Thank you Ben

[fogdoctor]

Hate to break it to you but we’ve been in dark times since the 2011 season. Literally a decade of dark times.

When Ben retires we’ll have to suck it up without a QB for a year and draft one after the painful season we have. Hopefully that will be 2021 because we have to turn over the roster and be in cap hell anyway so we might as well accelerate this process


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You have not seen anything yet. I am seeing 4-5 win seasons when he hangs it up.

 

[AggieSteel]

You have not seen anything yet. I am seeing 4-5 win seasons when he hangs it up.

Yeah and the minute you have a 4-5 win season, you have the draft capital to start over with a guy with a live arm and legs then all of a sudden you’re not crying about not having Ben anymore. And if you still have 4-5 win seasons, cut your losses and try again. Just because you’re traumatized from like 25 years of bad QBs between Bradshaw and Ben doesn’t mean we have to be doomed for that again. There are crazy talented QBs coming out of the draft every year that are available when you’ve had a bad season. As a fan I’m okay with taking our medicine for a year to land one of those


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[Stewey]

Love Ben.
Just a waste of a ******* year if his life.
He could have enjoyed a vacation and not had to go through this ******* waste of 5 months.

Well if there was ever a time he felt that way it was yesterday after the game.

He wanted to play this year. Plenty of time to go on vacations.

 

[black and gold apex]

No matter what Ben decides he has been their for the Steeler Nation fans. Never a me guy always took the blame for the looses. Has never been given the credit he deserves from sports media. A true Steeler all the way. Thanks Ben

 

[Drink IRON City]

Obviously playing from behind the whole game pads his numbers but he still put up 500 yards passing and 4 TD’s with no run game and horrible play calling. He’s not done but needs to be surrounded with more talent and BETTER COACHING

I wonder what the odds are of getting better coaching and to what degree ?




Salute the nation

 

[slashsteel]

I wonder what the odds are of getting better coaching and to what degree ?




Salute the nation

Slim I am afraid.

 

[AggieSteel]

Slim I am afraid.

I disagree. It’s been a decade now since we played in a Super Bowl, only one AFC championship trip in that time and it was an embarrassing L, 3 of the absolute worst playoff losses anyone has taken in that time... I’m sorry but we can do better. It’s been years of this team not seriously preparing for important games, and PLAYOFF games. Like ok maybe the Tebow game was an aberration. But then the Pats L in the AFCCG playing the same defense Br*dy always carved up? Terrible. Then the Jags game when you were looking past them to the following week then got spanked by Blake Bortles? Yeah should have been fired after that one. Now THIS? No. I’m sorry but this franchise can do better.


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[slashsteel]

I disagree. It’s been a decade now since we played in a Super Bowl, only one AFC championship trip in that time and it was an embarrassing L, 3 of the absolute worst playoff losses anyone has taken in that time... I’m sorry but we can do better. It’s been years of this team not seriously preparing for important games, and PLAYOFF games. Like ok maybe the Tebow game was an aberration. But then the Pats L in the AFCCG playing the same defense Br*dy always carved up? Terrible. Then the Jags game when you were looking past them to the following week then got spanked by Blake Bortles? Yeah should have been fired after that one. Now THIS? No. I’m sorry but this franchise can do better.


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I meant if the same coaches return it won't be improved...

 

[Confluence]

I think Ben knows that he needs help; he needs better OL talent to balance the attack so that he doesn't have to force every play.

I wonder if part of his despondency was the realization, in crystal clear terms, that the Steeler organization--embarrassed in Round 1, again-- does not presently have the resources to go deep in the playoffs.

If you are a family man, often injured, in no need of money, why bother with the stresses/health risks for an organization that is not ready to advance in the playoffs?

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[slashsteel]

I think Ben knows that he needs help; he needs better OL talent to balance the attack so that he doesn't have to force every play.

I wonder if part of his despondency was the realization, in crystal clear terms, that the Steeler organization--embarrassed in Round 1, again-- does not presently have the resources to go deep in the playoffs.

If you are a family man, often injured, in no need of money, why bother with the stresses/health risks for an organization that is not ready to advance in the playoffs?

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Passion for the game. Same reason we come back knowing we will see the same results. Love.

Ours is love of the team his is love of playing.

You only get one shot at an NFL career when it is done it is done. So toward the end you weigh on risk and reward sure.

I think Ben already wants another year.

 

[Djfan]

Passion for the game. Same reason we come back knowing we will see the same results. Love.

Ours is love of the team his is love of playing.

You only get one shot at an NFL career when it is done it is done. So toward the end you weigh on risk and reward sure.

I think Ben already wants another year.

Good point.

Still, coming back when The Bus did had all the ingredients to be a make-sense decision. Not so here. There are a lot of issues on this team, and Ben knows that he has to carry the team again for it to look even OK. Not sure it's a clear decision.

 

[SteelChip]

I wonder if Mason would have received all this love had he replicated Bens performance last night.

I know, Ben has done a lot of great things for this franchise and his career is nearing the end.

Hurray...finally a realist.

Why the **** would he come back to this ******* team and this ******* coach?

So he could go out as a martyr ?

 

[fedderone]

I've never been a fan of Ben the human.
I was angry the day of the draft in 2004 when we took him.
But Ben the player has been special for us.
We got to see him transform from backyard sandlot make something out of nothing game manager to poised read the D adjustment making stud.
But we all knew this day would come. Sadly, it's finally here.
I know some of us don't want to admit it, but the time has indeed come.
He's not the same Ben we've come to admire.
We have a porous sieve turnstile O-Line that needs attention. 23 year old Ben was able to escape the onslaught occasionally. 38 year old Ben not so much.
Because of this, our OC was forced to alter our scheme to not run the ball much and get the ball out of Ben's hands as quick as possible.
This dramatically handicapped the team as a whole.
Most of the blame goes to our O-Line, but some also lies with Ben and our non-existent running game.

Our D looks legit and setup for the next 5 years and will probably keep us in games while we piece our O back together.
We have a solid start with the WRs.
But the quicker we can jettison the entire O-Line and Ben, the quicker we can not waste TJ, Devin, and Minkah's prime years.
I'm not trying to shove anyone out the door. The truth hurts sometimes.
I appreciate Ben and the O-Line and Conner for ALL they've done for us.
But we need to rip the band-aid off in one swoop and get back to it as quickly as possible.

 

[Steeler Pride]

But the quicker we can jettison the entire O-Line and Ben, the quicker we can not waste TJ, Devin, and Minkah's prime years.

We wasted the prime years of a multitude of pro-bowl players, there is one common denominator and that will not change.

 

[mdk2]

I've never been a fan of Ben the human.
I was angry the day of the draft in 2004 when we took him.
But Ben the player has been special for us.
We got to see him transform from backyard sandlot make something out of nothing game manager to poised read the D adjustment making stud.
But we all knew this day would come. Sadly, it's finally here.
I know some of us don't want to admit it, but the time has indeed come.
He's not the same Ben we've come to admire.
We have a porous sieve turnstile O-Line that needs attention. 23 year old Ben was able to escape the onslaught occasionally. 38 year old Ben not so much.
Because of this, our OC was forced to alter our scheme to not run the ball much and get the ball out of Ben's hands as quick as possible.
This dramatically handicapped the team as a whole.
Most of the blame goes to our O-Line, but some also lies with Ben and our non-existent running game.

Our D looks legit and setup for the next 5 years and will probably keep us in games while we piece our O back together.
We have a solid start with the WRs.
But the quicker we can jettison the entire O-Line and Ben, the quicker we can not waste TJ, Devin, and Minkah's prime years.
I'm not trying to shove anyone out the door. The truth hurts sometimes.
I appreciate Ben and the O-Line and Conner for ALL they've done for us.
But we need to rip the band-aid off in one swoop and get back to it as quickly as possible.

What you just said tells me that Ben can still play.. Ben shouldn’t have to pass every play cause the OL can’t run block. Ben shouldn’t have to get rid of the ball in 2 seconds because the line can’t hold blocks.

Put Brady, Brees, Rogers, Rivers in our offensive scheme with no run game at all and let’s see how good they are. Brady looked finished last year cause he had a terrible OL, Brees has the best run game in the league, Rivers had a very good run game, Rogers has a great run game.

Ben can’t win each and every game by himself on offense. I guarantee you if we averaged 90 or so yards rushing a game, that is good enough for Ben to take this team back to a SB.

The defense was down right garbage last night.. they deserve a lot of blame.


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[Coryea]

We wasted the prime years of a multitude of pro-bowl players, there is one common denominator and that will not change.

Bingo!

 

[str8liner]

If I was Ben and looking at the future objectively there is no way in hell I would come back.

Next year will be back to the Ben getting killed days we seen while they tried to figure out how to build an O line.

He cant go through that again.

 

[TDX27]

Our D isn't completely legit. They need to sign Watt this year and Minkah next year and hope Bush comes back from his injury and continues to improve. That is our base. Haden is aging and could be a cap casualty. Either Hilton or Sutton will get a better deal elsewhere. Nelson is OK. Edmunds is OK. Heyward has another year or two left in him. Tuitt is up and down and not worth what we paid for him. We have a ton of holes.

Highsmith appears to have potential. I hope to see him improve next year. Spillane will be OK next to Bush but isn't a superstar by any stretch. We did have an undrafted free agent, Pierre, playing in Haden's spot last night. I have no idea where that came from. He has the size at 6'-2". Hopefully, that is a hidden gem.

We have a good 3 man base if the cap doesn't go down 2 years in a row and we can sign Minkah next year. Other than that there are a ton of moving pieces.

 

[oicu8ad]

Great points on both sides. My major question with Ben is "why is he so inaccurate?" high throws, behind the WR. I know they drop a ton (most in the league), but is it Ben, or are the WRs and Ben just not on the same page? What is it?

 

[wig]

Yeah and the minute you have a 4-5 win season, you have the draft capital to start over with a guy with a live arm and legs then all of a sudden you’re not crying about not having Ben anymore.

Nope. Then you're crying about getting Manziel, or Brady Quinn or Tim Couch or Kelly Holcombe, or Brandon Weeden or Derek Anderson or Colt McCoy.

Cause having an early draft pick automagically means you get a franchise, H.O.F. Qb.

 

[wig]

Love me some Ben.
I can't see much sense in him coming back another year for this...

When you golf, you don't have 260 lb guys trying to bash your head in every time you putt.

 

[TDX27]

If Ben even considers coming back, he must be committed to being in the best shape of his career. This year he was in the best shape of the past 5 to 10 years and it showed. Early in the season, Ben was moving around in the pocket and even scrambled a few times. Then, like a light switch that stopped. My guess is he did get hurt and his knees or hips truly were an issue that we will find out more about later in the offseason. He can probably only afford to take a couple of weeks off, definitely not months, and then get back to working out with a trainer and eating right with a personal chef (he can afford it). Brady and Brees have done this for years and it's a huge reason they are playing well into their 40's at high levels. Ben needs to do this if he wants to come back even for one more year.

 

[fedderone]

We wasted the prime years of a multitude of pro-bowl players, there is one common denominator and that will not change.

100% agreed.
But the other constant or factor is that the Rooneys aren't firing Tomlin.
No matter how much they should. No matter how inept he looks. No matter how may poor decisions he makes.
Tomlin will retire when he sees fit and The Rooneys will not do anything to say otherwise......sadly.

 

[6Lombardis]

He shouldn't go out like this. One more year.

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Is there any way to do that in a team friendly way for the cap hit. Bens cost is what concerns me as I think he’s the highest paid QB or one of them per year right now, correct?

 

[SteelerFan448]

If Ben even considers coming back, he must be committed to being in the best shape of his career. This year he was in the best shape of the past 5 to 10 years and it showed. Early in the season, Ben was moving around in the pocket and even scrambled a few times. Then, like a light switch that stopped. My guess is he did get hurt and his knees or hips truly were an issue that we will find out more about later in the offseason. He can probably only afford to take a couple of weeks off, definitely not months, and then get back to working out with a trainer and eating right with a personal chef (he can afford it). Brady and Brees have done this for years and it's a huge reason they are playing well into their 40's at high levels. Ben needs to do this if he wants to come back even for one more year.

As much as I'd love to see Ben come back and rediscover some of that magic, it's over for him. He isn't physically capable of doing everything you need from a QB today. If he considers coming back, someone needs to sit down and tell him it's over. If he comes back, I can't see this team winning more than 7-8 games with him and his contract being pushed off yet another year.