The Roethlisberger Conundrum

As the draft draws ever closer, further talk of a star QB being traded has sprung up. Despite the decision of a Georgia District Attorney not to press charges of sexual assault against the Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger, his team are said to be mad as hell with Big Ben and have not ruled out trading him as a result of his behaviour. They set a precedent last week when releasing WR Santonio Holmes, as a result of repeated offences, generally relating to domestic violence and substance abuse. Given what Graeme said about "10,000 hours" in yesterday's blog, it doesn't take a genius to work out a little about Holmes' background! It was just over a year ago that he caught the winning pass and was named MVP in the Superbowl against the Cardinals. Yet now, he has been traded to the Jets for nothing more than a fifth-round draft pick and has been suspended by the NFL for 4 games as a result of his behaviour. The Steelers would appear to take a tough line with troublemakers and not make too much of a fuss over reputation.

This is not the first time that Roethlisberger has screwed up. This is the second time in less than a year that a woman has accused him of sexual assault. Admittedly, the first one was a bit bonkers, but you still have to go some way to getting allegations made against you in the first place - they aren't just fabricated from thin air. However, I can allay the fears of all you worried Steelers fans and say that Big Ben will not be traded!

The reason is very simple - he has achieved too much in his 6 seasons with the Steelers. Two Superbowl rings speak for themselves. Despite being in a strong class of QBs in 2004, Big Ben has trumped them all - Eli Manning may have a ring with the Giants from 2007, but he is far from an elite QB and no-one but Deion Sanders seems to believe in him. Phil Rivers puts up impressive numbers but has achieved nothing of substance as yet with the Chargers. Matt Schaub is only now beginning to establish himself as a great QB with the Texans, but needs more than Andre Johnson around him if they're to go anywhere fast. Ben Roethlisberger is, to my mind, the only one of these 4 players who can make it to the Hall of Fame. The Steelers know this and won't throw him away for nothing as they did Holmes. There was talk of them trading up in the draft from 18 to 1, so that they can pick up Sam Bradford, a move that the Cleveland Browns are also said to be considering. If they are going to trade him, this must be their only option, given his star quality and the fact that the Rams could match Roethlisberger's relatively modest contract. However, the Steelers have said that all decisions about this issue will be made after the draft, so Bradford will not be a Pittsburgh player next season.

In all probablity, he will sit out a game or two at the start of the season - Mike Tomlin has great faith in back-up Dennis Dixon and this affair will give him a chance to show what he can do. All that Big Ben can do is keep his head down, play good football when he returns and keep his hands to himself for a little while, so that he can win back the fans in Pittsburgh.

RM