This is Different

Exactly. The other part everyone overlooks is if Ben isn’t completely bought in to the system how in the world can the coaches expect the other players to be. To me it undermined the coaches ability to coach , game plan and lead the team as well. I think you have the exact same issues when you look at a guy like Aaron Rodgers. His situation is a little different in that I don’t think it is a lack of preparation his part. His issue is ego and constantly challenging Authority, He knows better. I think the guy would be an absolute nightmare to coach. There is a reason with all of his talent he only won one Super Bowl. That kind of ego creates division and uncertainty on the team and it undermines the coaches. It may work for a year or two but it isn’t sustainable.

I think Belicheck was able to prevent that situation with Brady simply because Belicheck was not going to let anyone not even Brady not buy in on the system. The situation in Tampa even though they won a Super Bowl was much more tenuous when Brady didn’t have an authoritative figure above him to manage things there. He clearly ran the show and you can not have the Qb being above the Coaches and have long term success. I feel like that was a battle that Tomlin always had with Ben in Pittsburgh. Again this is just my observation and reading through the tea leaves over the years. Lets hope that Kenny doesn’t develop into that as so many of these successful QBs seem too. I am sure it is a fine line and hard to manage for both the Coach and the Franchise QB’s. That Ego is often what makes these QB’s so successful but it has to be managed.

 

There’s always that one guy. Do you work for MSM your pretty good at twisting the narrative.

 

I loved Ben. He was one of my favorite players. My whole point in starting this post was more about Pickett and less about Ben. You can’t deny how vastly different they are. It is weird to look back and see a smaller player back there for one. Their styles are vastly different and why can’t we applaud and appreciation them both for what they bring to the table. Perhaps comparing the two I should have propped uo Ben more for his physical attributes.

 

Twisting what I said. There was no whining. Simple observation on their differences and mainly to point out what Kenny brings to the table.

 

Ben wasn’t dumb. He was just extremely confident in his physical gifts. He had so much success in winning games when he first came into the league and when the play broke down he didn’t need to study as much.

 

Perhaps we have different standards

 

You and I are usually always on the same page. I just see this one a little differently than you. Ben was one of my favorite players. There is no other QB I would want for a fourth quarter comeback.
However it was well known by Steelers players and even Bruce Arians whom Ben was closest too that Bens strengths were in his physical talents and improvising. I think Ben had so much success early on and he could really process fast and buy time with his legs and his stature to find the open guy, that studying all of the little intricacies for a needed edge wasn’t required in his case.

Gus like Brady had to work for it. They had to become masters of film study and game preparation to even have a remote chance of starting. I believe over time that developed a work ethic that served them well over the course of their career. Ben was all about instinct you could see it play out over the course of games throughout his whole career. I always said why don’t we just go to the no huddle in the first quarter and let Ben be Ben because that was when he was at his best. I believe that is why Ben struggled to get along with some of his OC’s because he felt restrained within a system or at least their system. The downfall with Bens playing style and my only gripe I had against Ben playing with instincts and his physical gifts was the turnovers at in opportune times. Two other QB’s that I feel were or are similar to Ben in many aspects are Favre and Josh Allen today. You live with the good and the bad.

I always felt when we were playing against well coached teams or disciplined teams like the Patriots it was Ben all by himself (with out the OC and a game plan) going against Brady their OC and Belicheck and their defensive game plan. I felt like those were the only moments where I wished he would have been a little more about being a student of the game or a film junkie. The other thing that always seem to bore out was the amount of games we would be behind only to have Ben play backyard ball in the fourth Quarter for a miraculous fourth quarter comeback. I felt like the first three and half quarters we were playing within the OC’s game plan and Ben was keeping us in the game under those restraints only to break it open in the fourth quarter when he was free to play his way.

I just see it very differently with Pickett. I don’t see nearly as many fourth quarter comebacks because I don’t see us falling behind as much. I see Picket playing with in the system and thriving within it because system play suits him better than Ben because he is a film junkie. Does that mean he is better than Ben ... no not at all, just different. The out come of the games will probably be more predictable and in alot of ways the games may be alot less exciting without all of those fourth quarter comebacks and miraculous plays. However if it decreases the turnovers at in opportune times and assures us success in some big games I am willing at least to see if that kind of change will result in the ultimate success of Super Bowl wins.

 

LoL. Yeah....those plays...are the same from...Whisenhunt...to Arians.....to Haley....to Canada. LoL. None of those offenses are even the same. Again not everyone has to study the same.
I guess You have never seen that.
LoL. Critical thinking Is a good thing... Pouncey said the opposite, and so has R. Foster......so who do You believe.....how about not believing in what people tell You, and think for yourself. 5 OC’s, and two HCs, and yet successful with every one of them. He was either a genius, or put in the work. Can't be magic. Think about it.

 

Our Ds struggle in most Patriots games also....were they not prepared, or studying???

 

I wasn't referring to you. I was talking about some of the other posters in this thread that took it upon themselves to bash Big Ben. He is an all-time great quarterback and yet they talk about him like he was Cliff Stoudt. Insulting him at every turn. Terry Bradshaw won 4 super bowls with the greatest collection of talent in the history of the NFL, before free agency really hit and they were able to keep all those players. Ben led them to 3 super bowls in the free agency era and nowhere near the talent that the 70's teams had....but that's not good enough for them.

Franco and Rocky get hurt in 1976, these fans say "Best defense ever! They would have won another one if not for injuries! What a shame."

Worst offensive lines imaginable. Lose L Bell, Antonio Brown, Ben playing hurt himself in the playoffs, these fans say "What a bum! That's just and excuse! Disappointing performances by him. Dumb! Lazy! Underperformed! Ben is a jerk!".

It gets sickening after a while hearing that crap. I was lucky enough to live through both eras and loved both great runs and all the players. Some choose to acknowledge only one of the two greatest quarterbacks in Steelers history, even though one of those two abandoned Pittsburgh and all its fans because they booed him, he refused to come back to Pittsburgh, openly hated his coach and didn't even attend his funeral....and that's the guy they absolutely love and admire.

 

Twisting the narrative? Easy there, Chief. Just adding a little levity. Also, no idea what MSM is.

 

Isn't that something added to soy sauce???

 

I think that's MSG. I don't work for them either.

 

Hahahahah. Yes they both have said that. They both have said He was a guy that didn't have to study that hard.
Why
Why Why is that so hard to understand. I guess you never met a person that didnt have to study as hard as others. I find that extremely hard to believe. I also noticed You skip this part in every comment.....Hey You do You ,and go with the narrative You like the best. You don't know Him....I don't know Him. I've heard it said both ways, but I don't choose to go by what others say....I choose to think for myself. Yes those offenses were way different, those plays, and calls were different and if You didn't notice this.....well I'm wasting My time even typing this.

 

I completely understand that. Could Ben have gotten more wins by being that maniacal hard worker? Probably so. But my argument wasn't that being that maniacal worker doesn't make a difference, it was that Ben's career wasn't consistent with someone that coasted on his talents. He certainly wasn't the hardest working guy on the team, but he had to be a hard worker on some level... otherwise his trajectory of consistent improvement never would have happened. He couldn't have been lazy as some have alluded to. I've played professional sports and know that only a select few are talented enough to get by with little to no work ethic at all. Ben may have been talented, but he wasn't THAT talented.

 

unlikely

 

The thing that held Ben back from more championships was the defense. From like 2013 until 2020 or so the defense was GARBAGE.

 

Exactly

especially since there is only one played between now and 2025

February of 2024

 

Losing Shazier was such a killer

 

Maybe the Ben teams of the last decade believed their own hype (including the coaches) and they kept falling short of expectations. Sure they had injuries here and there in the post season but even then they really had no business losing some of those playoff games, not to mention losing to bottom feeders during the regular season.

This team and Tomlin perhaps has a lot to prove and they’re looking like they have the pieces. Cautiously optimistic that this is a successful team. I don’t want to say Tomlin will get another ring but I’m thinking it. Tomlin teams always do best when everyone counts them out but the opposite seems true also.

 

Kahn was a part of those moves as well though...

 

Colbert built three teams that made the Super Bowl, including two champions, but he also had some great moves since 2012. This current roster that has so many people excited was mostly built by Colbert. That includes finding a stud like Highsmith in the third round. He might have even found the team a new franchise quarterback on the way out the door.

 

23 season
24 season
It's not that difficult

 

Apparently it is so I will help you

The 2023 season Super Bowl is played in 2024

Therefore there will only be one by 2025