Perspective

by steelerark on Nov 11, 2008 12:39 PM EST Comment 16 comments

I must say, I have been shocked at all of the negativity that has come to this site lately. It seems like after every loss, there is nothing but predictions of doom, complete with wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Why is this loss all on Ben? Because of those picks? Were they returned for TDs? No. Was Ben out there on defense afterward? Wasn't there another team out there on the field that was trying to win as well? Ben did not lose this game, <em>the team</em> lost this game. Ben does not look himself, I agree. He could stand to sit a game or two to heal, I agree as well. But to 'blame' our 6-3 record on Ben is ridiculous and irresponsible. And by the way, if someone had told you at the start of the season that we would be 6-3 and 3-0 in our division at this point, with the schedule that we have, all of you would have said 'Great!'.

A little proof for you. And let me throw in a post before the season started where everyone gushes about Ben. It's funny how just three losses later, so many are ready to throw him under a bus and start a guy who struggled to even find work this year.

Who cares if the Ravens are 6-3? They have a tough stretch coming up, like we do. Let's all get some perspective and realize that we are playing tough teams out there, and that so far, we have only 3 losses. Its not like we came into this season expecting to win every game.

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It's not about the three losses

Ben has not been great in the wins either (Cupcake opponents Cincy and Houston aside). He just gets a pass for poor play (see Redskins game) when the rest of the team, usually the defense, bails him out.

As it is every season in the NFL, preseason expections mean as much as a participation trophy you get in little league baseball (that means nothing, by the way). We didn’t expect our defense to be the single most dominant unit in the NFL. If we would have known that before the season, I think we would be disappointed with a 6-3 start, especially when our supposedly brutal schedule has weakened considerably. By preseason expectations, which rely on last year’s data, we had a monumental schedule. It turns out, the teams we have played so far are a combined 41-40.

This doesn’t mean we need to bench Ben. It just means we may have gotten ahead of ourselves. 2 out of the last 3 years Ben’s play has been brutal. Maybe last year was the outlier. Maybe what we have in Ben is a quality starter but not a superstar. That’s not negativity-it’s reality.

by CarlWeathersMustache on Nov 11, 2008 1:14 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

And lets throw out 2004 or 2005?

Or maybe his first 3 of 4 years is the real Ben and maybe he isnt playing well because he only has one arm, and missing half of his limbs, and gets beat 3 times per game.

by jason97673 on Nov 11, 2008 1:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Meant he gets beat 30 times per game.

by jason97673 on Nov 11, 2008 1:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

he did lose

the game sunday. you can blame the offensive line for their goal line failures but the bottom line is they were up and the colts turned two interceptions into 14 points. the defense played absolutely BRILLIANT on sunday. they contained peyton manning and shut down the running game once again. what do you expect the defense to do???? so there you have it. pretty much the only place you CAN look at where the game was lost was who was taking the snaps.

by beerman13 on Nov 11, 2008 2:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

last warning beerman

Be angry if you want. Stop stepping on toes though please, especially long standing folks like ’ark.

by Blitzburgh on Nov 11, 2008 3:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

his comments

are laced with profanity and my comments get deleted and get warned. fuck him and fuck you.

by beerman13 on Nov 11, 2008 3:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

you know what?

you’re right about that. My comments have been laced with profanity. And I’m sorry for that. That is to the rest of the population here that I am apologizing to. I’m sorry that I have let this person get to me enough that I have been cussing a lot, which I don’t normally do. Normally people like you I can ignore, but you are everywhere. That’s what has gotten to me. Every post I go to, there are your comments saying the same thing. A post about the defense? You rip on Ben. A post about Arians? You rip on Ben. A post on the team? You rip on Ben. That’s what sucks, not your dislike of Ben. Lots of folks disagree with me and that’s totally fine. There are tons of dissenting opinions on this site. But you try to shove it down our throats, over and over again.

by steelerark on Nov 11, 2008 3:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

dude

Seriously. He has a loooong history of being calm. You have a long history of being pissed off and hating on this team. Thtas the difference. For the record, I emailed him and asked him to tone it down.

Cooler heads por favor.

by Blitzburgh on Nov 11, 2008 3:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

well said Ark

It’s nice to see some of the long time BTSC-er’s standing up Ben and this team. I just hope all these idiot bandwagoners don’t try to jump back on the Big Ben bus once this team get’s going again.

Revenge of the Birds

by cgolden on Nov 11, 2008 2:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

wake up

this isn’t 2004 or 2005 or even 2007 for that matter. it is 2008 and its looking exactly like 2006. unless we have a miracle (like byron leftwich replacing ben) this season will end without a division title and without a playoff appearance. sad but true.

by beerman13 on Nov 11, 2008 3:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Byron replacing Ben = a miracle????

Dude, that’s just crazy talk. Maybe Ben needs to sit for a week or two, but Byron’s no miracle worker.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Nov 11, 2008 3:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Im pro-ben but a realist

Bens the best thing to happen to this team since The Bus and thats obvious.

And this isnt anything like 2006. In 2006 we lost games against EASY teams that werent worth dookie. This year we’ve been competitive through and through.

The bottom line is we have to stop hurting ourselves. If we just played safer with the ball and punted instead of these INTs and penalties we would have 8 wins right now.

Either get serious with Ben and tell him he HAS to stop throwing picks, or tell the damn OC to run more, or give Byron the keys for two weeks and see if that doesnt light a metaphorical fire under Bennys buttocks. He will respond well.

by Mechem on Nov 11, 2008 3:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

From the other side..

I’ve had season tickets with the Ravens since the begining. I’ve seen Cordell, Maddux, and every part-timer in between. I watched Bradshaw amd Malone every chance as a kid who only got Skins games on the tube where I lived. I was on the one yard line when Vinny, up by 14, threw a pick just before half and a Steeler ran it back 90 yards and changed the game completly. I saw Cordell throw a fourth quarter bomb one night in B-more that won the game. But, I never witnessed a Pitt. QB in the last 20 years who could avoid sacks, throw from all positions and remain unnerved like Ben.

He’s a warrior. A guy who can manage a run, defensive and bad weather team. It would do the entire division a favor to disrupt your team any more than resting Ben for a few games. His sack escapes are uncanny. You saw him reach out for a bad toss, find a few feet in the pocket and throw that bomb to Ward against the Colts. He saved that play like he saved the Bus’s ass. He also did enough to keep you within one score/pass of a tough Colts team. Please, get rid of him. Your 6-3, never lose on Monday Night and always show up for big games…with Ben as your QB.

by raven on Nov 11, 2008 11:30 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

lol

Nice.

It is kinda funny. The teams fans that have beaten us this year have done cartwheels after the victories. At least the Giants fans did, and I know the Eagles partisans were stoked too. Havent checked in with Colts fans.

by Blitzburgh on Nov 11, 2008 11:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

forgot to finsh my thought

anyway, easy to not appreciate what you have unless you’re on the outside.

Anybody see Shaun Hill play QB? Sheesh. Talk about depressing

by Blitzburgh on Nov 11, 2008 11:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

yeah..he took them right down the field in the final drive and “Over the Top” Singletary takes the ball out his hands (and Hill the receivers hands)…52 seconds left- only got off 2 bad run plays from the 2.5…horrible coaching..Singletary didn’t even know what yard line they were on when they called the play! His team should have called him out on national tv and then mooned HIM !

by raven on Nov 12, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions 0 recs