Just read an article over at the Trib that had a Steelers fan going on about how he won't ever forgive Ben for the incident in Georgia.  I am thoroughly disgusted with the whole Ben scenerio and for a moment wished he was traded, but in the end, the Pittsburgh Steelers organization made the right decision and Ben is still a Pittsburgh Steeler and I'm fine with that.  My question is... what gives this guy the right to judge Ben?  Sure we were all angry about the mistake but the situation is over now, Ben has made his apology and the fact that it was written instead of verbalized should make no difference.  All of us Steeler fans owe him an opportunity (like Colbert said) to win back the respect of his teamates and us as fans.  To deny him that opportunity is just being selfish and virtually glorifying yourself as a perfect human being.  Furthermore, we will be cheering for Ben and the Steelers again this season and that is a good thing. The notion that we shouldn't cheer for Ben because of his mistake is ludicrous.  I am a staunch supporter of a women's right to say "no," a staunch support of good moral conduct from public figures, and was extremely disappointed by Ben's actions, but what's done is done and an apology has been issued.  What right do we fans have to continue to "punish" Ben in this situation?  Time to put this situation in the rear-view mirror and get back to Steeler football. 

I wanted to open a discussion about these alleged "locker room issues" where Big Ben is supposedly not very popular.  This is the first I've heard about this whole BS and I am wondering if anyone has some insight.  I've been going on and on to my work mates about how "tight" the Steelers unit is on a daily basis and how its the way of things in Pittsburgh.  Then Hines jumps out on National TV and throws down the gauntlet on Big Ben.  I must admit, I sat there dumbfounded (jaw completely unhinged), I had really never heard anyone say anything even remotely as incindiary as "the locker room is 50-50," what the heck was all that?  I used to really love Hines Ward, but after that I lost a ton of respect for him and even questioned his (what I believe) selfishness in playing the Browns game.  Ward was clearly suffering from the hamstring and essentially hurt our chances in the game because he just couldn't get open.  I believe he is certainly looking behind him on the depth chart and realizing that if Wallace could clean up his route running, Ward would be sitting.  But, I digress, I am in total shock about this locker room mess and I am hoping that someone knows what is really going on and could explain how it got to this point.

This situation is really starting to aggravate me, I am sick of hearing what people think Michael Vick needs to do to "impress" the NFL to reinstate him.  Consider this comment from the Trib

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said last month that Vick must show true remorse, that he has learned from his mistakes and is prepared to live a different life. Only then will the commissioner consider lifting Vick's indefinite suspension.

Who is Goodell? Who is he to determine whether someone is "sorry" enough?  I think spending 23 months in prison instead of on the playing field is a pretty darn good punishment for his crime.  Now he has to come out and kiss Goodell's a**.  That has to be the most ridiculous thing I've heard and frankly it sounds a bit like Goodell has a "god" complex.

I don't like what Vick did, matter-of-fact I despise what he did, but he was caught, tried by a jury of his peers, sentenced, and he did his time. Case closed.  I believe that Vick should get a second chance no strings attached.  What do you think?

I was watching the NFL Network last night and one of their "Top 10" shows came on listing the top ten most versatile NFL players(Korell was 6th I think).

I was immediately reminded of Kordell Stewert's unwillingness to remain as "Slash" and how I think it shortened his career.  There are some that say that Kordell could have been one of the top receivers for a number of years.  I guess ego plays a part in desiring to be "the guy," and playing QB instantly propells you to the status of "the guy," for better or for worse.

While watching the show, I noticed that many of the players that accepted their role as multi-task players had long and somewhat successful NFL careers.  Examples like Brian Mitchell, Troy Brown, Jim Jensen, and Mike Vrabel, all have had success in the NFL playing different roles on their respective teams all with one motivation, and that was to do whatever was needed to help the team win.

So this brings me to Dennis Dixon, who is the 3rd, maybe 4th QB on a Super Bowl winning team with a franchise QB that is signed for 9 more years.  I may be wrong in suspecting that he is talented enough to handle playing different roles in an offense, but if I am right, why should his talent be wasted holding a clipboard?  If Dennis desires to be a QB only, I would plead with him to analyze objectively the prospects of him becoming a "starting QB."  There are only 32 of those jobs available and even then, sometimes talented QB's match up with faulty coordinators who never seem to get the most development out of young QB's.

When you win a Super Bowl, teams focus considerably on beating you every week, so why not add a wrinkle to the offense that makes teams spend more time in preparation each week.  According to teams that played against "Slash," the defense spent half the week gameplanning for Stewart.  Additionally, it would get an athletic talent on the field for a variety of situations, that could add some mystery to an offense that is still finding an identity in the Bruce Arians tenure. 

So if Dennis Dixon reads this blog, I would ask him if he would entertain the idea of becomming a player like "Slash" to wreak havok on the rest of the NFL.  In the very least it could slow down the Ravens defense at least a tiny bit.