Starkey: Steelers' power struggle fascinates

[LLT]

Starkey: Steelers' power struggle fascinates
By Joe Starkey, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, February 12, 2012


The Steelers' clumsy coordinator shuffle clearly was aimed at making one man a lot less comfortable.

The quarterback.

That is what makes this drama so compelling.

How does Ben Roethlisberger respond to getting slapped around a little? The organization that granted him nearly unlimited power to play as he saw fit -- heck, to play when he saw fit after his ankle injury -- is trying to reclaim a portion of said power.

And there is no delicate way to do that.

So get your popcorn ready. It's either going to work to spectacular results or blow up in their faces.


Read more: Starkey: Steelers' power struggle fascinates - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/columnists/starkey/s_781267.html#ixzz1mArz0EiP

[Count Steeler]

Time for Ben to figure out that he does not "own" the offense. Perhaps the handling of Ben's injury was the demise of Arians. Perhaps Tomlin caught some flack for that as well.

Hindsight is said to be 20/20, but I don't fully agree. We can judge the course taken by allowing Ben to play in SF, and we can possibly conclude that had Ben rested and played a little in the last game of the season, we may have had a different outcome in the playoffs. We can never know for sure. However, having Ben complete the first Cleveland game and playing against SF, I would say, were mistakes.

[Steeldude]

How does this writer come to the conclusion the move was made to make BR less comfortable? He may be less comfortable, but I doubt that was the goal.

I certainly hope Haley challenges BR. BR has the potential to be so much better, but in my opinion I felt Arians hurt his growth over the years.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Yes, classic power struggle. The team owner has the Power...the Arians fans Struggle with that.

Move on already.

[GoSlash27]

Steeldude,

How does this writer come to the conclusion the move was made to make BR less comfortable? He may be less comfortable, but I doubt that was the goal.
That's the way reporters work; put forth a far-fetched premise, then go into the ramifications of it without actually justifying the premise itself.

[polamalubeast]

Pittsburgh “power struggle” puts even more pressure on Haley

Posted by Mike Florio on February 12, 2012, 10:25 AM EST


.....


bensstinkyfingers says:Feb 12, 2012 11:00 AM

Sounds like this move will definitely go poorly:

1. Ben is more immobile each year, and the O line is still awful.
2: Haley, and Ben both arrogant, and wanna be “the Man” thus creating tension in lockerroom.
3: Owners dont win games, and the steelers are getting old, with the exception of youn WR’s.


read more

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/02/12/pittsburgh-power-struggle-puts-even-more-pressure-on-haley/

[zulater]

Starkey is full of it. The goal is to make the offense a more efficient unit, and Ben a little more responsible in protecting against negative plays.

[SMR]

Sigh...how many more of "stirring the pot" articles are we going to see by the time the season starts?

This is tiring!

[zulater]

Sigh...how many more of "stirring the pot" articles are we going to see by the time the season starts?

This is tiring!


My guess is that it will stop as soon as the first OTA's begin. Once the players get an idea what's being asked of them, and what this offense might bring, I think they'll all hop right on board. Ben included.

I also think people are misreading Haley not meeting with Ben yet. I think the reason Haley's avoiding Ben is he wants to watch the film of pretty much every Steelers snap for the past few seasons, so he can get a sense of where to start in with the process before getting together with him.

[BlastFurnace]

Sigh...how many more of "stirring the pot" articles are we going to see by the time the season starts?

This is tiring!

Just wait if Hines is released...more will come.

[zulater]

Just wait when Hines is released...more will come.

Fixed it for ya. :lol:

[slippy]

Time for Ben to figure out that he does not "own" the offense. Perhaps the handling of Ben's injury was the demise of Arians. Perhaps Tomlin caught some flack for that as well.

Hindsight is said to be 20/20, but I don't fully agree. We can judge the course taken by allowing Ben to play in SF, and we can possibly conclude that had Ben rested and played a little in the last game of the season, we may have had a different outcome in the playoffs. We can never know for sure. However, having Ben complete the first Cleveland game and playing against SF, I would say, were mistakes.


and yet ben played flawless game against tennessee, throwing 5 TD passes, while being imobile with a mid foot sprain (that he thought was broken until the x rays showed a sprain). hmmmmmmm.....

[BigNastyDefense]

Funny how Ben playing through injury this season was stupid and irresponsible, yet in 2005 in leading us through the playoffs to Super Bowl XL was tough & valiant....and in 2008 leading us to a Super Bowl 43 was courageous and being of a warrior mentality.

The ONLY reason Ben played in San Francisco is because the Steelers had a shot at taking the division lead in that game. If the Ravens would have won earlier that day, Ben would have probably sat out that game.

And last I checked, Ben doesn't play defense, he didn't allow Tebow to look like Elway for one game.

Rooney didn't choose to not renew the contract of Arians to teach Ben a lesson. He did it because he felt the offense wasn't where it should have been.

The Steelers didn't hire Haley to show Ben who's boss, they hired Haley because of his track record as an offensive coordinator. Hell, he took a 4-12 Chiefs team to the AFC West crown as head coach. I believe the main reason the Chiefs had a down year last season was because of the injuries. It was the offense that took the Arizona Cardinals to Super Bowl 43 and almost won it.

Haley was the best person available for the job. That's why he was hired. Anyone who seriously thinks differently needs to lay off the drugs for a while.

Everyone in Pittsburgh knows the power structure. Art and Dan Rooney are the owners, final decisions go through them on everything from who the Steelers draft to who they sign in free agency, to if they cut a big named veteran goes through them in the end. That's the way it's always been. I don't remember anyone calling Dan Rooney a Jerry Jones in 2004 when he made the call to draft Ben Roethlisberger while Cowher wanted to go offensive line and Colbert from everything I have read was going to go along with Cowher until Rooney stepped in.

[GBMelBlount]

Time for Ben to figure out that he does not "own" the offense. Perhaps the handling of Ben's injury was the demise of Arians. Perhaps Tomlin caught some flack for that as well.

Hindsight is said to be 20/20, but I don't fully agree.

We can judge the course taken by allowing Ben to play in SF, and we can possibly conclude that had Ben rested and played a little in the last game of the season, we may have had a different outcome in the playoffs. We can never know for sure.

However, having Ben compete the first Cleveland game and playing against SF, I would say, were mistakes.

Agreed.

Playing Ben full out was a VERY high risk decision as having Ben healthy for the playoffs was THE most important thing.

Even as a casual observer I felt it was a very poor decision at the time.

Sometimes when people are too close to things they lose a degree of objectivity and perspective that others farther away can more clearly see...others perhaps like the rooneys.

It's ironic.

[XxKnightxX]

blah blah blah. Cut the shit. This little bromance and recklessness between Arians and Ben had the Rooneys just as pissed as the fans. Just remember the Rooneys are seeing money as well as talent being thrown down the drain by mediocrity. So , why not take Haley when hes available? Why keep arians for one more year ? he was on the verge of 'retirement' so , the Rooneys decided to move on from him, and Arians got insulted and wanted to one up the steelers and take the Colts OC job. Its whatever to me, Haley has a proven track record on the field, Arians never won the vote of confidence of everyone, not saying that Haley will either. But lets not forget why the Browns had a massive collapse against the Steelers back in 02 Wild Card game. The inability to close out games. I wonder who was the OC at that time. Oh yeah. i wonder who was the O line coach? Oh yeah.

[Edman]

What power struggle is there exactly? It's not exactly a Coach or a GM going up against the Owner, or a Coach butting heads with the GM.

It's the Employer against an Employee. In other words, it's no struggle at all. The Rooneys are doing what is best for the TEAM, wether or not Ben allegedly hates it or not. I warned that many difficult decisions are going to have to be made this offseason if this team is going to stay relevant.

I'd be more concerned if the Rooneys sat back and did nothing as we stagnate while everyone else progressed. Even without the injuries, the 2011 Steelers team raised several red flags. This team wasn't going to get better the way things were. It would just get worse until we collapsed with no future in place, because we were too full of ourselves to fix what was clearly screwed up.

[SMR]

My guess is that it will stop as soon as the first OTA's begin. Once the players get an idea what's being asked of them, and what this offense might bring, I think they'll all hop right on board. Ben included.

I also think people are misreading Haley not meeting with Ben yet. I think the reason Haley's avoiding Ben is he wants to watch the film of pretty much every Steelers snap for the past few seasons, so he can get a sense of where to start in with the process before getting together with him.

Excellent point.

[SMR]

Just wait if Hines is released...more will come.

Ugh...I'm getting another headache.

[suitanim]

I'm.......confused.

The new coordinator is supposed to take advantage of our strengths and play to them, instead of ignoring our strengths to play a certain way.

BUT he's also supposed to.........change the way Ben plays? The same way Ben has ALWAYS played? The way that led to 3 SB appearances and 2 victories? The way that works for him?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.............

[Steeldude]

I'm.......confused.

The new coordinator is supposed to take advantage of our strengths and play to them, instead of ignoring our strengths to play a certain way.

BUT he's also supposed to.........change the way Ben plays? The same way Ben has ALWAYS played? The way that led to 3 SB appearances and 2 victories? The way that works for him?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.............

We get it. You loved Arians and now you are angry and bitter that he was dismissed. It's time to get over it.

[fansince'76]

bensstinkyfingers says:Feb 12, 2012 11:00 AM

Sounds like this move will definitely go poorly:

1. Ben is more immobile each year, and the O line is still awful.
2: Haley, and Ben both arrogant, and wanna be “the Man” thus creating tension in lockerroom.
3: Owners dont win games, and the steelers are getting old, with the exception of youn WR’s.

Well, if someone calling themself "bensstinkyfingers" says this is going to be an unmitigated disaster before even one OTA practice has been held with Haley as OC, then who am I to question it? :rolleyes:

[whodat1]

The problem with sports writers in the off-season is that they don't have an off-season themselves. With no real news they have to stretch.

[SMR]

The problem with sports writers in the off-season is that they don't have an off-season themselves. With no real news they have to stretch.

This^^^^^^^^^^^

[O'Malley]

Yes, classic power struggle. The team owner has the Power...the Arians fans Struggle with that.

Move on already.

Awesome!!!!