Times that Ben took the blame.

[pczach]

I don't like Colbert's "52 kids" comment either. However, I get everything else he said and the message he was trying to send.

I see it as Colbert saying there are a few young people in the locker room that want to do things their own way. Ben tries to talk to players and tell them that this is how it needs to be done. The young players blow off Ben, because they know better. It's really that simple.

When AB makes a mistake

in practice, and Ben wants to run the play again to get it right....run the fucking play again AB. AB can catch a million balls a day working on his craft by himself. Even if Ben makes more mistakes than him in practice, if the starting quarterback needs to run something again so the TEAM gets it right....it needs to be done. I don't give a shit how hard AB works on his craft. The team needs to work on things together. That's what a "team" does.

[DesertSteel]

Man. You guys sure are delicate little flowers.

Bosses say stupid crap all the time.

Everyone plays favorites.

These are grown men we are talking about not high school kids or grade schoolers for that matter. If they don't realize they are in a mercenary business that could give two shits about their feelings or thoughts on almost any subject, then they need to put on their big boy pants.

On a Pro Football team, three opinions matter: Owner/GM, Head Coach, and Quarterback. Everyone else is viewed as cog in a machine. Cogs are replaceable.

It’s the GM who’s saying they aren’t, not us. I have zero confidence in the trinity of Rooney, Colbert and Tomlin. Nothing delicate about that.

[Mojouw]

I guess I can't figure out what was wrong with Colbert's admittedly stupid analogy. But this guy isn't a Harvard professor he's a lifelong football guy. Football guys basically talk in 3 metaphors: war, family, or program/way.

Colbert choose the family metaphor/analogy/whatever and placed Ben as the role of Pater Familias. He could've switched it to Ben being the General and telling his privates how it is gonna be, but I think avoiding putting Ben and privates in the same sentence is a sound move.

I mean if we are going to parse this out and make sure we consider everyone's extremely delicate feelings, what about the 11 guys on the practice squad and the handful of guys on IR that Colbert didn't even mention? I mean won't someone think of those guys? How are they going to be ready to contribute if it is clear the GM doesn't even consider them part of the team?

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It’s the GM who’s saying they aren’t, not us. I have zero confidence in the trinity of Rooney, Colbert and Tomlin. Nothing delicate about that.

Oh. For fuck's sake. You can not be serious? Really?

Yes. Kevin Colbert believes that all but one of his football team's roster are small children.

This is a team that just when basically 9-7, missed the playoffs, is watching the engine that helps make the offense go melt down, still can't cover TEs down the seam, hasn' t met a 4-5 receiver set they can cover in 3 seasons, and the metaphor the GM chose is what you are going to use to divine why they didn't host a parade?

I mean if only Artie Burns thought Colbert viewed him as a man with his own valuable thoughts and ideas he would be an excellent man cover corner and not the clutch, grab, trip, and fall down nightmare he currently is.

[AtlantaDan]

I guess I can't figure out what was wrong with Colbert's admittedly stupid analogy. But this guy isn't a Harvard professor he's a lifelong football guy. Football guys basically talk in 3 metaphors: war, family, or program/way.

Colbert choose the family metaphor/analogy/whatever and placed Ben as the role of Pater Familias. He could've switched it to Ben being the General and telling his privates how it is gonna be, but I think avoiding putting Ben and privates in the same sentence is a sound move.

I mean if we are going to parse this out and make sure we consider everyone's extremely delicate feelings, what about the 11 guys on the practice squad and the handful of guys on IR that Colbert didn't even mention? I mean won't someone think of those guys? How are they going to be ready to contribute if it is clear the GM doesn't even consider them part of the team?

Anytime you get someone in management saying the workplace is any sort of family the employees better hold on to their wallets - it’s a business and you are out of the family if the front office finds someone better or at least less expensive.

But at least go with the banal band of brothers nonsense with Ben as the older brother

It is not just a bad metaphor - the idea of someone who screwed up off the field as often as Ben did earlier in his career being some sort of father figure to players like DeCastro and Heyward is ludicrous and may indicate Colbert is pretty clueless about the locker room dynamics

But as I posted above, it more likely indicates we are down to one major egomaniac left on the team (a not uncommon occurrence with veteran franchise QBs) and Colbert knows that ego needs to be fed with the sort of premeditated pandering we got yesterday

[Mojouw]

Anytime you get someone in management saying the workplace is any sort of family the employees better hold on to their wallets - it’s a business and you are out of the family if the front office finds someone better or at least less expensive.

But at least go with the banal band of brothers nonsense with Ben as the older brother

It is not just a bad metaphor - the idea of someone who screwed up off the field as often as Ben did earlier in his career being some sort of father figure to players like DeCastro and Heyward is ludicrous and may indicate Colbert is pretty clueless about the locker room dynamics

But as I posted above, it more likely indicates we are down to one major egomaniac left on the team (a not uncommon occurrence with veteran franchise QBs) and Colbert knows that ego needs to be fed with the sort of premeditated pandering we got yesterday

Yeah. I think that is pretty obvious. They are going to ride or die with the franchise QB. How would there be any other plan? Other than that Ravens team with a red-hot Flacco, who has even won a SB in the last what, decade and a half, without one?

And honestly if these morons can't stand a balky metaphor from the GM (a guy most of them see or talk to likely less than 3 teams in a year), they might need to move on with their life's work.

Once you accept that the franchise long ago hitched its wagon to Ben R over and above anyone else, this is just the definition of a tempest in a teapot. Honestly, once they didn't get rid of him after his ummm "incidents"...they made it pretty clear it is Ben and then everyone else.

[DesertSteel]

I guess I can't figure out what was wrong with Colbert's admittedly stupid analogy. But this guy isn't a Harvard professor he's a lifelong football guy. Football guys basically talk in 3 metaphors: war, family, or program/way.

Then you are entirely diluted with your own philosophical wisdom.

Oh. For fuck's sake. You can not be serious? Really?

Yeah I’m dead serious. They are the three stooges.

I wish those three would move on with their life’s work.

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Anytime you get someone in management saying the workplace is any sort of family the employees better hold on to their wallets - it’s a business and you are out of the family if the front office finds someone better or at least less expensive.

But at least go with the banal band of brothers nonsense with Ben as the older brother

It is not just a bad metaphor - the idea of someone who screwed up off the field as often as Ben did earlier in his career being some sort of father figure to players like DeCastro and Heyward is ludicrous and may indicate Colbert is pretty clueless about the locker room dynamics

But as I posted above, it more likely indicates we are down to one major egomaniac left on the team (a not uncommon occurrence with veteran franchise QBs) and Colbert knows that ego needs to be fed with the sort of premeditated pandering we got yesterday

Amen brother!

[Mojouw]

Then you are entirely diluted with your own philosophical wisdom.



Yeah I’m dead serious. They are the three stooges.

I wish those three would move on with their life’s work.

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Amen brother!

Ok. Find me quotes from football coaches or GMs that don't fall back on war, family, or program when they are casting about for a way to talk about their team. Mike Leach is teaching an entire nonsense class at whatever school he is at now about football as war. Lots of nonsense about Sun Tsu and whatnot.

But we can leave all that cliched nonsense aside for a moment. WTF does any of it have to do with winning football games? I'm willing to bet a great deal of $$ that like 5 years ago we would've NEVER even heard about this quote because no one would've been around to Tweet it and have it go "viral".

I'm on record as saying that I strongly suspect Ben is a mediocre leader at best. I also am not a fan of him as a human being. So what. How is anyone shocked or surprised or angered or whatever that Colbert has doubled down on backing the guy he has paid obscene amounts of money to, built the offense to cater to, and is almost certain to sign to a massive $$$ extension any day now.

This is a water is wet, sky is blue, dogs like meat, kinda story.

[DesertSteel]

Sigh. You can make a brown bag of poop sound like a bag of pearls.

What Colbert needed to do was tell Ben to cancel his radio show instead of empowering him to continue his ways of throwing teammates under the bus. But the stupidest comment was saying Ben is the leader/father figure and all the other 52 were kids.

I’ve ran a couple large organizations, in both the corporate and non-profit sectors. What the Steelers are doing doesn’t in any way resemble leadership.

[Mojouw]

This argument is like a thousand years old around here.

People want honest answers to questions that provide details and insight into team plans and strategies. Tomlin is derided as an arrogant cool shades poker player with nothing but a slick book of cliches because he has basically mastered the art of not saying anything to 80% of questions.

Ben tends to give dramatic and detailed answers to anyone with a microphone. That is also not good.

So which is it? Want the detailed scoop? The cliched non-answers? Or is it just whatever makes you feel good in the moment?

It is totally possible what the Steelers are doing right now is the path to ruin. But to look at it and be like "Wow! This is an unexpected series of responses!" is kinda ridiculous. These guys only know about 3 ways to respond to things. Colbert just mashed "button 1" in his brain and this is what came out.

[Shoes]

Times that Tomlin took the blame.

[86WARD]

So a major problem with this teams culture is starting at the head. Colbert’s view on this team and the “culture” that he’s creating isn’t an acceptable culture. He’s taking one player and putting them above the other 52 with those comments. It’s meet what he’s trying to say, but the way it’s phrased, especially at this point in this teams history, its one of the more moronic things this organization has seen.

“52 kids”? With how sensitive these NFL players are nowadays, try to tell me that’s not going to rub, at the very least, a handful of guys the wrong way. Colbert did nothing to help,any kind of situation that’s happening in that locker room with that stupid comment.

If I look at that as Colbert putting Ben above the rest of the team (and an ownership mentality), then so do some of the players.

Villanueva, served time in Afghanistan...he’s no fucking kid...lol.

[teegre]

I saw Ben buying 52 car seats. Literally.

[DesertSteel]

I saw Ben buying 52 car seats. Literally.

I’m literally expecting some see some cool photoshops and memes with Ben and his 52 kids.

[86WARD]

I saw Ben buying 52 car seats. Literally.

Lol.


Harrison saying he’d feel some kind of way with Colbert’s comment...

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...steelers-drama

I know people hate him around here but he’s speaking from a player from that locker room. Not many people would know better than he would.

[vader29]

I saw Ben buying 52 car seats. Literally.

I’m literally expecting some see some cool photoshops and memes with Ben and his 52 kids.

He only needed to buy 51 as they already had one for AB.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Looks like Colbert likes to put a #7 jersey on a blow up doll, when nobody is around.......just like some of the posters on this forum.

[DesertSteel]

Short of a trip to the AFCCG, I hope this is Ben’s last year, as well as Tomlin. I’d rather have a 6-10 team that I can feel good about than this embarrassing mess.

[zulater]

Short of a trip to the AFCCG, I hope this is Ben’s last year, as well as Tomlin. I’d rather have a 6-10 team that I can feel good about than this embarrassing mess.

I can't wait until the season starts. A pissed off Ben is a dangerous Ben. Last time he had a really good "mad-on" on was 2010 when he felt he was done wrong by Goodell and the press. And if Mendenhall doesn't fumble or a back up center doesn't hold in the end zone we could have won a SB. Watch Ben's interceptions go down without Mr freelance running him into 8-10 of them. Yeah the passing yards will probably go down. But that will be a good thing. We lost proper offensive balance last season. We need to shore up the back up rb position and let things happen. Anyway Ben hasn't said a fucking word since the season ended. I think he's taking names and will be looking to shove it up his detractors ass with his play.

And some of you wonder why Bradshaw was so quick to disown Pittsburgh and Steeler nation when he was done playing? If I were Ben I would probably do the same. People think playing qb is so damn easy. Always comparing Ben to Brady and Brees. Forgetting how many talented players fall short. 1st overall picks like Matt Stafford, Jameis Willis. Sam Bradford, Cam Newton, Carson Palmer, and Alex Smith. Not a SB win among them. That's not even mentioning compete busts like Jamarcus Russell, Tim Couch, and David Carr.

So you go ahead and wish for him to away. I knew Dolphin fans that felt the same way about Marino while he was still in his prime. Good chance after Ben leaves we get our share of Ryan Tannehill type talents. That should please the ignorant masses.

[DesertSteel]

I can't wait until the season starts. A pissed off Ben is a dangerous Ben. Last time he had a really good "mad-on" on was 2010 when he felt he was done wrong by Goodell and the press. And if Mendenhall doesn't fumble or a back up center doesn't hold in the end zone we could have won a SB. Watch Ben's interceptions go down without Mr freelance running him into 8-10 of them. Yeah the passing yards will probably go down. But that will be a good thing. We lost proper offensive balance last season. We need to shore up the back up rb position and let things happen. Anyway Ben hasn't said a fucking word since the season ended. I think he's taking names and will be looking to shove it up his detractors ass with his play.

And some of you wonder why Bradshaw was so quick to disown Pittsburgh and Steeler nation when he was done playing? If I were Ben I would probably do the same. People think playing qb is so damn easy. Always comparing Ben to Brady and Brees. Forgetting how many talented players fall short. 1st overall picks like Matt Stafford, Jameis Willis. Sam Bradford, Cam Newton, Carson Palmer, and Alex Smith. Not a SB win among them. That's not even mentioning compete busts like Jamarcus Russell, Tim Couch, and David Carr.

So you go ahead and wish for him to away. I knew Dolphin fans that felt the same way about Marino while he was still in his prime. Good chance after Ben leaves we get our share of Ryan Tannehill type talents. That should please the ignorant masses.

Thanks for the well wishes. I'm 56 and have been a Steelers fan since 1972. I think I can manage a few seasons of rebuilding.

[zulater]

Thanks for the well wishes. I'm 56 and have been a Steelers fan since 1972. I think I can manage a few seasons of rebuilding.

I'm 58 and remember talented Steeler teams rotting on the vine for lack of quality qb play. I think the 92-97 Steelers were more talented than any team Ben ever played on. And all those great players, Woodson, Lloyd, Steed, Lake, Chad Brown, LeVon Kirkland, Kevin Greene, Eric Greene, Faneca, Thigpen, Dirt Dawson, and what did that get us?

[Dwinsgames]

@zulater @dessertsteel ... it has just become abundantly clear to me that WE ( myself included ) are just a bunch of grumpy old men LOL

[DesertSteel]

I'm 58 and remember talented Steeler teams rotting on the vine for lack of quality qb play. I think the 92-97 Steelers were more talented than any team Ben ever played on. And all those great players, Woodson, Lloyd, Steed, Lake, Chad Brown, LeVon Kirkland, Kevin Greene, Eric Greene, Faneca, Thigpen, Dirt Dawson, and what did that get us?

The same thing this team has gotten for the past 10 years. Other than they did get to to the Super Bowl with Neil.

My feelings, right or wrong, are that if this team is just going to continue the trend it's on, I'd rather start the rebuild now, or soon. I'm just fed up with every sports outlet ridiculing the Steelers every day, including many ex-Steeler players. If they aren't going to win anything, it's just not worth it.

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@zulater @dessertsteel ... it has just become abundantly clear to me that WE ( myself included ) are just a bunch of grumpy old me LOL

True dat

[86WARD]

He only needed to buy 51 as they already had one for AB.

LMAO ... that’s the greatest!! Tomlin outside the window is the best!

[86WARD]

So looking at the roster, Ben is 36 on his way to 37 in 2019. Foster is 4 years younger. Ben has 15 seasons. Foster 10. Ben literally has played 50% more than the next closest player in the roster.

In a way, Colbert is right. Ben is literally playing with younger kids. He could theoretically be Terrell Edmunds Dad...lol. There’s only 7 other players over the age of 30.

[Mojouw]

So looking at the roster, Ben is 36 on his way to 37 in 2019. Foster is 4 years younger. Ben has 15 seasons. Foster 10. Ben literally has played 50% more than the next closest player in the roster.

In a way, Colbert is right. Ben is literally playing with younger kids. He could theoretically be Terrell Edmunds Dad...lol. There’s only 7 other players over the age of 30.

Finally. Someone gets the point that was being made - however badly. There are like 4 guys in that locker room that actually know what it takes to succeed long term in the NFL. Pouncey, Foster, Haden, and Ben. Of that group I think only Pouncey and Ben have ever won anything.

I came across some pulls from steelers related twitter last night and many were hilarious. Posting other NFL players and coaches calling teammates kids and a variety of other things that support the idea that fans and the media reaction force care far far far far far more about this than players do.

[Shoes]

He only needed to buy 51 as they already had one for AB.

Post of the month!

[Shoes]

LMAO ... that’s the greatest!! Tomlin outside the window is the best!

It's close, the one with AJRII in a burning room saying there are no problems and a picture of Danny Smith chewing gum framed on the wall is pretty good also.

[86WARD]

I think you could add DeCastro to that list of players.

[zulater]

I think you could add DeCastro to that list of players.

AV too. He's got more man cred than anyone in the league.

[FrancoLambert]

Finally. Someone gets the point that was being made - however badly. There are like 4 guys in that locker room that actually know what it takes to succeed long term in the NFL. Pouncey, Foster, Haden, and Ben. Of that group I think only Pouncey and Ben have ever won anything.

I came across some pulls from steelers related twitter last night and many were hilarious. Posting other NFL players and coaches calling teammates kids and a variety of other things that support the idea that fans and the media reaction force care far far far far far more about this than players do.

As posted above, omitting DeCastro, AV, and Heyward from the group that knows how to succeed without the benefit of Ben’s inherent wisdom is way off the mark.

Especially AV. Despite his short tenure here, I’d bet his life experience puts him at the forefront of what it takes to be successful in ANY walk of life.