Ben Roethlisberger Signing An Extension

Probably big enough to have it's own thread.

Steelers working on extension, but are not close to a deal yet.

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2019/03/13/ben-roethlisberger-contract-steelers-moves/stories/201903130102

too bad they didnt have time to get it done before FA started, they could use the savings

Can we just cut him?

https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/03/15/ben-roethlisberger-leadership-problems-criticism-antonio-brown-trade-raiders-leveon-bell-season-jets

Even bigger, Ben has not agreed to an extension as of yet.

https://mobile.twitter.com/JFowlerESPN/status/1106588720969510914?s=19

Reading into this, they have until 4pm to restructure a deal. If they don't, we are screwed when it comes to cap space. Will need to cut just to sign draftees.

Edit: 4pm tomorrow.

nine vegetable wrote:

Can we just cut him?

https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/03/15/ben-roethlisberger-leadership-problems-criticism-antonio-brown-trade-raiders-leveon-bell-season-jets

The shit storm of the century. Is there anyone left on this team that isn't absolutely out for himself?

I'd give him a deadline.Play hard ball the Steeler way. Either sign the extension or you'll get what AB got. GONE AND RICHER.

Seriously this should be Ben's last year. He needs to retire. I predict he has his worst year ever.

nine vegetable wrote:

Can we just cut him?

https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/03/15/ben-roethlisberger-leadership-problems-criticism-antonio-brown-trade-raiders-leveon-bell-season-jets

That SI piece is a piece of shit. He blatantly lied about what Isaac Redman said and took it completely out of context. Isaac Redman has disputed this himself and called Ben a great leader.



As for Josh Harris... That dude wasn't even on the team for an entire season, he got released, and hasn't been heard from until now. I watched the footage of the intentional fumble that Harris claims. Honestly I do think Ben fumbled on purpose, but I also support Ben having done it. Why? Because there was no freaking reason Todd Haley should've been calling a running play with barely a minute left to play, on first down, and with the Bengals only having one timeout. Kneel on the damn football and be done with it. Things like that are why Todd Haley isn't in Pittsburgh anymore, and it kind of makes me support Ben not being Haley's biggest fan.

As for Ben's extension, the team will get it done. Ben has always taken team friendly contracts.

I shouldn't have quoted those two.

But Ben's still an ass.

nine vegetable wrote:

I shouldn't have quoted those two.

But Ben's still an ass.

Must not be that bad of a guy. I mean I think he rubs some people the wrong way, but who doesn't have quirks that other people don't like? Nobody is perfect. The vast majority of Ben's teammates see him as a leader, some don't seem to like that he uses the media to call guys out, while others don't seem to mind him doing it at all.

Either way he's our field general, and he just put up the best statistical season of his career getting nearer to 40 years old. We need him.

I know Ben has done too much to list for us. I know he's the best QB we ever had. I know there are a lot of games we wouldn't have won with a different QB including this game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GEtlF6Zftg

(Give James Harrison a game ball too.)

I also know Ben has brought turmoil to this team with his motorcycle crash and the rape accusations.
We got past all of that stupidity only to have to hear the stuff he says on his radio show.

I'd like nothing more than to be proven wrong but with all the drama we've seen the last 5 or so years I think Ben will regret not retiring after last year and 2019 is going to be a long season.

If you go back and check all of my off season posts prior to this year I have always looked forward to a great year but this team is not the same. Still no leaders and way to easy for the media to pick on us. It's our own fault for making it easy with no discipline and no one to follow except guys like AB,Bell and Porter who are gone but I bet not forgotten. Maybe by us but not in the locker room. There will still be a divide.

Call me crazy but I feel it in my gut. We are not even close to being done with the circus.

Man I hope I'm wrong.

@solardave wrote:

I know Ben has done too much to list for us. I know he's the best QB we ever had. I know there are a lot of games we wouldn't have won with a different QB including this game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GEtlF6Zftg

(Give James Harrison a game ball too.)

I also know Ben has brought turmoil to this team with his motorcycle crash and the rape accusations.
We got past all of that stupidity only to have to hear the stuff he says on his radio show.

I'd like nothing more than to be proven wrong but with all the drama we've seen the last 5 or so years I think Ben will regret not retiring after last year and 2019 is going to be a long season.

If you go back and check all of my off season posts prior to this year I have always looked forward to a great year but this team is not the same. Still no leaders and way to easy for the media to pick on us. It's our own fault for making it easy with no discipline and no one to follow except guys like AB,Bell and Porter who are gone but I bet not forgotten. Maybe by us but not in the locker room. There will still be a divide.

Call me crazy but I feel it in my gut. We are not even close to being done with the circus.

Man I hope I'm wrong.

I think we're going to be just fine. They do need to nail the draft this year. As much as I couldn't stand Bell and Brown having that kind of talent leave for other teams definitely hurts. That being said we have 10 draft picks and we've signed a couple of solid free agents that should shore up some of our trouble spots. I think things will actually get better not having ultra-selfish players like Bell causing huge distractions all season long, and Brown throwing temper tantrums and crying about not getting the ball thrown his way enough. Now the guys can just play, and have fun. I think our roster is guys that want to be on this team, guys that want to be Steelers. We cut out the cancer, and I think we'll actually be better for it.

Of course, my disgusting optimism could turn out to be totally wrong, but I just want to try and be positive I guess.

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

@solardave wrote:

I know Ben has done too much to list for us. I know he's the best QB we ever had. I know there are a lot of games we wouldn't have won with a different QB including this game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GEtlF6Zftg

(Give James Harrison a game ball too.)

I also know Ben has brought turmoil to this team with his motorcycle crash and the rape accusations.
We got past all of that stupidity only to have to hear the stuff he says on his radio show.

I'd like nothing more than to be proven wrong but with all the drama we've seen the last 5 or so years I think Ben will regret not retiring after last year and 2019 is going to be a long season.

If you go back and check all of my off season posts prior to this year I have always looked forward to a great year but this team is not the same. Still no leaders and way to easy for the media to pick on us. It's our own fault for making it easy with no discipline and no one to follow except guys like AB,Bell and Porter who are gone but I bet not forgotten. Maybe by us but not in the locker room. There will still be a divide.

Call me crazy but I feel it in my gut. We are not even close to being done with the circus.

Man I hope I'm wrong.

I think we're going to be just fine. They do need to nail the draft this year. As much as I couldn't stand Bell and Brown having that kind of talent leave for other teams definitely hurts. That being said we have 10 draft picks and we've signed a couple of solid free agents that should shore up some of our trouble spots. I think things will actually get better not having ultra-selfish players like Bell causing huge distractions all season long, and Brown throwing temper tantrums and crying about not getting the ball thrown his way enough. Now the guys can just play, and have fun. I think our roster is guys that want to be on this team, guys that want to be Steelers. We cut out the cancer, and I think we'll actually be better for it.

Of course, my disgusting optimism could turn out to be totally wrong, but I just want to try and be positive I guess.

I want to be positive too but seeing what Connor had to say is real disheartening. We know first hand it only takes one to get it started and if Connor grows up to be Bell it's on again. I agree the potential to be even better than last year is there if we play as a team.

As far as Ben's statistics last year all that amounted to watching the playoffs on the couch. I'm not blaming that on Ben but don't forget the games he played poorly that we should have won. I believe in those games all he was thinking about was padding his stats. Not unlike AB. I'm not saying we can't win it all. I'm saying I don't think the circus has left town.

@solardave wrote:

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

@solardave wrote:

I know Ben has done too much to list for us. I know he's the best QB we ever had. I know there are a lot of games we wouldn't have won with a different QB including this game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GEtlF6Zftg

(Give James Harrison a game ball too.)

I also know Ben has brought turmoil to this team with his motorcycle crash and the rape accusations.
We got past all of that stupidity only to have to hear the stuff he says on his radio show.

I'd like nothing more than to be proven wrong but with all the drama we've seen the last 5 or so years I think Ben will regret not retiring after last year and 2019 is going to be a long season.

If you go back and check all of my off season posts prior to this year I have always looked forward to a great year but this team is not the same. Still no leaders and way to easy for the media to pick on us. It's our own fault for making it easy with no discipline and no one to follow except guys like AB,Bell and Porter who are gone but I bet not forgotten. Maybe by us but not in the locker room. There will still be a divide.

Call me crazy but I feel it in my gut. We are not even close to being done with the circus.

Man I hope I'm wrong.

I think we're going to be just fine. They do need to nail the draft this year. As much as I couldn't stand Bell and Brown having that kind of talent leave for other teams definitely hurts. That being said we have 10 draft picks and we've signed a couple of solid free agents that should shore up some of our trouble spots. I think things will actually get better not having ultra-selfish players like Bell causing huge distractions all season long, and Brown throwing temper tantrums and crying about not getting the ball thrown his way enough. Now the guys can just play, and have fun. I think our roster is guys that want to be on this team, guys that want to be Steelers. We cut out the cancer, and I think we'll actually be better for it.

Of course, my disgusting optimism could turn out to be totally wrong, but I just want to try and be positive I guess.

I want to be positive too but seeing what Connor had to say is real disheartening. We know first hand it only takes one to get it started and if Connor grows up to be Bell it's on again. I agree the potential to be even better than last year is there if we play as a team.

As far as Ben's statistics last year all that amounted to watching the playoffs on the couch. I'm not blaming that on Ben but don't forget the games he played poorly that we should have won. I believe in those games all he was thinking about was padding his stats. Not unlike AB. I'm not saying we can't win it all. I'm saying I don't think the circus has left town.

I don't think Conner will be Bell 2.0 He seems much more humble, and down-to-Earth than Bell ever was, or will be.

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

@solardave wrote:

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

@solardave wrote:

I know Ben has done too much to list for us. I know he's the best QB we ever had. I know there are a lot of games we wouldn't have won with a different QB including this game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GEtlF6Zftg

(Give James Harrison a game ball too.)

I also know Ben has brought turmoil to this team with his motorcycle crash and the rape accusations.
We got past all of that stupidity only to have to hear the stuff he says on his radio show.

I'd like nothing more than to be proven wrong but with all the drama we've seen the last 5 or so years I think Ben will regret not retiring after last year and 2019 is going to be a long season.

If you go back and check all of my off season posts prior to this year I have always looked forward to a great year but this team is not the same. Still no leaders and way to easy for the media to pick on us. It's our own fault for making it easy with no discipline and no one to follow except guys like AB,Bell and Porter who are gone but I bet not forgotten. Maybe by us but not in the locker room. There will still be a divide.

Call me crazy but I feel it in my gut. We are not even close to being done with the circus.

Man I hope I'm wrong.

I think we're going to be just fine. They do need to nail the draft this year. As much as I couldn't stand Bell and Brown having that kind of talent leave for other teams definitely hurts. That being said we have 10 draft picks and we've signed a couple of solid free agents that should shore up some of our trouble spots. I think things will actually get better not having ultra-selfish players like Bell causing huge distractions all season long, and Brown throwing temper tantrums and crying about not getting the ball thrown his way enough. Now the guys can just play, and have fun. I think our roster is guys that want to be on this team, guys that want to be Steelers. We cut out the cancer, and I think we'll actually be better for it.

Of course, my disgusting optimism could turn out to be totally wrong, but I just want to try and be positive I guess.

I want to be positive too but seeing what Connor had to say is real disheartening. We know first hand it only takes one to get it started and if Connor grows up to be Bell it's on again. I agree the potential to be even better than last year is there if we play as a team.

As far as Ben's statistics last year all that amounted to watching the playoffs on the couch. I'm not blaming that on Ben but don't forget the games he played poorly that we should have won. I believe in those games all he was thinking about was padding his stats. Not unlike AB. I'm not saying we can't win it all. I'm saying I don't think the circus has left town.

I don't think Conner will be Bell 2.0 He seems much more humble, and down-to-Earth than Bell ever was, or will be.

I'm hoping the comment about fans "who don't even have their shit together" criticizing players was something that was totally out of character but who knows. Only time will tell. For what it's worth I saw him as a humble, valuable player. His statement set me back a bit.

@solardave wrote:

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

@solardave wrote:

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

@solardave wrote:

I know Ben has done too much to list for us. I know he's the best QB we ever had. I know there are a lot of games we wouldn't have won with a different QB including this game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GEtlF6Zftg

(Give James Harrison a game ball too.)

I also know Ben has brought turmoil to this team with his motorcycle crash and the rape accusations.
We got past all of that stupidity only to have to hear the stuff he says on his radio show.

I'd like nothing more than to be proven wrong but with all the drama we've seen the last 5 or so years I think Ben will regret not retiring after last year and 2019 is going to be a long season.

If you go back and check all of my off season posts prior to this year I have always looked forward to a great year but this team is not the same. Still no leaders and way to easy for the media to pick on us. It's our own fault for making it easy with no discipline and no one to follow except guys like AB,Bell and Porter who are gone but I bet not forgotten. Maybe by us but not in the locker room. There will still be a divide.

Call me crazy but I feel it in my gut. We are not even close to being done with the circus.

Man I hope I'm wrong.

I think we're going to be just fine. They do need to nail the draft this year. As much as I couldn't stand Bell and Brown having that kind of talent leave for other teams definitely hurts. That being said we have 10 draft picks and we've signed a couple of solid free agents that should shore up some of our trouble spots. I think things will actually get better not having ultra-selfish players like Bell causing huge distractions all season long, and Brown throwing temper tantrums and crying about not getting the ball thrown his way enough. Now the guys can just play, and have fun. I think our roster is guys that want to be on this team, guys that want to be Steelers. We cut out the cancer, and I think we'll actually be better for it.

Of course, my disgusting optimism could turn out to be totally wrong, but I just want to try and be positive I guess.

I want to be positive too but seeing what Connor had to say is real disheartening. We know first hand it only takes one to get it started and if Connor grows up to be Bell it's on again. I agree the potential to be even better than last year is there if we play as a team.

As far as Ben's statistics last year all that amounted to watching the playoffs on the couch. I'm not blaming that on Ben but don't forget the games he played poorly that we should have won. I believe in those games all he was thinking about was padding his stats. Not unlike AB. I'm not saying we can't win it all. I'm saying I don't think the circus has left town.

I don't think Conner will be Bell 2.0 He seems much more humble, and down-to-Earth than Bell ever was, or will be.

I'm hoping the comment about fans "who don't even have their shit together" criticizing players was something that was totally out of character but who knows. Only time will tell. For what it's worth I saw him as a humble, valuable player. His statement set me back a bit.

I try to look at it from their perspective at times. These guys have thousands of fans, and we've seen first hand just how crazy some fans are. They probably get a lot of negative flak from so called fans whenever they do anything wrong, or don't light up the scoreboard. So I see it as a bit of a snarky remark towards a niche group of fans rather than something towards the fanbase in general.

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

@solardave wrote:

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

@solardave wrote:

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

@solardave wrote:

I know Ben has done too much to list for us. I know he's the best QB we ever had. I know there are a lot of games we wouldn't have won with a different QB including this game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GEtlF6Zftg

(Give James Harrison a game ball too.)

I also know Ben has brought turmoil to this team with his motorcycle crash and the rape accusations.
We got past all of that stupidity only to have to hear the stuff he says on his radio show.

I'd like nothing more than to be proven wrong but with all the drama we've seen the last 5 or so years I think Ben will regret not retiring after last year and 2019 is going to be a long season.

If you go back and check all of my off season posts prior to this year I have always looked forward to a great year but this team is not the same. Still no leaders and way to easy for the media to pick on us. It's our own fault for making it easy with no discipline and no one to follow except guys like AB,Bell and Porter who are gone but I bet not forgotten. Maybe by us but not in the locker room. There will still be a divide.

Call me crazy but I feel it in my gut. We are not even close to being done with the circus.

Man I hope I'm wrong.

I think we're going to be just fine. They do need to nail the draft this year. As much as I couldn't stand Bell and Brown having that kind of talent leave for other teams definitely hurts. That being said we have 10 draft picks and we've signed a couple of solid free agents that should shore up some of our trouble spots. I think things will actually get better not having ultra-selfish players like Bell causing huge distractions all season long, and Brown throwing temper tantrums and crying about not getting the ball thrown his way enough. Now the guys can just play, and have fun. I think our roster is guys that want to be on this team, guys that want to be Steelers. We cut out the cancer, and I think we'll actually be better for it.

Of course, my disgusting optimism could turn out to be totally wrong, but I just want to try and be positive I guess.

I want to be positive too but seeing what Connor had to say is real disheartening. We know first hand it only takes one to get it started and if Connor grows up to be Bell it's on again. I agree the potential to be even better than last year is there if we play as a team.

As far as Ben's statistics last year all that amounted to watching the playoffs on the couch. I'm not blaming that on Ben but don't forget the games he played poorly that we should have won. I believe in those games all he was thinking about was padding his stats. Not unlike AB. I'm not saying we can't win it all. I'm saying I don't think the circus has left town.

I don't think Conner will be Bell 2.0 He seems much more humble, and down-to-Earth than Bell ever was, or will be.

I'm hoping the comment about fans "who don't even have their shit together" criticizing players was something that was totally out of character but who knows. Only time will tell. For what it's worth I saw him as a humble, valuable player. His statement set me back a bit.

I try to look at it from their perspective at times. These guys have thousands of fans, and we've seen first hand just how crazy some fans are. They probably get a lot of negative flak from so called fans whenever they do anything wrong, or don't light up the scoreboard. So I see it as a bit of a snarky remark towards a niche group of fans rather than something towards the fanbase in general.

You are probably right. The problem is all these guys use social media to engage with fans. It has become a marketing tool for athletes. Maybe in addition to having retired players teach rookies about handling their money and sudden fame they should add a new lesson on how to know when to STFU.

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

@solardave wrote:

I know Ben has done too much to list for us. I know he's the best QB we ever had. I know there are a lot of games we wouldn't have won with a different QB including this game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GEtlF6Zftg

(Give James Harrison a game ball too.)

I also know Ben has brought turmoil to this team with his motorcycle crash and the rape accusations.
We got past all of that stupidity only to have to hear the stuff he says on his radio show.

I'd like nothing more than to be proven wrong but with all the drama we've seen the last 5 or so years I think Ben will regret not retiring after last year and 2019 is going to be a long season.

If you go back and check all of my off season posts prior to this year I have always looked forward to a great year but this team is not the same. Still no leaders and way to easy for the media to pick on us. It's our own fault for making it easy with no discipline and no one to follow except guys like AB,Bell and Porter who are gone but I bet not forgotten. Maybe by us but not in the locker room. There will still be a divide.

Call me crazy but I feel it in my gut. We are not even close to being done with the circus.

Man I hope I'm wrong.

I think we're going to be just fine. They do need to nail the draft this year. As much as I couldn't stand Bell and Brown having that kind of talent leave for other teams definitely hurts. That being said we have 10 draft picks and we've signed a couple of solid free agents that should shore up some of our trouble spots. I think things will actually get better not having ultra-selfish players like Bell causing huge distractions all season long, and Brown throwing temper tantrums and crying about not getting the ball thrown his way enough. Now the guys can just play, and have fun. I think our roster is guys that want to be on this team, guys that want to be Steelers. We cut out the cancer, and I think we'll actually be better for it.

Of course, my disgusting optimism could turn out to be totally wrong, but I just want to try and be positive I guess.

ill be real curious to see if tomlin tightens things up: with social media, bens talk show, player interviews etc. or if he lets everyone do whatever they feel like again. it will interesting to see if it was the leniency or just the couple players that were the root of the culture issues

@muncher wrote:

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

@solardave wrote:

I know Ben has done too much to list for us. I know he's the best QB we ever had. I know there are a lot of games we wouldn't have won with a different QB including this game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GEtlF6Zftg

(Give James Harrison a game ball too.)

I also know Ben has brought turmoil to this team with his motorcycle crash and the rape accusations.
We got past all of that stupidity only to have to hear the stuff he says on his radio show.

I'd like nothing more than to be proven wrong but with all the drama we've seen the last 5 or so years I think Ben will regret not retiring after last year and 2019 is going to be a long season.

If you go back and check all of my off season posts prior to this year I have always looked forward to a great year but this team is not the same. Still no leaders and way to easy for the media to pick on us. It's our own fault for making it easy with no discipline and no one to follow except guys like AB,Bell and Porter who are gone but I bet not forgotten. Maybe by us but not in the locker room. There will still be a divide.

Call me crazy but I feel it in my gut. We are not even close to being done with the circus.

Man I hope I'm wrong.

I think we're going to be just fine. They do need to nail the draft this year. As much as I couldn't stand Bell and Brown having that kind of talent leave for other teams definitely hurts. That being said we have 10 draft picks and we've signed a couple of solid free agents that should shore up some of our trouble spots. I think things will actually get better not having ultra-selfish players like Bell causing huge distractions all season long, and Brown throwing temper tantrums and crying about not getting the ball thrown his way enough. Now the guys can just play, and have fun. I think our roster is guys that want to be on this team, guys that want to be Steelers. We cut out the cancer, and I think we'll actually be better for it.

Of course, my disgusting optimism could turn out to be totally wrong, but I just want to try and be positive I guess.

ill be real curious to see if tomlin tightens things up: with social media, bens talk show, player interviews etc. or if he lets everyone do whatever they feel like again. it will interesting to see if it was the leniency or just the couple players that were the root of the culture issues

I'm thinking the same thing. I'm also hoping he won't have to. I'd love to see this team get focused and stay focused on winning.

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

nine vegetable wrote:

I shouldn't have quoted those two.

But Ben's still an ass.

Must not be that bad of a guy. I mean I think he rubs some people the wrong way, but who doesn't have quirks that other people don't like? Nobody is perfect. The vast majority of Ben's teammates see him as a leader, some don't seem to like that he uses the media to call guys out, while others don't seem to mind him doing it at all.

Either way he's our field general, and he just put up the best statistical season of his career getting nearer to 40 years old. We need him.

kiss kiss some Ben booty to get balls thrown his way.

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

@solardave wrote:

I know Ben has done too much to list for us. I know he's the best QB we ever had. I know there are a lot of games we wouldn't have won with a different QB including this game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GEtlF6Zftg

(Give James Harrison a game ball too.)

I also know Ben has brought turmoil to this team with his motorcycle crash and the rape accusations.
We got past all of that stupidity only to have to hear the stuff he says on his radio show.

I'd like nothing more than to be proven wrong but with all the drama we've seen the last 5 or so years I think Ben will regret not retiring after last year and 2019 is going to be a long season.

If you go back and check all of my off season posts prior to this year I have always looked forward to a great year but this team is not the same. Still no leaders and way to easy for the media to pick on us. It's our own fault for making it easy with no discipline and no one to follow except guys like AB,Bell and Porter who are gone but I bet not forgotten. Maybe by us but not in the locker room. There will still be a divide.

Call me crazy but I feel it in my gut. We are not even close to being done with the circus.

Man I hope I'm wrong.

I think we're going to be just fine. They do need to nail the draft this year. As much as I couldn't stand Bell and Brown having that kind of talent leave for other teams definitely hurts. That being said we have 10 draft picks and we've signed a couple of solid free agents that should shore up some of our trouble spots. I think things will actually get better not having ultra-selfish players like Bell causing huge distractions all season long, and Brown throwing temper tantrums and crying about not getting the ball thrown his way enough. Now the guys can just play, and have fun. I think our roster is guys that want to be on this team, guys that want to be Steelers. We cut out the cancer, and I think we'll actually be better for it.

Of course, my disgusting optimism could turn out to be totally wrong, but I just want to try and be positive I guess.

I agree with this. I think they've been moving towards settling things on the inside. Bell and Brown being gone will do a lot towards that. It is going to fall back on Tomlin though. He is the key and needs to learn from this and keep star players in line. I also agree with you that this is a huge draft this year. We need to pull some defensive starters and a decent WR. Most of the experts seem to think there are only 2 ILBs worthy of #1 picks. We need to come away with one this year.

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

@solardave wrote:

@IowaSteeler927 wrote:

@solardave wrote:

I know Ben has done too much to list for us. I know he's the best QB we ever had. I know there are a lot of games we wouldn't have won with a different QB including this game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GEtlF6Zftg

(Give James Harrison a game ball too.)

I also know Ben has brought turmoil to this team with his motorcycle crash and the rape accusations.
We got past all of that stupidity only to have to hear the stuff he says on his radio show.

I'd like nothing more than to be proven wrong but with all the drama we've seen the last 5 or so years I think Ben will regret not retiring after last year and 2019 is going to be a long season.

If you go back and check all of my off season posts prior to this year I have always looked forward to a great year but this team is not the same. Still no leaders and way to easy for the media to pick on us. It's our own fault for making it easy with no discipline and no one to follow except guys like AB,Bell and Porter who are gone but I bet not forgotten. Maybe by us but not in the locker room. There will still be a divide.

Call me crazy but I feel it in my gut. We are not even close to being done with the circus.

Man I hope I'm wrong.

I think we're going to be just fine. They do need to nail the draft this year. As much as I couldn't stand Bell and Brown having that kind of talent leave for other teams definitely hurts. That being said we have 10 draft picks and we've signed a couple of solid free agents that should shore up some of our trouble spots. I think things will actually get better not having ultra-selfish players like Bell causing huge distractions all season long, and Brown throwing temper tantrums and crying about not getting the ball thrown his way enough. Now the guys can just play, and have fun. I think our roster is guys that want to be on this team, guys that want to be Steelers. We cut out the cancer, and I think we'll actually be better for it.

Of course, my disgusting optimism could turn out to be totally wrong, but I just want to try and be positive I guess.

I want to be positive too but seeing what Connor had to say is real disheartening. We know first hand it only takes one to get it started and if Connor grows up to be Bell it's on again. I agree the potential to be even better than last year is there if we play as a team.

As far as Ben's statistics last year all that amounted to watching the playoffs on the couch. I'm not blaming that on Ben but don't forget the games he played poorly that we should have won. I believe in those games all he was thinking about was padding his stats. Not unlike AB. I'm not saying we can't win it all. I'm saying I don't think the circus has left town.

I don't think Conner will be Bell 2.0 He seems much more humble, and down-to-Earth than Bell ever was, or will be.

When I first saw his Tweet I was furious but settled down a little since then. I think the problem these guys have with the ability to instantly comment is recipe for disaster. I think we need to remember we've seen a lot of star players in Pittsburgh and there haven't been many who have pulled Bell holdouts. If anything Bell may prove a lesson for Connor and other players. If you sit, you lose salary, no guarantee you get the money you want, and you may lose money AND get LESS

@effyou515 wrote:

kiss kiss some Ben booty to get balls thrown his way.

"It's all about the game, and how you play it." - Triple H

So the Ben extension did not get done. What this means is: Ben was cut a check from the origination to the tune of 5 million. This goes against our cap right now.

From what I read, as it sits today, we are about 1 million under the cap right now. Not even enough to sign our rookies.

Now, we can still work an extension with Ben that will free up cap space to an estimate 12 million. However, last I've read, they aren't even close. Ben is, rumored, to be playing hardball. If I am to guess what why? Guaranteed money over the life of the contract. That is purely my speculation though.

The Ben contract will fuck this team over. Telling you he has lost his deep ball and his accuracy the last two years has been very erratic. He is one of the major reasons this team went 9-6-1 and missed the playoffs.

@SteelerFreak58 wrote:

The Ben contract will fuck this team over. Telling you he has lost his deep ball and his accuracy the last two years has been very erratic. He is one of the major reasons this team went 9-6-1 and missed the playoffs.

Nope
not, even close