When I read Kevin Colbert’s quote on Wednesday about the status of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s future, my antenna went up.
“As we sit here today, Ben is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Well. It came down, to say the least, as an unlimited matter.
But when I saw the video and heard the voice of Pittsburgh Steelers GM, it sounded more like a reminder that Roethlisberger hadn’t been clipped yet. Train.
Or perhaps it was an advantage over Roethlisberger and his representatives that the idea of moving on from no. 7 is not a completely remote concept for Steelers buyers.
Either way, the quarterback’s situation is all that anyone wanted to talk about Thursday. And I understand why. But now that we’ve had a day to digest the subject, we come to some other important issues that Colbert discussed in a small message that we’ll call: “Everything but Ben.”
11-and-Oh, no!
On closer inspection, I was not the only one who saw storm clouds on the horizon, even though things started to slip despite the Steelers starting 11-0. Colbert felt that way too.
“Getting out of the gates as well as we did and getting the score to 11-0, only to fall in the first round of the play-offs, was very disappointing. We need to be judged on how we finished the season and not on how we performed during the season. Even when we were 11-0, I never really had a comfortable level, because I knew we would be judging ourselves – and judged from the outside accordingly – on how we fared in the playoffs.
I think I’m just going to set the time machine on fire and bring this quote back to early December after the Steelers barely won the “Covid Bowl” against the Baltimore Ravens and lost at home to Washington.
I get a lot of emails and tweets that say, ‘Don’t you think you’re too hard on it? It’s just a silence! ‘
It sounds like Colbert was pretty sure the ‘silence’ would last a while too.
Start a game rant
Colbert was unhappy with his team’s 32nd place on offense at just 84.4 yards per game. And rightly so.
‘It’s a joint effort. You can not say the runners were not good enough. Or the backs were not good enough. Or the line was not good enough. No one was good enough to put off the kind of running game we did. And again, these would mean that you have to spend for these processes. We need to be more honest honestly … we need to finish. And I think a strong running game helps teams finish in that time of year. ”
I understand what Colbert said. And I agree 100%. I would have preferred him to put it another way.
Because you can says the runners were not good enough. You can says the quarterbacks were not good enough. You can says the line was not good enough. And so it ended up being a ‘collective’ failure.
And I’d rather have heard Colbert say it that way.
Eventually he and I say the same thing. But in my opinion, the constant effort of the coaching staff and front office not to hold anyone accountable separately and simply to drop the shortcomings of the team to a ‘collective’ disappointment is a big part of the problem.
Yes, I understand that. The Steelers as a whole failed. The running match failed overall. But if no one is made personally responsible on an individual level – not even a specific position group, there is less motivation to improve. Or less fear of failing again.
Are you sure you know this, Kev?
Colbert insists the Steelers will continue their policy of refusing to negotiate player contracts during the season.
“I think we will continue to do that. Once we start playing a season, we just have to focus on the upcoming game, with the ultimate goal of winning a season. When individual negotiations are going on during a season, we consider it a distraction, and we will never let it get involved, as we try to put together a team and a philosophy to get the best team there. ‘
This policy has never bothered me so much. And the quote does not let me down. I just find it funny that Colbert – of all people – is worried about it as a ‘distraction’.
This is the same man who made the club’s ‘Team Turmoil’ label ridiculous a few years ago. He made it sound like the suspensions of Martavis Bryant, and the absence of Le’Veon Bell, and the outbursts and late arrivals of Antonio Brown, and the national anthem fiasco, and the dispute between Roethlisberger and Todd Haley were all media creations.
But if Mike Hilton or Cameron Sutton got a mid-season extension instead of a free agency, would it be chaos? Really?
By the way, if Roethlisberger does not play this year and Rudolph starts and succeeds, feel free to contact me again about this. There is no way he will beat a free agency. They will surely lock him up in the middle of the season.
There are also precedents for that. Do you remember Tommy Maddox? They broke a policy to extend his contract before the 2004 season before it would be reconfigured. They will do it again for Rudolph in a different way.
Tag! You are NOT
Colbert was asked if there was any chance of using a ‘tag’ on any of the club’s free agents. This presumably means a franchise label or a transition plate. Either way, Colbert says, don’t hold your breath.
‘It is doubtful whether we will be able to use a label. Again, if we say we do not know what the cap is, that is what we are trying to do to prepare for the worst situation. ”
The “worst situation” is now about $ 180 million per team. And probably the number will not be much more than that. So this news from Colbert is not a big surprise. But given the knee injury to Bud Dupree and some recent shot put in relation to JuJu
But it does not sound like it is going to happen. Neither should it. Dupree would earn $ 18.9 million on a label. Smith-Schuster could get between $ 15.8 million and $ 16.4 million.
Feel a concept
Here is one last newsworthy hug from Colbert about the concept. Specifically about the offensive line.
‘The concept itself is stronger in the packing position than in the interior. Center and guard are traditionally not a very strong group. The tackles are extraordinarily deep this year. I think we can add players through the concept. Hopefully we will be able to do some kind of business in a free trade. ‘
Translation? Search for a center to be signed by the free agency to replace Maurkice Pouncey. And look at a suit drawn up in the first round.
Or, if the depth of the tackle is really that deep, the Steelers might be tempted to wait until the second round to pick a player in that position (as they often did with wide receivers) and a back player, cornerback or – dare I say it – a quarter …
No. I keep the thought for a column further. After all, the Steelers still ‘as we sit here today’ still have a clear appetizer on the position.
Tim Benz is a staff writer for Tribune Review. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets can be re-posted. Unless otherwise stated, all emails are subject to publication.
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Sport | Steelers / NFL | Breakfast with Benz