- It seems everyone these days has an opinion on Big Ben and
the Stillers offense.� I had the privilege
of listening to Madden on my drive back home since I spent the weekend in the
'burgh, and of course I got to hear him blast Big Ben for another poor performance.� I understand he's the 'burgh's sports shock
jock, our version of Howard Stern, but I was getting very annoyed and had to
listen to Cope's Cabana for most of the drive.�
My opinion is quite simply, Big Ben is the best rookie QB since Marino,
and right now he's one of the top 10 QBs in the league.� He's not Peyton Manning, or Daunte Culpepper
or the like, yet but he's showing me that he certainly has the potential to
meet or exceed those lofty expectations.�
And I don't understand all the poor game nonsense, sure the stats aren't
mind boggling, but the fact is the offense clearly lacks a big play WR, with
Plax out, to stretch the field.� The WRs
don't scare anyone and the running game can be slowed down with effective run
blitzes.� For anyone who thinks Big Ben
has played poorly the last two games, I would be willing to bet the Steelers
would have been lucky to win one of the past 2 games (Cincy, Wash) with Maddox
at the helm.� I remember watching this
offense last year...you know the one where Maddox takes a snap, senses a pass
rush and either crumbles in fear, or just throws the ball without looking to
Hines.� You remember the results don't
you?� All the Pick Sixes, or watching
Maddox crumble and lose the football.� I
am very satisfied with Big Ben's play the past 2 games in tough
conditions.� Do I expect his statistics
to improve as the year progresses...certainly, but I'll take the effort he gave
the past two sundays without his "Moss".
- Can we finally put to rest who is the most valuable WR on the Steelers
team?� I used to take a lot of heat for
this as a writer on this board the past 2 years.� I was called a Hines hater and all sorts of other things, but the
proof is in the pudding.� Plax is sorely
missed and what he brings to the table warrants a high 1st round pick.� Hines Ward is a tough gritty player, a great
blocker, and a fiery team leader, but ultimately a less talented player than
Plax.� This was never more evident than
when the Steelers ran play action yesterday and went deep to Hines and he couldn't
even get a yard of separation from the DB.�
Hines makes up for it with work ethic and intensity, and I love him as a
Steeler, but if you stuck a gun to my head I like:� Plax and Randle El paired together much, much better than Ward
and Randle El.� If you're going to sink
a boatload of money into the WR position, then fine sign Plax and renegotiate
Ward's deal.� If the cap room isn't
there, then my choice would be resign Plax and have Ward play his contract out
and get his Contract 3 elsewhere.� His physical
style of play leads me to believe that his best years are both now and then,
but not tomorrow.
- The Steelers offensive line has received much kudos, and my hats off to them,
but they haven't impressed me all to greatly the past few games.� Thankfully, Big Ben isn't Maddox or we would
be talking about how the offensive line is going to have to be much better for
us to make the playoffs.� Now the
conversation is geared around home field advantage and the bye.
- Speaking of the offensive line, I think Max Starks could be a force as a RT
next year and for many seasons to come.
- I've seen accounts of Cowher's taking ownership of the 4th down
defensive call, and I mean no disrespect to any posters or writers, but I would
like to call out the other perspective.�
I think one perspective has clearly been laid out, but how about the
perspective of a coach taking the blame.�
When Bill Parcells comes out and says he did a horrible job coaching,
everyone clamors about and says it's motivation and some other propaganda.� People used to point fingers at Cowher for
not taking any blame, and now when he does in the midst of a 9 game winning
streak with a team that has a rookie QB, and countless other backups playing,
he's still getting the finger pointing.�
I understand it starts and ends with a SB ring for most, but as an
objective fan here it's my duty to speak my piece.� Maybe Parcells gets away with it because he has 2 rings, and
Cowher doesn't have any.� I'm not saying
Cowher's a Hall of Fame coach, and I was certainly railing on him last year,
but the fact is he has done an excellent job thus far this year.� Yes they may lose in the playoffs, and I'm
sure Cowher will be labeled a failure, but he's earned the right from me to
Coach this team for the foreseeable future simply because I believe he's
learned and improved upon his prior mistakes.�
Back to the call at hand, I don't believe that you blitz every time you
face a 4th and goal at the 2 on defense.� In fact, if you tip your hand like that, a guy like Peyton Manning
will eat you for lunch.� Just my
thoughts from a writer who isn't necessarily a Cowher lover, but a guy who is
trying to objectively examine a coach of a 10-1 football team in today's parity
stricken NFL.
- I have a feeling there are going to be some real unhappy teams in the AFC, as
7-4 is on the outside looking in right now.
- I know Indy isn't a cold weather team, Peyton can't win the big game, blah
blah blah, but I sure as heck don't want to see the Colts in Heinz field for
the divisional round of the playoffs.�
That team can score from anywhere with weapons galore, and I'd much
rather New England deal with them while we square off with the likes of
Denver/SD/NY Jets/Balt.� None of those
teams are pushovers, but Manning is in such a zone right now, that I'd just as
soon stay the heck away from him.