You
can read the other media for player profiles on the draft choices.� Let's just say this writer is fired up about
Roethlisberger.� My first choice would
have been Eli (you can't beat that pedigree and bloodlines) and my 2nd choice
probably Rivers (MVP of all 4 bowl games he played in, 51 collegiate starts,
etc), but Roethlisberger has a good shot to be the best of the three.� Here's to a bet on the upside card, and if
nothing else the city that's been starved for a big-time QB since Bradshaw left
finally gets one.
The Colclough (pronounced like Dexter Coakley) pick could be just as promising
as he should immediately step in as the #4 CB.�
This is an organization that is clearly playing for 2005, and a quick
peek reveals a 2005 starting secondary of Hope/Polamalu at safety with Ike
Taylor and Colclough as the starting CBs and Townsend sliding into his more
appropriate role as the nickel back.
The Maddox situation has now come full circle.�
You can dig through the archives and find that I have vehemently opposed
any restructuring of Maddox' contract dating back to last summer.� This was about the time that Vann McElroy
(who probably next to TO's and Northcutt's agent is last in line for potential
clients) made silly insinuations that the Steelers had to renegotiate Maddox'
deal.� At that time Maddox was locked up
for 5 years at a reasonable salary.� I
said it then, and I'll say it again - Maddox/McElroy took the signing bonus of $500K
(about a decade of selling insurance) in the summer of 2002 knowing full well
that Kordell was coming off a Pro Bowl / Team MVP season.� They saw it as an opportunity for a guy to
cash in, and obviously in return they "committed" 5 years to the
Steelers at a reasonable price.� Back
then my belief was quite simple, you can't have it both ways, either take the
big signing bonus (and yes, $500K is big for an insurance salesman, go talk to
your local State Farm agent if you don't believe me) or sign for the vet
minimum and hope that you can perform well and gain an even bigger payday.� Maddox/McElroy seem to think it works like
this - take the money early, then if successful try and get more money later
even after you made the commitment.�
Most players that have renegotiated deals in the past did so, with 2 or
fewer years remaining on their existing deals.�
It would be extremely foolish for an organization to re-do a deal on a
guy with 3 or 4 years left, especially a player who is adequate at best at his
position.
Here's something else you would be hard-pressed to hear about from the 'burgh
media who are finally starting to sour on our little Tammy Maddox.� When Tammy was a first round choice of
Denver's in the early 90's, he received a signing bonus commensurate with a 1st
round choice at that time.� Clearly he
didn't pan out, or he wouldn't have been selling insurance by the mid
90's.� Did Maddox and McElroy give
Denver back a portion of the signing bonus since he didn't live up to the role
as Elway's successor?
Finally, Maddox has absolutely zero leverage now that Roethlisberger is in the
fold (though I thought he had zero leverage even before Big Ben was
selected).� He can cry all he wants
about broken promises, but then he shouldn't have signed a contract for five
years in length.� It probably would have
meant he wouldn't receive the $500K signing bonus, but life is full of
decisions.� Now his decision is to
either be a team player and compete with Batch to be the starter this year, or
continue to cry about it to the 'burgh media and hold out or demand a trade.� If he wins the job, he'll get the incentives
and make over $1M again this season.� If
he loses the starting job, he'll make $750K for being the backup.� If he chooses the latter alternative of holding
out and/or demanding a trade, which will be difficult since he's no better than
the 4th most enticing QB on the market (Collins, Warner, Couch), he will need
to quickly re-educate himself on insurance premiums, deductibles, high-risk
coverage, etc.