As fans its often hard for us to not be biased about the "business" of
football. I don't begrudge Mike Hilton for making much more money elsewhere
than he could have made here. I won't complain that he signed with the Bungles
either. I have little tolerance for the people who rant about losing big budget
FA's like Bud Dupree when clearly we have alot of financial issues and he was
well out of what we could, and in my opinion should, pay for his services.
Tyson Alualu and Juju are now even more beloved for giving us the fames home
town discount. We got luck Tyson got Covid and that his family and home played
a role in his decision. He is at the end of his career and we are not talking
huge differences in contract so he did what was best for him and his family,
not the Steelers ( even though it does work out for the team) . Juju did not
take a hometown discount he had few option in a covid cap crunch year and knows
staying here likely gives him the best chance to shine and make big money next
year.
All that being said us fans can't help but give those players who stayed a
little extra love because we wanted them to stay all along. What interests me
here is the NON fan perspective. The team and fans largely agree Ben gives us
the best chance to win right now, and many argue we "owe" him the right to
stay. I can't decide where I fall on the argument of owing Ben anything when we
pushed Hines and Troy out the door without "owing " them anything. But, does
Ben give us the best chance to win more games or actually go to a Super Bowl
which is what should matter. I have noticed that many ex-Steelers do NOT feel
the same way as fans.Ike Taylor, Ryan Clark and Arthur Moats are all media
members now and all three said the team needed to move on from Ben. Largely
agreed to save money, see what you have in the backups here and possibly draft
a QB.
I find it interesting that players who have no fan loyalty and look at football
as a business felt the best course of business to build for the future by
moving on from the past. Did they feel that way when they were not re-signed or
allowed to stay past their prime?
Just an interesting debate to me.
My 2 cents. With the money tied up in Ben it just made sense to keep him at
least this year. At 24 it would be too costly to move up for a QB. That said I
would have liked to see how Rudolph looked all season so they can make an
informed decision. I would like to see a Haskins/Rudolph camp battle.
I think the team has done a nice under the radar job with the low budget they
had to plug many holes. If they can hit the homerun and get 4-5 contributors in
the draft ( RB, ILB,OLB, T and C preferably) they can make the playoffs. Is
there one last bottle or lightning in Ben's closet? Well we have to wait and
see. ]
Very excited for the draft next weekend.
Thoughts on the business of football?
Scott in Jersey