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kcnfl27 · 5 years ago

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Cementing a Legacy

As pro-athletes age they take on different traits to shadow their own accomplishments. Simply winning is often not enough to propel them into the mystical upper echelon of the games greats.

Pittsburgh Steelers two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, now finds himself at this particular career, and life, crossroads. Roethlisberger returns to lead his team at the ripe age of 37. What used to be a miracle age to remain at the top now seems to be a lot more common place. Perhaps this coming season is the most challenging the pro-bowler has ever faced.

Big Ben now finds himself as the undoubted alpha male in the Steelers locker room, if he wasn’t already. His main locker room rival, Antonio Brown, has moved on to a glut of dollars in Oakland after the team cut ties with their hugely disgruntled, yet super-talented wideout. Traditionally NFL offences fundamentally and, most crucially, rely on chemistry and trust between QB and receiver. Both these components were utterly destroyed by a series of events between the two clashing egos; a loss in Denver in week twelve, that appeared to fall on Big Ben’s head, led to him directly blame Brown for running a poor route. It proved to be the beginning of the end for both of them in large part.

Playing third string in the ongoing battle of wills was hold-out running back Le V’eon Bell. Whilst his issues seemed to run deeper to the core of his contract disputes with the team, there was also considerable “beef” with Roethlisberger. Bell made the comment that his QB wanted to win “his own way”, and felt the relationship between the two was never “open”, “genuine” or “real”. After his year of a self-imposed hold-out, Bell subsequently took his huge talents onto a different set of dramas with the New York Jets.

So the last man standing is Roethlisberger. Within a battle of egos one important ally is essential in order to win the war; it boils down to maintaining the support and backing of your team’s hierarchy. General Manager, Kevin Colbert, saying Ben was playing with “fifty-two kids” un-did many years of stability the Steelers organization always prided themselves on. As a result it undoubtedly gift-wrapped total control to their veteran quarterback. In the process this has allowed him to further foster his links with new receiving sensation, and team MVP, JuJu Smith-Schuster. JuJu, entering his third year, is now clearly Ben’s chosen one and is the team’s unchallenged number one go-to receiver. A lot will now depend on his continued chemistry with Big Ben to lead the team to victories.

By subtraction, at wideout the Steelers could actually be better off, as Schuster will provide production for longer and at fewer dollars all without A.B’s disruptive influences. Meanwhile, at running back the team happened upon a third round gem in James Conner, who performed at a high level since being drafted in 2017. Replacing Bell’s unique skill set could prove to be almost impossible, but do expect yards and touchdowns to be comparable from Conner as the team’s starting tailback.

Looking at the bigger picture is where problems might ultimately doom the Steelers moving forward. A long established veil of organizational stability has now been pulled back to reveal a quarterback who appears to, not only set agendas, but call the shots. All of this could very well translate into a disease that could make its way through yet another locker room. Historically players also find it very difficult to play for a selfish leader which is exactly what Roethlisberger is perceived as presently. If Head Coach, Mike Tomlin, is feeling the heat after missing the play-offs last time round, then this off-season’s talent exodus must have him sweating now.

K.C.

#nfl nflblog nfluk sportsblog sportjournalism sportanalyst pittsburghsteelers benroethlisberger antoniobrown nfldraft mvp

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