the point of the thread was Michael Silver's report.

Mac Daddyo, I believe, brought up the issue of the difficulties young QBs have in filling a legend's shoes. It was a point that became, perhaps, a bigger point by others.

Sometimes these threads turn into a game of telephone.

 

College? Screw that, how was his work ethic in grade school?

 

I really wish they would have kept Charlie as the 3rd QB and not wasted the pick on Landry Jones. That pick could have been used to fill one of the many holes on this team.

 

Dulac questioned Ben regarding a play and Ben responded, "I dunno, ask Charlie"

I said it was ONE reason why they didn't want to bring either QB back. Even as a coach on the sidelines.

The article is relevant in that it isn't the first time teammates questioned Ben's work ethic. I believe his poor work ethic off the field shows up on Sundays more often then not.

 

Yeah but by all accounts his work ethic has improved since then. This accusation is out of left field.

 

Maybe Ben resorted to his old habits? Maybe his teammates want Ben to do more off the field to help the team win games? Maybe Haley is tried of Ben's poor and inconsistent play? Why is this coming up AGAIN now?

The offense continues to struggle to maintain consistency and the QB is a big reason why that is the case.

 

I personally believe people don't change much. They can change in some ways, but people are who they are. Ben may have improved in that area, but I'll never believe he does as much as he should simply because it doesn't appear that's who he is. I work in a federal prison, people generally don't change much.

 

Ben is one big controversy, always has been, probably always will be. I'm sure he drives the Rooney's crazy. Ben would fit right in as a Cowboy, but in Pittsburgh he's an enigma

 

I believe that all these stories are coming from the Steelers. Not because they want to get rid of Ben but as battlefield prep for their attempt to extend Ben. I think the Steelers want a Tom Brady type extension. I can hear the conversation; "Ben we paid you a lot of money over the years and are happy with you performance . However, we have holes to fill, we are up against the cap we need for talent and we need cap room to do it. So how does 4 years 7 to 8 million a year sound. You did say you want a retiree a Steeler. We can surround you players to get to another championship or two but cant do it paying you 15 or 20 million a year. Time for the hometown discount."