Why Terrell Owens Should Be A Steeler

Well it’s July and once again one of football’s best players is still not on a team. When will Brett Favre rejoin the Vikings? Man, every summer with this guy!
Sorry for the levity, but in all honesty I find it amazing that T.O. is still a free agent this late in the game. I can certainly understand why that is the case though. T.O. was cocky and clashed with coaches in San Francisco. He was cocky and clashed with coaches in Philadelphia. He was cocky and clashed with coaches in Dallas. TO has a long history of blowing up in his coaches faces and the team suffering the consequences, but in all honesty was TO the downfall of these teams?

TO was in San Fran at the tail end of the 49ers dynasty. As it became unraveled it was easy to blame the flamboyant hot shot wideout. In Philadelphia, TO made comments that he should not have, but as opposed to addressing those comments and dealing with the matter in house, Andy Reid and the Eagles decided to deactivate TO for 11 games! It is interesting to note that in those seven games TO had a season remarkably like his season in Buffalo, stats wise at least. Why discard a player dominating so much for an entire season over a few comments? The Eagles went into a talespin and lost their best chance at a Super Bowl. In Dallas, Romo couldn’t get it done in December. TO had shouting matches with coaches in Dallas, but in all honesty with as much talent as Dallas has, how have they not won a championship? My guess would be that Jerry Jones’ puppet coaching crew is to blame and anyone with any knowledge of football would be able to see that the Dallas coaching staff leaves a lot to be desired. Notice, TO didn’t blow up in Bill Parcell’s face…but what do I know? I’m an amateur writer about to try and sell Terrell Owens to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The jist of what I am getting at is that while TO has never been a “good soldier” he is not necessarily the destroyer of teams that he is made out to be.

Ok so another mark against TO is that he gives up on plays when he doesn’t get his way. Valid point. TO is a world class whiner when it comes to getting him the ball. Dallas vs Pittsburgh he gave up on a route and ended up causing an INT that gave Pittsburgh the winning touchdown. That is a terrible mark against TO. He will occasionally give up when frustrated and not put the effort in. However, in that game TO had Dallas’ only touchdown, plus it was a fairly acrobatic grab with Ike Taylor all over him. TO has behaved petulantly, but in a season at Buffalo, I saw no petulance or whining despite numerous losses and a sharp decline in stats. TO went through football limbo and finally found out what it was like to be on a bad team. On a good team, TO would be grateful enough to give 100%...not to mention that father time in waiting to take TO’s skill. This year is almost now or never.

Well, TO drops a lot of passes. True. TO does drop a lot of passes. If he caught all of the passes he has dropped he may have passed Jerry Rice in receiving stats. Regardless of the drops TO is still in the top ten in most receiving categories. He may drop the ball occasionally, but he more than makes up for that in big play catches. So, it comes down to do the plays still outweigh the drops, drama, effort, and risk? Let’s take a look at what TO can do.

The problem in laying out what TO brings to the table is that what he has done after the whistle tends to shroud all of it out. I think to prove T.O.’s value to the Steelers, I have to explain TO’s skill set in terms of what the Steelers organization and fans expected out of Limas Sweed. For the uninitiated, Limas Sweed is a wide receiver from Texas that we drafted in the second round two years ago. He was supposed to be good, but in similar fashion to TO, Sweed had a problem making catches. The difference between the two is that TO can put drops behind him and make big time catches. Sweed was a tall guy as is TO. The difference is that TO is a workout warrior who is solid muscle. It is nearly impossible to prevent him from catching a ball in the endzone. Many have tried and many have failed. Sweed demonstrated a propensity for the crack block, which TO could easily duplicate and exceed. Can you imagine a team with TO and Ward run blocking? Mendenhall loves bumping runs to the outside and having TO and Ward clearing the edge would make for some nice rushing gains. Sweed had the ability to get open at will, TO most definitely possesses that ability. Even at 36 TO still got behind defenses all the time in Buffalo, but the weak armed Trent Edwards and Fitzpatrick could never give a satisfactory deep ball, just ask Lee Evans. To still has incredible speed and is in great shape for his age. He can still burn defenses and turn a five yard out into much larger gains. In a terrible Buffalo offense he averaged 15.1 yards per reception! TO can still play at a high level. To sum up, TO can do everything Sweed can do better and would make a perfect one year bandaid for the injured wide receiver.

I have made this argument before and the question always comes up, why do you want to ruin your team? Why? Well I do not see signing TO as a step towards ruining my team in all honesty. TO is viewed as a destroyer of teams, but we have seen that while TO handled things badly, ownership often handled things worse. The Steelers ownership would have no problem dealing with TO issues. They traded Holmes for a 5th and have a history of unloading troublemakers (with the notable exception of Ben). If TO acts up I have no doubt he will be shown the door. Also, the last time TO was coupled with a strong veteran wideout was in San Fran when Jerry Rice was playing. With long established Pittsburgh star Hines Ward opposite TO, I think there would be a competitive edge established among the two. Also, TO would have to share the spotlight with a wide receiver adored by his team and who has done something TO never did, won two Super Bowl rings. As I mention the rings, most of the people on this roster have Super Bowl rings, many of them have two. In the receiving corps alone Hines has two, Randle El has one, and Heath has two. On a team with champions who know what it takes to get to the big show, TO would be a good soldier and help get his teammates another ring as hard as he can.

The main reason I want TO on this football team is that this is a championship caliber football team. We brought back three Pittsburgh Super Bowl champs in Randle El, Larry Foote, and Bryant McFadden. Polamalu’s health will only become more of a question as he gets older and Casey Hampton, Aaron Smith, and James Farrior are not getting any younger. With Ben at QB we finally have an offense capable of carrying our defense, which it did against Green Bay and almost against Oakland, Tennesee, and Kansas City. The only weak points, besides oodles of sacks, for our offense last year were short yardage plays and red zone TDs. TO could easily take care of both of those problems. Any time he is on the field he takes coverage away from others so even if he isn’t making the plays, Hines Ward is a lot less covered and Wallace/Miller get chances to make plays. The loss of Holmes will be felt and I question Mike Wallace’s ability to withstand intense coverage. Defenses will slide towards Mike, but with TO in town, defenses will have to respect a lot of targets and will fail to stop Ben from moving up the field. TO will be an asset to Pittsburgh and could elevate us from a team fighting to get into the playoffs into a championship contender. That is why I want TO to be a Steeler.

PS: For Steelers management, I would buy an Owens Steeler jersey the second they were available. Doesn’t it look awesome? Please, Let me get my popcorn ready!

My Favorite Steeler

Dear Rooney Family,

This is a request urging you not to trade QB Ben Roethlisberger. I am fully aware of his multiple transgressions. I am also aware of the shame that these transgressions have brought to the Pittsburgh Steelers. These acts are regrettable and should not be tolerated by a franchise with an image as impeccable as the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, despite these issues, I implore you to not trade away Ben Roethlisberger.

I come from a long line of proud Pittsburgh Steeler fans. My grandfather and uncle watched the Immaculate Reception from their basement and when it happened, they ran out in the cold snow and celebrated into the night. They both fondly recounted these memories and many other Steeler memories to me in my youth. Even though I watched and cheered on Kordell Stewart and Jerome Bettis I never felt an emotional connection to the Steelers enough to call them “MY Team”, that is until Ben Roethlisberger came on the scene.

Enter Ben Roethlisberger, a tall QB whose play is clumsy, yet artful; lucky, yet masterful. Roethlisberger played a never give up style, many would call it backyard, of football that I immediately respected. He got to the AFC Championship in his rookie year and renewed my hopes for Super Bowl glory. The next year, he did something for which I am forever grateful, he helped the Steelers get to Super Bowl XL. Of the stories my grandfather and uncle would tell, the stories I was most envious over were the ones that involved my grandfather and uncle watching the Steelers win four Super Bowls. It was an experience and concept I could in no way comprehend or sympathize with, but was constantly reminded of when hearing of the proud history of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ben gave us the chance to do just that. Without Ben, we don’t beat Indy and probably don’t beat Denver. Ben got us to the Super Bowl and when we won I was finally able to understand the joy that my grandfather and uncle had experienced four times during the 70’s.

I was grateful for much more than a Super Bowl win that year. Ben managed to bring Bill Cowher, Jerome Bettis, and Hines Ward a Super Bowl championship. Despite my lack of an emotional connection during the 90’s I always had respect for these two men. Cowher was essentially my Grandfather on a football field, so I admired him in much the same fashion that I admire my Grandfather. I owned a Bettis jersey, the first of the many Steeler jerseys I now own, including the 75th Anniversary Jersey for Ben. Ward’s jersey was my second, and is my default jersey for most games. If anyone has directly benefitted from Ben, it is Hines Ward. A master of the release and King of the middle, many of Ben’s play extensions have involved Ward getting open and making some fashion of circus catch. Their connection on field is one of the best that I have seen between a quarterback and wide receiver and I would hate to see it end. These three men won championships thanks to Ben’s ability and his attitude on the field.

Ben has provided much more for me between his two Super Bowls. Every year I have ever played fantasy football, I have drafted Ben. In the 2007 season, when he threw 32 touchdowns, I won my championship. That year also brought me my 2nd favorite Steeler game ever. Monday Night Against Baltimore Ben threw five touchdowns, clobbering the previous AFC North champion, and holders of a perennially tough defense, Ravens. My uncle made fun of me for starting Ben against Baltimore, but I was the one who got the last laugh. For this I am also grateful. I have stayed by Ben’s side despite ridicule I have receiver after the accident or after he has a bad game. However, after Super Bowl XLIII, my faith in Ben was nationally vindicated.

I actually went to Super Bowl XLIII. That was the greatest game I have ever seen and most definitely my favorite. Before the game I bought a shirt with Ben on it. In big writing on the front it said “Mr. 4th Quarter”. I was ecstatic and had a feeling Ben would live up to that title during the game I was about to watch. As everyone knows, Ben did not disappoint. That’s the thing about Ben. According to Wikipedia Ben has had 22 4th quarter/overtime comebacks. Each of those 22 games were ridiculously entertaining and keep people watching other close games. With Ben at QB, we can always win. He always finds a way to get things done. Whether it is dumping off to a halfback while getting pulled down by a defensive lineman, to victimizing a 5th string Green Bay corner, barely scratching Baltimore’s end zone, or dropping a pass over triple coverage into the corner of the end zone, Ben gets the Steelers the win. If, as Tomlin has stated on numerous occasions, Steeler Football is 60 Minutes, Ben Roethlisberger is the perfect quarterback to execute that game plan.

So, we come to a decision. As far as backlash from fans is concerned, all Ben has to do is get on the field and do what he does best…win. The great thing about Ben is that when the pressure is on, he elevates to the challenge. Well, this situation is about as strong a pressure cooker as I have ever seen. In this environment where Ben will have to be a model citizen and win to earn the trust of the fans and franchise, Ben will most certainly deliver. Ben will consider this situation his 4th quarter and will deliver on the franchise willing to give him a second chance. I could quote “Innocent until proven guilty”, but I feel the following quote is more pertinent: "To every person of good will, eager to work tirelessly in the building of a new civilization of love, I say once more: Offer forgiveness and receive peace!" –Pope John Paul II.

Give Ben a second chance and the rewards you receive will be great. The Steelers will continue to win and could make a run at yet another Super Bowl. Even if we do not, Ben’s play will bring in new fans and spawn new fond memories. I look forward to the day that I can tell my son, nephew, and grandsons about the great Ben Roethlisberger and how he made me a Steeler fan. Please do not trade Ben. You put your faith in him by giving him a massive contract and we won a Super Bowl. Give him one more show of faith. Keep him on the Steeler roster and let him prove himself. Who knows what might happen. So, formally, I request that you do not trade Ben Roethlisberger, my favorite Steeler.

Sincerely,
Pittsburgh’s Native Son

Madden 09 Player Ratings: AFC North

A link to the new Madden 09 Rankings have come out and I am intrigued by many of the ratings. Many are spot on and others are just...well not so on the spot. Here is a breakdown of some of the ratings. http://www.pastapadre.com/2645/madden-09-player-and-team-ratings

Pittsburgh Steelers














This may not be final, but I do like what I see here. Roethlisberger has a 95 overall and as long as he has good Throwing Power I will be happy. Considering that Willie Parker was the leading rusher until he got hurt I think he deserves a little better than a 93 overall. Ward and Holmes deserve higher ratings. Unfortunately the O-line looks about right, but so does Miller. I like that people are giving Aaron Smith the respect he deserves. Anthony Smith should be higher. He got picked on in the Pats game, but played well on many other occasions. He is largely responsible for the Bengals aerial attack not dominating the Steelers. Lamar Woodley looks about right, but he may get upgraded in an update. PS: Where is Lawrence Timmons?

Cleveland Browns















Derek Anderson may deserve a higher rating, not much higher, but still better than 88. Jamal Lewis is a 90 overall and while that seems low, his power running will be higher than most RBs. Stallworth deserves a higher rating, but Braylon Edwards is perfect. I think Winslow is right. The Offensive Line for Cleveland is phenomenal, as it is in real life. I will be interested to see in the next few days whether Bentley will deserve a higher rating. The defense looks about right. The safety corps could use some improvement, but overall the Cleveland Defense looks about right.

Baltimore Ravens















Troy Smith got screwed over in this projection. Troy Smith put on a decent showing at the end of the season that was a hell of a lot better than Kyle Boller. Also, he has proven he can play in the NFL unlike Brady Quinn who hasn't but has an 82 overall rating! Smith, who bested Quinn for the Heisman, deserves better. The rest of the offense looks about right. We'll see if Ogden stays around another year however. The Ravens Defense looks fearsome as ever, but justifiably so. Overall Baltimore looks about right, minus Troy Smith who got egregiously wronged.

Cincinnati Bengals















Carson Palmer is a good QB. He leaves his receivers out to dry and I, and statistics, say that Roethlisberger is a better QB. I don't think Palmer deserves that high a rating. Rudi Johnson had a bad year and did not deserve to drop that much in his overall rating. The receiver corp is just right. Utecht might deserve a higher rating and the oline looks about right. Unfortunately the Bengal defense is pretty close to reality. Leon Hall may deserve a little higher rating, but overall I think EA got it right.

The AFC North is going to have a rough season with their ridiculously difficult schedules. I think that they can handle it, I only hope that the difficulty of the year does not hurt their ratings in Madden 10. However, in Madden things will be interesting. User skills can make up for poor rankings. Any player can make any team dominant, it is just a matter of will power...and careful use of the precision passing.

The Steelers' Offensive Line

Left Tackle:

Starter: Marvel Smith

Marvel Smith says that he is feeling great after having surgery on his injured back. Smith has been a great offensive lineman and I have no doubt that his back injury contributed to his poor play. It is ridiculously difficult to pass block when you can’t stretch to stand up a defender with ease. I look for Marvel Smith to rebound and have a great year.

Backup: Trai Essex

Essex is a good offensive lineman. He is currently on a one year deal, so look for good play from him in an effort to stay with Pittsburgh or make it onto another roster.

Left Guard:

Starter: Chris Kemoeatu

This is the mystery of the off-season for the Steelers…who is going to fill the void left by Alan Faneca? Many believe it will be four year veteran Chris Kemoeatu. Chris has great strength and is a punishing run blocker, but I question his pass blocking ability along with his ability to pull and lead block. Both are important roles for the Steelers’ Left Guard, whoever he may be.

Backup: Sean Mahan

Mahan was naturally a guard who the Steelers moved to center. Mahan had difficulty with the transition and at this point should only play guard. Whether he is good enough to land a starting job has yet to be seen, but for the moment I have him backing up Chris at Left Guard.

Center:

Starter: Justin Hartwig

Hartwig does have injury concerns, but he was a great center. Carolina cut him because they did not have the cap room to support two good centers and they felt they had more upside with Ryan Kahlil. Hartwig will be a welcome addition to the Steeler’s offensive line craving an anchor at center to not only make room for the power run, but also block for Big Ben.

Backup: Darnell Stapleton

The young center from Rutgers put on a clinic on how to play center during his two year career at Rutgers. He started every game in those two years. In 2006 Rutgers' line only allowed eight sacks and allowed Ray Rice to run 1,794 yards. Stapleton could be a great center for the Steelers, but for now he provides valuable depth at the center position.

Right Guard:

Starter: Kendall Simmons

Simmons has some concerns given his diabetes which may hamper his play. However, he has considerable speed and strength which is always welcome on any offensive line. If he can take care of himself and not let his diabetes hurt him, Kendall could rebound to Super Bowl form.

Backup: Willie Colon

Colon is a good offensive lineman that maybe was not meant to be an OT. Many have considered putting his at the guard spot and he is in contention for the LG starter spot. Colon is good, and has starter caliber potential. If any of the starters minus Hartwig begin to waver, look for Colon to immediately take over.

Right Tackle:

Starter: Max Starks

Starks has games where he just looks lost in pass protection and other times he is able to shut down some of the premier pass-rushers in the NFL. He is either the very best tackle or the very worst. If Starks can bring consistency to his play he will be very valuable to the Steelers. I could also see him taking over at Left Tackle in the event Marvel Smith is unable to play there.

Backup: Tony Hills

Hills was the only offensive line draft pick…something I am not necessarily happy about, but I don’t make the big decisions. Hills will be a great offensive lineman for the Steelers however. He has injury concerns, but his speed and strength will some day prove to be of great use to the Steelers.

I believe that the Steelers will have a stable offensive line next year. The line absolutely has to protect Big Ben. Our $108 million quarterback’s safety has to be priority one. In the past two seasons Ben has been sacked 93 times! That is a ridiculous number made even worse by the fact that Ben has evaded countless other sacks. I will say that sometimes Ben does hold onto the ball too long, but for the most part I saw him with very little time to stand in the pocket. This line needs to pass block and until it does it will always be a problem area. If another year goes by with 40-something sacks an overhaul may be required, which may not be too hard considering that three players on this line have one year contracts.