Guys,...I appreciate Ben as much as anybody. But the great thing about football is that its the ultimate team sport, no individual is greater than the common cause. Ben is clearly not Ben,..whether thats due to injury or some kind of shell shock from the beatings he's been taking it still adds up to him needing rest.

Remember that feeling going into ANY game knowing Ben could pull us out regardless of what he had to work with? Well thats entirely gone,...replaced with the Tommy Maddox feeling of silently praying he doesn't screw it up for the defense.

Ben will NEVER admit that he's not right. We should understand that after 2006.

But most importantly. Think about James Harrison, Aaron Smith, Lamarr Woodley, Casey Hampton, Troy. Don't you think they deserve to have the best chance at winning after their incredible performances week after week after week? Don't they deserve a playoff spot? Do they deserve to watch their season go down the toilet as their QB unfailingly puts them in impossible situations game after game? No. They deserve better.

Byron Leftwich should have started the Indy game,...he should definately start the Chargers game. Depending on his performance (if he does ok) he should start for maybe 4 weeks. Ben was not given a $100 million to be our starter for this year,...but to be our guy for the foreseeable future. 

Won't play for personal reasons,.....this is REALLY bad. Without him i highly doubt we can stop their running game.

"When you're a great team, there will be distractions," head coach Mike Tomlin told Pittsburgh's WPXI. Well, there are other distractions to add to the list: left tackleMarvel Smith, cornerback Bryant McFadden, and running back Willie Parker will all be out with injuries, and defensive end Aaron Smith will also miss the game for personal reasons. Oh, and Troy Polamalu is probably still punch drunk after cracking noggins with the Bengals' Cedric Benson last week. On the upside, Ben Roethlisberger feels great!

http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2008/10/24/steelers-bench-santonio-holmes-plaxico-burress-now-looks-like-h/

Look at this,...its amazing how identical the games were.

Pitt Panthers travelled to Florida this past week as underdogs in a nationally televised prime time game against USF. The game started of badly with a punt returned for a touchdown to make it 0-7.

Steelers travel to Florida as underdogs for a nationally televised game in prime time. Start the game off badly with a pick 6 to make it 0-7.

Pitt dominates the game and creates a healthy lead,.....only to let USF back in it to take the lead 21-20 quarter.

Steelers dominate the game and have a healthy lead,..only to let the Jags back in it to take a 21-20 lead in the fourth quarter.

Pitt makes a game winning drive with about 5 minutes left in the 4th. They cap the drive off with a touchdown. They then go for a 2 point conversion, however its botched by QB fumble.

Steelers make a game winning drive with about 5 minutes left in the 4th. They cap the drive off with a touchdown. They go for the 2 point conversion,..however its botched by a penalty and a missed conversion.

Pitt defense makes a stand. Pitt wins the game 26-21.

Steelers defense makes a stand. Steelers win the game 26-21.

Eagles should love the Steelers for one major reason,...we have robbed the Cowboys of glory many many times. Imagine a world where the Cowboys have won 7 or 8 superbowls,...owned the 1970's, and are unanimously touted as the greatest franchise in the NFL. The Pittsburgh Steelers are all that stood between you and that world.We beat them twice in the Superbowl,...we took the 1970's away from them,...and probably gained tons of fans who otherwise would have rooted for the Cowboys. Imagine dealing with Cowboy nation thats twice as large as it is now?? Yeah, that would suck.

So anyway,...the Steelers gained greatness largely at the expense of your most hated rival. You should love us.

As a Steelers fan,...my most despised teams are the Browns and Ravens,....but the Cowboys are a very close third.

One of the main premises for the opinion that Cleveland would win this division is because their schedule is easier by 2 games (Denver and Buffalo  VS San Diego and Pats). These 2 games could be the difference in a division which will go down to the wire (so they said).

From the looks of it,....Denver will be a MUCH tougher outting than New England. Jay Cutler looked UNBELIEVABLE last night,...he really is a rising star. The same can be said for Buffalo and Trent Edwards. Shawn Merriman is out for the season as of today.

Right now I would much rather play the Pats and Bolts. So far things are falling into place.