Ben said that he won't commit to coming back next season..Implies he's open to retirement.

[43Hitman]

Winter is Coming

[Nadroj 20]

No matter what anyone thinks about whether he is going to or not we need to consider getting a replacement. I think he is serious when he says he's keeping his options open.

If not next season then probably after it. It's coming sooner rather than later I'm afraid.

[tube517]

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/s...s/201701240151

The aftermath hasn’t been clean, either; Roethlisberger criticized the team’s young receivers immediately afterward. On Monday, linebacker Bud Dupree said the defense was “surprised” and “caught off guard” by the Patriots’ tempo on their first drive, as if it were something new. Le’Veon Bell said his groin was injured before the AFC championship. NFL Network reported that Antonio Brown was “pouting” after DeAngelo Williams’ first-quarter touchdown, and that the Steelers continue to be concerned that Brown is more concerned with stats than wins.

Roethlisberger spoke to all of that on Tuesday; “They outcoached us, they outplayed us, they out-executed us, and the better team won the football game. ... That’s why I made the comments that I made after the game and even today, that guys have to understand the game can’t be too big. I think it was for some guys. And that’s OK; they’re gonna have to learn. Obviously, we didn’t get to where we wanted to go, but hopefully we’ll learn from it and see what next year holds.”

That doesn’t sound like someone thinking about retirement, yeah?

[Moose]

Tell Ben to spend this off season learning how to do the ' QB sneak' ! Sure would've come in handy championship game.

[AtlantaDan]

Tell Ben to spend this off season learning how to do the ' QB sneak' ! Sure would've come in handy championship game.

Even though Ben checks out of the play sent in constantly, Ben says don't blame Ben, blame Todd Haley

“I have no problem sneaking, I think my sneak percentage…is pretty successful, in the high 90s. We’ve done it before. I’ve never ever in my life expressed not wanting to do it, I have no problem doing it, I would have done it three or four times in a row if we had to. The plays come in from Coach Haley and I call them,” he said.

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2017/...t-executed-us/

[Shoes]

Let him retire, we have Jones & Mushberger- CHAMPIONSHIP!

[Dwinsgames]

when the thought of retirement enters the mind the body is already half way checked out .... time to draft his eventual replacement or sign a stopgap because this draft is deep just about everywhere but QB

[Dwinsgames]

May be Ben's way of telling the FO to get serious about finding his eventual replacement. After the Giants game he told Eli, "I hope this isn't the last time". Eli looked a bit shocked at those words and responded with, "It shouldn't be". Just a weird exchange.

actually it was said in reverse Eli said what you claim Ben said and ben said what you said Eli said ... 7:56 mark here

[Moose]

Even though Ben checks out of the play sent in constantly, Ben says don't blame Ben, blame Todd Haley

“I have no problem sneaking, I think my sneak percentage…is pretty successful, in the high 90s. We’ve done it before. I’ve never ever in my life expressed not wanting to do it, I have no problem doing it, I would have done it three or four times in a row if we had to. The plays come in from Coach Haley and I call them,” he said.

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2017/...t-executed-us/

I'm not buying into him just calling them from Haley. If, as he said, the percentage is high of him making it then he should have ran it. Ben can call plays he see's fit. This was a championship game and we needed TDs. At 6'5, 250+ lbs. I'm sure he could pick up a few inches. Stupid, stupid play calling, and he's a asshole for not changing the call.

[fansince'76]

I believe it was Noll who said that if you're talking about retirement, you're already retired.

[Moose]

I believe it was Noll who said that if you're talking about retirement, you're already retired.

So true ! Mindset is a big part of body actions.

[zulater]

I believe it was Noll who said that if you're talking about retirement, you're already retired.

I think at the end of a season you're emotionally and physically drained. Also the way Heath went out last year probably tugs at him a bit. I think he just needs a couple months to recharge the batteries. I think he realizes that if Martavis comes back and Ladarius Green gets over his problems from this season that he'll have the best overall talent on offense that he's ever played with.

I do think it's entirely possibly that 17 will be his final season though.

[plenewken]

I hope it's his way of saying to the FO build me a real defense and let's win a few more. The defensive game plan Sunday was a joke.

True but the offense wasn't good either. Dropped passes and stupid mental errors in the end zone, 1st and 1/2 yd getting nowhere ......
In KC, not even 1TD.
Yes, the D was pathetic Sunday but the O needs work too.

[Born2Steel]

actually it was said in reverse Eli said what you claim Ben said and ben said what you said Eli said ... 7:56 mark here

Ah. Thanks for clearing that up. I'm glad it was the other way around, feel better about Ben staying now.

[polamalubeast]

Ah. Thanks for clearing that up. I'm glad it was the other way around, feel better about Ben staying now.

Maybe Ben was talking about the possibility of playing the super bowl against the giants?

[Shoes]

I believe it was Noll who said that if you're talking about retirement, you're already retired.

Agreed, I'm about there myself. Too bad we didn't pick up Dak last year.

[polamalubeast]

[teegre]

Too bad we didn't pick up Dak last year.

Jerald Hawkins had better be a damn good O-lineman .

[steel striker]

I don't think that Ben is going to retire and, he is upset the way the entire team played. Look when in play the cheats in Foxboro you have to your crap together and, they did not play well. It's going to be a long off-season that's for sure!

[WCSteeler]

I said on another thread the time is NOW to draft aneeds eventual replacement. Luke Falk - Washington state- 6-3 240lb 70% completion rate. Ben has been more than we could ever ask but he's 35, 13 season and a mounting list of injuries. I'm not saying he is done but his mobility and accuracy have declined especially this season. If that was his last game then i'd be the first to say ' Thank you Ben!'

[tube517]

I think he's frustrated with the younger players the way Troy was when he retired.

He'll be back. I can't see him retiring with at least one more shot in the Super Bowl

[AtlantaDan]

I think he's frustrated with the younger players the way Troy was when he retired.

He'll be back. I can't see him retiring with at least one more shot in the Super Bowl

Assuming there is not some medical issue, there are 12 million reasons to return for 2017

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/pittsburg...isberger-3595/

[86WARD]

May be Ben's way of telling the FO to get serious about finding his eventual replacement. After the Giants game he told Eli, "I hope this isn't the last time". Eli looked a bit shocked at those words and responded with, "It shouldn't be". Just a weird exchange.

I think that meant hope we meet in the Super Bowl? But it could be the last time for either considering the play very infrequently...

[86WARD]

It would be devastating to this organization if he retired.

[DesertSteel]

Agreed, I'm about there myself. Too bad we didn't pick up Dak last year.

Dallas was the perfect storm for Dak. Here, he would have been behind Landry Jones and never seen the field and no one would have ever seen his talents until it was too late.

But............ it is the right time to invest in a mid-round QB. I haven't started my evaluation of guys coming out, but with examples like Wilson and Dak, there's reason for hope.

[pczach]

I'll tell you why Ben is thinking about retirement.

Every time anything bad happens....it's Ben's fault with shit-for-brains fans that believe he isn't that great. The same fans like in this thread that call him an asshole for not doing a quarterback sneak. You see, it's not the game plan, or the lack of his #2 receiver being gone all year. It's not that his #3 receiver barely played this year. It's not that his #1 receiver is turning into a self-absorbed, non-blocking, live facebooking, "business is boomin'", crybaby, immature, stat compiler that gets ten times the credit Ben does, when it's Ben that makes AB great

Do you notice at the end of halves, they always dump the ball off to AB for a completely insignificant large gain that gets them no points, but pads AB's stat line as the clock runs out? Why do you think that is? I'll give you a hint. It's not because they really think AB is going to score on the play.

It's bad enough he has to listen to his own fans say he doesn't have it anymore. Or that he just doesn't have the fire. Or he takes too much time in between snaps. Or that he's not elite.

No....that's bad......but most of the people that say that don't really know much about football. They're fans that want to bitch about not winning a super bowl every year just because they can. They puff out their chests and demand change.

They're the same idiots that apparently didn't realize that the team has been rebuilding since 2012, and that the only reason they didn't win less than four games a year for a couple years is because #7 was behind center. The same ignorant people that bitch about an 8-8 season, saying it's a failure because they don't understand that without Ben, they win 3 games. You're right though. If it weren't for Ben, they would have much higher draft picks every year. That really is his fault.

The same dopes that believe Ben is the problem....not the solution.

The same morons that have to scream to the world that Ben sucks and needs to be replaced. The same ones that say it's great that Ben led them to two super bowl victories and to three all together, but he wasn't great in those games. He needs to take this team to a championship this year to prove that he is great. They are the ones that say how awesome Aaron Rodgers is, and that Ben isn't in the same universe as him as a QB. We'll just ignore the fact the Rodgers has only been to one super bowl in his career, and that his playoff record isn't that great.

Here is a link that shows the playoff records of many famous quarterbacks. Everyone needs to look at it and understand how lucky they have been to have Ben here. http://6thring.com/nfl-qb-playoff-re...y-manning.html

Now that you saw that link.....what do you think of Ben's performance here? I know...I know.....it proves nothing to the demanding fan that thinks he needs to win a championship every year.

He sucks on the road huh? Check out Ben's playoff record on the road compared to those "great" quarterbacks not named Brady. Check out Bradshaw's road playoff record and see how he did with all that talent around him.

I think Ben will be back. I just think he is so sick of listening to the media fall all over anyone but him. Aaron Rodgers leads his team to a 31-0 deficit in the third quarter, and it was because his receivers were banged up and his defense sucks. Ben had his team closer, without his #2 and #3 receivers for almost the entire year, his tight end retired at the end of last year and his replacement barely played all year, the best running back in football got injured on the second play of the game, and a defense that was historically bad in the AFC championship game......and we hear questions about Ben's place in football, and questions about how good he really is.

Enough of this bullshit from everyone that demands so much of him, yet knows nothing about what's going on when they watch a football game. They may as well be watching Australian Rules Badminton for the lack of knowledge by so many that criticize him the most.

If he does retire, I will openly mock the people here that give him shit constantly. All the people that say he isn't great, or that he checked out a couple years ago. When the time comes and Ben isn't here anymore, I'm going to bring up all those posts by those same people as they bitch about the next guy. That will happen, because "perrenially unhappy fan" will always be there, flaunting their ignorance because they can.

That's why Ben thinks about cashing in his lottery ticket and living the rest of his life away from football.

He's sick of the bullshit.

[fansince'76]

5-star post, pczach.

And another one that kills me - he's "losing accuracy" after pass after pass hits his receivers not named Brown in the hands and they fucking drop it. And people wonder why he doesn't trust anybody else and zeroes in on AB?

[zulater]

I'll tell you why Ben is thinking about retirement.

Every time anything bad happens....it's Ben's fault with shit-for-brains fans that believe he isn't that great. The same fans like in this thread that call him an asshole for not doing a quarterback sneak. You see, it's not the game plan, or the lack of his #2 receiver being gone all year. It's not that his #3 receiver barely played this year. It's not that his #1 receiver is turning into a self-absorbed, non-blocking, live facebooking, "business is boomin'", crybaby, immature, stat compiler that gets ten times the credit Ben does, when it's Ben that makes AB great

Do you notice at the end of halves, they always dump the ball off to AB for a completely insignificant large gain that gets them no points, but pads AB's stat line as the clock runs out? Why do you think that is? I'll give you a hint. It's not because they really think AB is going to score on the play.

It's bad enough he has to listen to his own fans say he doesn't have it anymore. Or that he just doesn't have the fire. Or he takes too much time in between snaps. Or that he's not elite.

No....that's bad......but most of the people that say that don't really know much about football. They're fans that want to bitch about not winning a super bowl every year just because they can. They puff out their chests and demand change.

They're the same idiots that apparently didn't realize that the team has been rebuilding since 2012, and that the only reason they didn't win less than four games a year for a couple years is because #7 was behind center. The same ignorant people that bitch about an 8-8 season, saying it's a failure because they don't understand that without Ben, they win 3 games. You're right though. If it weren't for Ben, they would have much higher draft picks every year. That really is his fault.

The same dopes that believe Ben is the problem....not the solution.

The same morons that have to scream to the world that Ben sucks and needs to be replaced. The same ones that say it's great that Ben led them to two super bowl victories and to three all together, but he wasn't great in those games. He needs to take this team to a championship this year to prove that he is great. They are the ones that say how awesome Aaron Rodgers is, and that Ben isn't in the same universe as him as a QB. We'll just ignore the fact the Rodgers has only been to one super bowl in his career, and that his playoff record isn't that great.

Here is a link that shows the playoff records of many famous quarterbacks. Everyone needs to look at it and understand how lucky they have been to have Ben here. http://6thring.com/nfl-qb-playoff-re...y-manning.html

Now that you saw that link.....what do you think of Ben's performance here? I know...I know.....it proves nothing to the demanding fan that thinks he needs to win a championship every year.

He sucks on the road huh? Check out Ben's playoff record on the road compared to those "great" quarterbacks not named Brady. Check out Bradshaw's road playoff record and see how he did with all that talent around him.

I think Ben will be back. I just think he is so sick of listening to the media fall all over anyone but him. Aaron Rodgers leads his team to a 31-0 deficit in the third quarter, and it was because his receivers were banged up and his defense sucks. Ben had his team closer, without his #2 and #3 receivers for almost the entire year, his tight end retired at the end of last year and his replacement barely played all year, the best running back in football got injured on the second play of the game, and a defense that was historically bad in the AFC championship game......and we hear questions about Ben's place in football, and questions about how good he really is.

Enough of this bullshit from everyone that demands so much of him, yet knows nothing about what's going on when they watch a football game. They may as well be watching Australian Rules Badminton for the lack of knowledge by so many that criticize him the most.

If he does retire, I will openly mock the people here that give him shit constantly. All the people that say he isn't great, or that he checked out a couple years ago. When the time comes and Ben isn't here anymore, I'm going to bring up all those posts by those same people as they bitch about the next guy. That will happen, because "perrenially unhappy fan" will always be there, flaunting their ignorance because they can.

That's why Ben thinks about cashing in his lottery ticket and living the rest of his life away from football.

He's sick of the bullshit.

[86WARD]

I'll tell you why Ben is thinking about retirement.

Every time anything bad happens....it's Ben's fault with shit-for-brains fans that believe he isn't that great. The same fans like in this thread that call him an asshole for not doing a quarterback sneak. You see, it's not the game plan, or the lack of his #2 receiver being gone all year. It's not that his #3 receiver barely played this year. It's not that his #1 receiver is turning into a self-absorbed, non-blocking, live facebooking, "business is boomin'", crybaby, immature, stat compiler that gets ten times the credit Ben does, when it's Ben that makes AB great

Do you notice at the end of halves, they always dump the ball off to AB for a completely insignificant large gain that gets them no points, but pads AB's stat line as the clock runs out? Why do you think that is? I'll give you a hint. It's not because they really think AB is going to score on the play.

It's bad enough he has to listen to his own fans say he doesn't have it anymore. Or that he just doesn't have the fire. Or he takes too much time in between snaps. Or that he's not elite.

No....that's bad......but most of the people that say that don't really know much about football. They're fans that want to bitch about not winning a super bowl every year just because they can. They puff out their chests and demand change.

They're the same idiots that apparently didn't realize that the team has been rebuilding since 2012, and that the only reason they didn't win less than four games a year for a couple years is because #7 was behind center. The same ignorant people that bitch about an 8-8 season, saying it's a failure because they don't understand that without Ben, they win 3 games. You're right though. If it weren't for Ben, they would have much higher draft picks every year. That really is his fault.

The same dopes that believe Ben is the problem....not the solution.

The same morons that have to scream to the world that Ben sucks and needs to be replaced. The same ones that say it's great that Ben led them to two super bowl victories and to three all together, but he wasn't great in those games. He needs to take this team to a championship this year to prove that he is great. They are the ones that say how awesome Aaron Rodgers is, and that Ben isn't in the same universe as him as a QB. We'll just ignore the fact the Rodgers has only been to one super bowl in his career, and that his playoff record isn't that great.

Here is a link that shows the playoff records of many famous quarterbacks. Everyone needs to look at it and understand how lucky they have been to have Ben here. http://6thring.com/nfl-qb-playoff-re...y-manning.html

Now that you saw that link.....what do you think of Ben's performance here? I know...I know.....it proves nothing to the demanding fan that thinks he needs to win a championship every year.

He sucks on the road huh? Check out Ben's playoff record on the road compared to those "great" quarterbacks not named Brady. Check out Bradshaw's road playoff record and see how he did with all that talent around him.

I think Ben will be back. I just think he is so sick of listening to the media fall all over anyone but him. Aaron Rodgers leads his team to a 31-0 deficit in the third quarter, and it was because his receivers were banged up and his defense sucks. Ben had his team closer, without his #2 and #3 receivers for almost the entire year, his tight end retired at the end of last year and his replacement barely played all year, the best running back in football got injured on the second play of the game, and a defense that was historically bad in the AFC championship game......and we hear questions about Ben's place in football, and questions about how good he really is.

Enough of this bullshit from everyone that demands so much of him, yet knows nothing about what's going on when they watch a football game. They may as well be watching Australian Rules Badminton for the lack of knowledge by so many that criticize him the most.

If he does retire, I will openly mock the people here that give him shit constantly. All the people that say he isn't great, or that he checked out a couple years ago. When the time comes and Ben isn't here anymore, I'm going to bring up all those posts by those same people as they bitch about the next guy. That will happen, because "perrenially unhappy fan" will always be there, flaunting their ignorance because they can.

That's why Ben thinks about cashing in his lottery ticket and living the rest of his life away from football.

He's sick of the bullshit.

Great post. It's scary to think what this team would be like without Ben...return to the days of Mike Tomczak, Kordell Stewart, Kent Graham...or even worse, the days of Cliff Stoudt, David Woodley or Mark Malone? I mean right now we are pretty much witnessing the greatest QB to ever wear the Steelers uniform...sure Bradshaw won more Super Bowls and don't get me wrong, he was great and he's obviously a Hall of Famer...he was a Brett Favre type before Brett Favre. He's one of my favorite players. But Roethlisberger is a better all around QB and the best that has worn the Steelers uniform. You're most likely not going to get a player at QB that's as good as him. Not many teams go from Peyton Manning to Andrew Luck, Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers, Joe Montana to Steve Young...most of the time it's Terry Bradshaw to Mark Malone or Dan Fouts to Mark Malone or Dan Marino to Jay Fiedler or John Elway to Brian Griese...

[polamalubeast]

Seriously I do not think Roethlisberger is on the decline.The reason why he was not as good as in 2014 and 2015 was because Wheaton and Bryant was out for the year or almost and the Miller's retirement and his replacement was almost always out of the lineup.

The game against the pats, Ben had no chance of winning this game, since his WR dropped a lot of ball (over 110 yards in total) and of course the defense was atrocious.