Mean Joe doesn't like current team attitude?

Can someone summarize the story for me? I don't have the Gazette +, as I live in Charlotte.

 

I seriously doubt this attitude change is an anomaly found within the Steelers organization. It's just a snapshot of the "gotta get mine" attitude prevalent in much of todays society.

 

You are correct, but there was nobody on the Steelers that embodied that more than Mike Wallace last season. I'm sure when Greene was making these remarks, the number 17 just might have flashed in his mind a time or two.


This comment says it all:
“The scary thing is that players have a one-upsmanship about money; they sign a contract and they like it until someone signs a bigger one and now they don’t like it. I don’t like that. I don’t begrudge anyone money but it disrupts the football team.

Do you think the Wallace situation might have disrupted the football team last year??? HECK YEAH it disrupted the football team. From training camp to the last little whimpers at the end of the season, it disrupted the football team. I read the other day that Terry Bradshaw made $59,000 a year playing football in his heyday. Joe Greene probably made less than that. Some of these crybabies today make me sick and apparently Mean Joe feels the same way!

 

it's less about football and team nowdays, then it was back then.

 

Unfortunately we will never know if it was truly Wallace. As it stands these claims are nothing more than fan speculation with no evidence to back those claims. It would not surprise me if Wallace was part of if not all of the problem. However, what Steeler fans are doing with him is the equivalent of the Salem Witch Trials.

 

Joe is correct....we lost our way for about 2 seasons but Mr. Rooney is back and we are back on the original path that we used to be on. Why do you think that he's not bringing the likes of stark,colon,hampton? Starting over fresh ....the Steelers way!!

 

Thanks for the help Stummerfan. I think this is NOT isolated with the Steelers, but I think he has it pegged pretty well.

I was listening to the radio this morning and heard this statement (I don't remember it word for word, but will do my best)"

Too often in sports, fans mistake talent for value.

I thought that was really a neat statement. Hines Ward...most talented receiver? No. Brought more value to the team than other guys through the years? Yes. That I think is where this team is going forward right now. We are in a time of transition. Older vets are leaving, young guys we thought were going to meet needs are leaving, yet this team will march on. I look forward to the upcoming year and seeing last year's draft picks finally start to contribute as well as this years.

 

I could write a book on this topic. Free agency has been great for the players financially, not so great for the fans and the sport, in general. This is true in all pro sports.

 

Was he the ONLY problem with the Steelers last year? NO. We had several problems last year which contributed to a mediocre 8-8 season. Was he a MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR to our problems last year? Absolutely, yes. Maybe some fans do step over the line with their criticism but Wallace's shenanigans last year and, perhaps more importantly, his lack of production and dropped balls led the way to a disappointing season. I won't even talk about how he loses focus when he isn't as involved as he thinks he should be and how he feels like his skill set can be better served in a warmer climate.

 

What shenanigans? He held out? Big freaking deal, so did Hines and no one crucified him for it. THe only factual thing you have is dropped balls. As far as losing focus goes that's human nature. I'm not trying to defend the guy, but the scenarios y'all make up are truly incredible. Look at what the Dwyer situation. It's well documented that Haley uses a rotation of backs. Despite that knowledge people have spun it into Dwyer is so out of shape he has to tap out of games. I would say injuries played a far greater part in our 8-8 season than anything else.

 

Warmer Climate for his skill set is the very thing that will make him choke in the long run. Where does he thing all the playoff games in the AFC are? Denver BRRR, New Englang BRR, Pittsburgh BRR,Jets BRR, Up and coming Kansas City BBRR,Cincinnati BBBRR,Buffalo BBRR, Cleveland BBRR and now they are starting to play the Super Bowl in New York BBRR!!!! Have fun at your warm but wet your home games Mikey.

 

I agree that free agency has not been great for fans. However, free agency does not appear to have affected the popularity of sports. Popularity is the engine that drives sports. At the end of the day there are positives and negatives to free agency.

 

You could have fooled me. It seems that every time somebody levels a little criticism at Wallace you are quick to "defend" him and accuse those of leveling the criticisim of being on a "Salem witch hunt".

Losing focus is human nature, huh?! It shouldn't be for a multi-million dollar professional athlete who gets PAID TO HELP HIS TEAM WIN FREAKING GAMES!! Did Hines lose focus when the ball wasn't being thrown his way? NO! He blocked his freaking butt off! He stayed involved in the game by doing what he got paid to do and HELPING HIS TEAM WIN! Why couldn't Wallace do that? Why couldn't he at least make it look like he's contesting the defensive back for the football? At least make it look like you're making an attempt to catch an underthrown or overthrown football!

The dropped balls are the only factual thing I pointed out, huh?? So he didn't lose focus? His father didn't say that Wallace told him he wanted to play in a warmer climate that it was just too cold in Pittsburgh? The holdout and his lame duck status for the entire season weren't a distraction, huh?? Well, I think it was a distraction and it appears that one Mr. Mean Joe Greene just might think that those kinds of things are pretty distracting to a football team as well!

I have been extremely critical of Mike Wallace and I don't understand your comment about the "scenarios that y'all make up are truly incredible". What scenarios have I made up? I have been critical of Wallace based on factual information that anyone can look up if they care to take the time. To me what's incredible are those that seem to want to turn a blind eye to that primma donna's behavior and his shortcomings while he was here. He'll find out real soon that Tannehill is not Ben as he flounders in the warm environs of South Beach.

 

MY criticism is of people like yourself that love to spin things into every possible scenario. You're right he is a professional athlete, but that doesn't stop human nature and people like yourself crucify him for being honest in an interview(losing focus). WHy are you comparing Hines to Wallace? You might as well be comparing apples to oranges. Hines is an anomaly and likely future member of the HOF while Wallace is pretty much just absurdly fast. SInce you clearly don't understand my witch hunt comment let me clarify it for you. You and others like you get on your high horse and crucify people using tiny tidbits of information provided by journalists as so called factual proof. Ignoring the fact that journalists frequently provide quotes and use them in a context that isn't necessarily accurate. In the process you fail to realize these journalists are frequently just trying to create controversy to get people like yourself riled up. As I said before it very well might be Wallace, but unlike you I will not jump all over him or any other player with only a small portion of the story. For all you know MJG could be referring to Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders, but the easy way out is to say 1+1=3 so it has to be Wallace. If she floats she's a witch, if she sinks oops.

WHo gives a flying @#$@#@ what his father said? Did Wallace say it? Who in their right mind wouldn't take Minnesota over Miami? Wallace never said it was too cold in Pittsburgh and the last time I checked the Vikings play in a dome. Although to be honest I couldn't tell you the last time I watched the Vikings play football either.

 

And my criticism is of people like you who live in this Pollyanna existence and take offense to any fan that dares criticize some goofball like Mike Wallace. I'm not crucifying Wallace, I'm criticizing Wallace which is my right as a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers and it's your right to disagree. I will criticize ANY player that seems to want to put themselves above the team. It's a team sport, and there is enough evidence to convict Mike Wallace in a court of law of putting himself above the team and that contributed to the team's pathetic performance last year. You can turn a blind eye to it if you'd like, but Mike Wallace is a SELFISH DIVA AND A ONE TRICK PONY WHO CONTRIBUTED (notice I didn't say he was solely reponsible) TO A PATHETIC EXCUSE OF SEASON!

And if you want to believe that MJG was talking about AB and Manny then go ahead. I think many reasonable people believe that MW is at least one of the players that MJG had in mind when he was leveling his criticism. Maybe he shouldn't be so critical, somebody might accuse him of being on a Salem witch hunt and unfairly crucifying some idiotic diva!

Is Wallace the only selfish player in the league? OF course not! Is he the only selfish player on the Steelers? NO! But he is the player that thumbed his nose at a $50 million contract (go ahead, tell me about how that's what was reported but that hasn't been proven) from the Steelers last year, held out and set the tone for the entire pitiful season IMHO.

I don't begrudge your right to defend Wallace but you seem to want to get on here and make railing accusations against those that have the nerve to criticize Wallace and want to call us names like "witch hunters" and "crucifiers". Please stop with the name calling and unfounded accusations. I have said absolutely nothing about Wallace that wasn't true. Admittedly, I DO NOT like the guy so am I a little biased against him at this point? GUILTY as charged. But my dislike has stemmed from his selfish, me first attitude that's been developing over the last couple of years.

Finally, I really think that Ben made him what he is today. Ben could have done the same thing with Darius Heyward-Bey that he did with Mike Wallace. Write this down. Wallace has already had his best years. HE will never see the kind of success in Miami that he saw in Pittsburgh and in 3 years he'll be a salary cap casualty.

 

After typing all of that you've made it abundantly clear reading comprehension isn't your strong suit.

 

Hardly, in pro sports it was always about money, always.

Franco Harris held out and he did it for money.
Playerd jumped to the USFL for money
Players jumped to the AFL in the '60s for money
Players jumped to the AAFC in the '40s for money
The Black Sox threw the 1919 WS for money as they thought Comisky was screwing them
The Players League, the Federal League, the Union Assoc were formed by pro baseball players in 1880's to 1910's for$
The Cincy Red Legs formed the first pro sports team in 1869 because they were good and people would pay to see them.

It was always about money, and as long as there are paying customers, it always will be.

 

Originally Posted by strummerfan
MY criticism is of people like yourself that love to spin things into every possible scenario. You're right he is a professional athlete, but that doesn't stop human nature and people like yourself crucify him for being honest in an interview(losing focus).And my criticism is of people like you who live in this Pollyanna existence and take offense to any fan that dares criticize some goofball like Mike Wallace. I'm not crucifying Wallace, I'm criticizing Wallace which is my right as a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers and it's your right to disagree
WHy are you comparing Hines to Wallace? You might as well be comparing apples to oranges. Hines is an anomaly and likely future member of the HOF while Wallace is pretty much just absurdly fast. SInce you clearly don't understand my witch hunt comment let me clarify it for you. You and others like you get on your high horse and crucify people I don't begrudge your right to defend Wallace but you seem to want to get on here and make railing accusations against those that have the nerve to criticize Wallace and want to call us names like "witch hunters" and "crucifiers". Please stop with the name calling and unfounded accusations.using tiny tidbits of information provided by journalists as so called factual proof. Ignoring the fact that journalists frequently provide quotes and use them in a context that isn't necessarily accurate. In the process you fail to realize these journalists are frequently just trying to create controversy to get people like yourself riled up.I will criticize ANY player that seems to want to put themselves above the team. It's a team sport, and there is enough evidence to convict Mike Wallace in a court of law of putting himself above the team and that contributed to the team's pathetic performance last year. You can turn a blind eye to it if you'd like, but Mike Wallace is a SELFISH DIVA AND A ONE TRICK PONY WHO CONTRIBUTED (notice I didn't say he was solely reponsible) TO A PATHETIC EXCUSE OF SEASON!

As I said before it very well might be Wallace, but unlike you I will not jump all over him or any other player with only a small portion of the story. For all you know MJG could be referring to Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders, but the easy way out is to say 1+1=3 so it has to be Wallace. If she floats she's a witch, if she sinks oops.And if you want to believe that MJG was talking about AB and Manny then go ahead. I think many reasonable people believe that MW is at least one of the players that MJG had in mind when he was leveling his criticism. Maybe he shouldn't be so critical, somebody might accuse him of being on a Salem witch hunt and unfairly crucifying some idiotic diva!


WHo gives a flying @#$@#@ what his father said? Did Wallace say it? Who in their right mind wouldn't take Minnesota over Miami? Wallace never said it was too cold in Pittsburgh and the last time I checked the Vikings play in a dome. Although to be honest I couldn't tell you the last time I watched the Vikings play football either.
Is Wallace the only selfish player in the league? OF course not! Is he the only selfish player on the Steelers? NO! But he is the player that thumbed his nose at a $50 million contract (go ahead, tell me about how that's what was reported but that hasn't been proven) from the Steelers last year, held out and set the tone for the entire pitiful season IMHO.

Finally, I really think that Ben made him what he is today. Ben could have done the same thing with Darius Heyward-Bey that he did with Mike Wallace. Write this down. Wallace has already had his best years. HE will never see the kind of success in Miami that he saw in Pittsburgh and in 3 years he'll be a salary cap casualty.


Please back up and slowly read my response to your post. I think you may find that my reading comprehension is much better than you originally gave me credit for. Most of my responses, as I'm sure you will see once you take the time to re-read it, are direct responses to your preceding post. Now, just because I didn't respond in the way you think I should have responded or in the way that perhaps you would have responded doesn't necessarily mean that I didn't comprehend what you were trying to convey in your previous post. I am sorry if you felt that I ignored your post altogether and just went off on some tangent. I did try to address your key points in a meaningful and respectful way. Maybe you didn't comprehend that.

 

First off pal words mean things and how you arrange words affects the meaning. If you look at my original post containing the witch trial comment(you might want to read slowly and enunciate) despite your claim in no way shape or form did I call you or anyone else a name. Here it is just for your benefit.

Notice how I didn't say you are, you're, or anything even remotely similar? Okay good we've got the name calling bs out of the way.

YOu are assuming that I'm offended by your criticism of Wallace. I honestly couldn't care less what you say about Wallace or any other player for that matter. However, I do have a problem with people that make wide accusations based on speculation, hyperbole, and conjecture which outside of the drops is all you've provided. If you're actually paying attention, you should have noticed in the quote provided that I wouldn't be surprised if Wallace was the problem. Despite your claims to the contrary I'm not defending the guy. I'm just tired of the baseless accusations. Unfortunately for you to be convicted in a court of law you need facts and the only facts we have are his drops. We don't even have hearsay because none(not a single one) says Mike Wallace told me blah blah blah. The only thing we have is people like yourself trying to read between the lines and subsequently claiming it to be factual.

Here's one more just for you(Try and pay close attention here).

Do I make any reference as to what I believe in that quote? I'll even help you out here, the answer is not yes. The simple fact is we don't know who MJG is referring to. You and your admitted bias of Wallace ASSUME that is who he's referring to and that is your right. However, to sit here and make claims about how so and so said this when clearly they didn't is complete and utter bs.

 

Well first off I'm not your pal so let's get that straight. You absolutely have implied very strongly in your post that those who criticize Mike Wallace are on some sort of witch hunt and you've used sensationalistic language to describe those that do strongly criticize him (i.e. witch hunt, crucify him, get off your high horse, etc.). So don't give me your garbage about how I'm not comprehending what you're saying. I know you've thrown in for good measure that Wallace may be the problem while you at the same time call the people that criticize Wallace names (in your own subtle sort of way).

I am very critical of Mike Wallace. I think he's a punk, a diva, self-centered, puts himself above the team, a complainer, a one-trick pony who thinks he's the second coming of Jerry Rice when he's actually closer to the second coming of Renaldo Nehemiah and I'm glad he's taken his no talent to South Beach. I have based these opinions that I have on actual things that Mike Wallace has said and done. Now you can say the press has exaggerated some of the things reported about Wallace, and maybe they have, but if you look at the sum of the parts, it leads me to belive exactly what I expressed about Wallace. This isn't speculation, hyperbole or conjecture on my part. This is an opinion that I have formed based on what I've read, watched, listened to and observed about Mike Wallace over the last few years.

And this all started with Mean Joe Greene's thoughts on how players today have become more self-centered and money hungry and how it is disruptive to a team when a player is that way. I commented on how I felt that Mike Wallace had to be a player that he had in mind when he said that. Now, I can't read MJG's mind, but I can surmise based on common sense and deduction that he COULD be talking about a player like Mike Wallace. And if he was talking about a player like Mike Wallace he could actually have Mike Wallace in mind when he makes a comment like that. I simply made that observation above and unfortunately, this has devolved into witch hunts and crucifixions and high horses. If Greene wasn't talking about someone like Mike Wallace then who do you think he could have been talking about. Maybe Heath Miller?

 

i believe tom brady took far less then he could have gotten this year for the teams sake.

tell that to the guys that bust their butts in the semi-pro leagues that make peanuts but love to play the game. it's a paid professional sport with paying customers. shoots that theory in the arse i'd say.

to put my comment in perspective , it was about how joe greene felt about the nfl nowdays as opposed to his days, as the original poster was asking.

 

Holy cow! FOr the love of god I haven't called you or anyone else names. If I want to call you a @#@$@ I will look you straight in the eye and call you @##@@ there will be no sensationalistic language(please spare us all the you'll get knocked out retort). I'm not throwing anything in for good measure either. You can call it anything you want, but it's nothing more than an assumption. To make a deduction you need evidence which is something you don't have. You're sitting there saying in this article it says this and 1+1=3 and in this one it says this and yet once again 1+1=3. Now MJG comes along and doesn't name anyone and yet once again you say 1+1=3 and 3+3+3= 9 so it must be true.

 

Where are these semi pro leagues of which you speak that shoots my theory in the ass? The Pittsburgh Passion?
Surely you don't mean the Arena League? The CFL? Those guys ain't there for the love o' the game, they are there because that's their path to the money.