When I read Kevin Colbert’s quote on Wednesday about the future status of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, my antenna went off.
“While we’re sitting here today, Ben is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
We will. It sounded like, um, non-commitment, to say the least.
But when I saw the video and heard the Pittsburgh Steelers GM’s voice, it sounded more like a reminder that Roethlisberger hadn’t been cut. Yet.
Or perhaps it was a warning to Roethlisberger and his representatives that the notion of moving on to No. 7 is not a totally remote concept for Steelers’ brass.
Anyway, the defender’s situation is everything anyone wants to talk about on Thursday. And I understand why. But now that we have had a day to digest this topic, let’s look at some other important issues that Colbert addressed in a short post that we will call “Everything But Ben”.
11 and Oh, no!
After further analysis, I wasn’t the only one to see storm clouds on the horizon when things were starting to slip, despite the Steelers’ 11-0 start. Colbert felt that way too.
“To come out as well as we did and hit that 11-0 mark, only to fall in the first round of the playoffs, was very disappointing. We need to be judged on how we ended the season and not on how we fared during the season. Even when we were at the 11-0 mark, I never had a level of comfort because I knew that we would judge ourselves – and we would be judged according to the outside world – on how we did in the qualifiers.
I think I’ll turn on the time machine and bring that quote back with me to early December, after the Steelers had barely won the Covid Bowl against the Baltimore Ravens and lost at home to Washington.
I received a lot of emails and tweets saying, “Don’t you think you’re being too hard on them? This is just a lull! “
It seems that Colbert was sure that the “calm” would also last for a while.
Game Rant
Colbert was dissatisfied with his team’s attack game in 32nd place, with just 84.4 yards per game. And rightly so.
“It is a collective effort. You can’t say that the hallways were not good enough. Or the defenders were not good enough. Or the line was not good enough. To launch the kind of racing game we did, no one was good enough. And again, this is a collective effort. We need to be better, honestly … we need to finish. And I think that having a strong racing game helps teams to finish at that time of year. ”
I understand what Colbert was saying. And I agree 100%. I just would have preferred it to have a different phrase.
Because you can I they say the corridors were not good enough. You can I they say the defenders were not good enough. You can I say that the line was not good enough. And that is why in the end it was, in fact, a “collective” failure.
And I would rather hear Colbert say it that way.
In the end, he and I are saying the same thing. But, in my opinion, the constant effort of the coaching staff and the front line not to hold anyone accountable and simply to bring the team’s shortcomings to a “collective” disappointment is a big part of the problem.
Yes, I understood. The Steelers, as a whole, have failed. The racing game as a whole has failed. But if no one feels personally responsible at an individual level – even in a specific job group – there will be less motivation to improve. Or less afraid of failing again.
Are you sure about this one, Kev?
Colbert insists that the Steelers will continue its policy of refusing to renegotiate players’ contracts during the season.
“I think we will continue to do this. Once we start playing a season, our only focus should be on the next game with the ultimate goal of winning a season. When individual negotiations are taking place during a season, we see this as a distraction and we will never let it be part of it, as we try to form a team and a philosophy to get the best team. “
This policy has never bothered me so much. And I am not discouraged by the quote. I just find it funny that Colbert – of all people – is concerned with this as a “distraction”.
This is the same guy who scoffed at the club’s “Team Turmoil” tag a few years ago. It made it sound like Martavis Bryant’s suspensions and Le’Veon Bell’s absence, and Antonio Brown’s secondary outbursts and delays, and the national anthem fiasco and the friction between Roethlisberger and Todd Haley were media creations.
But if Mike Hilton or Cameron Sutton had managed to get an extension in the middle of the season instead of resorting to free agency, would that be chaos? Seriously?
By the way, if Roethlisberger doesn’t play this year and Rudolph starts and succeeds, come back with me about it. There is no way for him to reach the free agent. They will arrest you in the middle of the season, for sure.
There are also precedents for this. Remember Tommy Maddox? They broke the policy of extending their contract before the 2004 season, before it was reconfigured. They will do it again in a different way for Rudolph, if necessary.
Marking! You are NOT that
Colbert was asked if there is any chance of using a “tag” on any of the club’s free agents. Presumably, this means a franchise brand or transition brand. Either way, says Colbert, don’t hold your breath.
“It is doubtful that we can use a tag. Again, when we say we don’t know what the limit is, what we try to do is prepare for the worst situation. “
This “worst situation” is now about $ 180 million per team. And the number will probably not be much more than that. So this news from Colbert is not a big surprise. But due to Bud Dupree’s knee injury and some recent rumors about JuJu
But it doesn’t look like that will happen. Nor should I. Dupree would earn $ 18.9 million on a label. Smith-Schuster could raise between $ 15.8 million and $ 16.4 million.
Feeling a draft
Here is one last interesting news from Colbert about the draft. Specifically, on the offensive line.
“The draft itself is stronger in the attack position than in the interior. Central and guard, traditionally, are not a very strong group. The blocks are extraordinarily deep this year. I think we can add players through the draft. Hopefully, we will be able to do some kind of business at a free agency. “
Translation? Look for a center to be signed at a free agency to replace Maurkice Pouncey. And look for a tackle to be drawn in the first round.
Or, if the tackle depth is really that deep, perhaps the Steelers will be tempted to wait until the second round to select a player in that position (as they usually do with wide receivers) and do a running back, cornerback or – dare I say that – a quarter….
Nah. I will save that thought for a column later. After all, “while we’re sitting here today”, the Steelers still have a well-defined starting point in their position.
Tim Benz is an editor on the Tribune-Review team. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets can be posted again. All emails are subject to publication, unless otherwise specified.
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Sports | Steelers / NFL | Breakfast with Benz