Comments on: Bradshaw To Ben Took Far Too Long

By: Jamie Barnhart

Jamie Barnhart — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 12:16:08 +0000

Actually, most of those players have All Pro and/or Pro Bowl on their résumé. Average players did not make the Pro Bowl back then. Most of the players that immediately replaced them were not as good at the time.

The bottom line, and our point is, that not spending for better players probably cost the team championships back then. They didn’t win any between Bradshaw and Roethlisberger, but they might have if they didn’t let so much talent walk, or not prioritize the QB position.

By: Tom From Pittsburgh

Tom From Pittsburgh — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 01:24:15 +0000

Most of those players were average at best. Earl Holmes was never a star or worth star money. Chad Brown was a career back up who had one good year, then wanted to cash in for a star salary, he played many years in the NFL, but was never a star & never worth big money. Eric Green was inconsistent, had attitude and drug issues. The NYJ offered to make O’Donnell the highest paid QB in the league, in Aikman & Marino territory, for a guy who in 5 years as a team leading passer topped 200 yards per game only twice, with a career high of a measly 17 TD passes, who couldn’t scramble or throw deep….that was outrageous. The massive failure his post Steeler career was and the fact Pgh won 23 games and two Div Titles the next two years with Mike Tomczak & Korbel Stewart proved how (un) valuable Neil was to the team success.

One thing Pgh has done very well in the Free Agency era is knowing which players not to over pay for, many of whom were outright busts after leaving The Steelers.

By: Brian Harker

Brian Harker — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 02:06:44 +0000

I think frugality had a lot to do with it in those days. Revenue increased with Heinz field and they kind of went the other way when they overpaid older defensive players to win one more Lombardi. I think this time they won’t be hesitant to invest in a QB to replace Ben when the time comes, especially since there cap finances are vastly improving.

By: Jamie Barnhart

Jamie Barnhart — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 19:46:06 +0000

Couldn’t agree more. I wonder if ownership was just too old school cheap during those years, and just wasn’t willing to spend franchise kind of money. I remember that it took about a decade of free agency before they finally stopped letting everyone walk when it came to payday. Kris Brown, Mike Vrabel, Earl Holmes, Orpheus Roye, Carlos Emmons, Brendan Stai, Charles Johnson, Chad Brown, Leon Searcy, Eric Green, and Neil O’Donnell are just the draft picks I can think of that they let walk, over money while they were starting level players, during Cowher’s tenure. Towards the end, he seemed to be allowed to keep more players, and they’ve been spending right up to the cap ever since, so I hope with you that they’ve learned the lesson you’ve described.

By: Brian Harker

Brian Harker — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 22:22:45 +0000

Thanks Jaime, I had a pretty good Thanksgiving, hope you did to. I know it’s not easy finding a franchise quarterback and that there are no guarantees. I also remember thinking that the Steelers never seemed to put a whole lot of effort into it either. The philosophy seemed to be that if they had a solid defense and a running back, that a game manager at the position would suffice. It wasn’t until they got Ben that they won a couple of more Lombardi’s. My hope is that they have learned that quarterback is a position where you can be aggressive without being stupid about it. That they don’t have to settle for the Cliff Stoudt’s, the Bubby Brister’s or the Mike Tomczak’s of the world. If they believe they have their guy identified,they need to go after him, without being Cleveland stupid, instead of hoping he falls to them.

By: Jamie Barnhart

Jamie Barnhart — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 18:36:19 +0000

Brian,
I hope you had a good Thanksgiving! Man, I remember that summer they took Rivera. He was paralyzed in a car accident, a victim of his own drunk driving. So, not only did we not get Marino, we got nothing! And I remember counting the likely championships with Marino as they passed us by. That ’84 team was at least as good as the Dolphins, with the exception being at QB. I don’t blame Chuck for not taking him. He had a bad senior year. Too much partying made sense as a reason. Marino could’ve ended up a Manziel.
My question to you is about the difficulty in making another franchise QB happen. How many on average come from any one draft? One? Maybe two? Obtaining Bradshaw was easy because they had the number one pick. We were lucky to get Ben with the 11th pick! Pittsburgh hasn’t drafted in the top half with Tomlin and Ben, and might not until after Ben becomes current Peyton Manning. You’re suggesting not waiting til then, but you’re then probably talking about trading your entire draft to move up to number one to “guarantee” a franchise QB pick. And what if you swing and miss? I just don’t have confidence that they have a way to assure another franchise QB until After Ben is done. Let’s say they pick at 16 in a couple of years and trade up to get one. That puts us in a Brett/Aaron fiasco because it may be hard to tell when Ben will hang them up. He’s the kind of competitor who won’t go quietly into the night. I don’t know. I think we might just have to wait, and then get lucky again.