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With news that Ben Roethlisberger will be suspended four to six games for violating the NFL’s conduct policy, the only words that come to mind are “good,” “great,” “awesome” and “he deserved it.”
Roethlisberger is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the league and has led the Pittsburgh Steelers to two Super Bowl titles in his young career. However, the former University of Miami (Ohio) star has put himself in bad situation after bad situation.
Recently, Roethlisberger has been under the legal eye because of an alleged sexual assault on March 3 at a central Georgia nightclub. A 20-year-old college student accused him of sexually assaulting her in the bathroom, while his bodyguards would not let her worried friends into the room.
No charges were filed due to lack of evidence, but the backlash and image were not only hurtful to Roethlisberger, but the Steelers organization and the NFL.
When Roger Goodell took over as the commissioner of the NFL before the 2006 season, he had a no-nonsense approach to disciplining players, and it’s no surprise to see he suspended Big Ben for at least a fourth of the regular season.
The question that remains is if the Steelers will trade their star quarterback and his hefty $102 million contract. They just traded troubled Pro Bowl wide receiver Santonio Holmes to the New York Jets after another run-in with the law and after learning he will be suspended for four games.
Pittsburgh would be smart to trade Roethlisberger if they can acquire a top-10 draft pick this season. The Steelers are a good situation for any quarterback to come into because they have a talented roster and a great coaching staff. Roethlisberger started as a rookie after Tommy Maddox went down and led the team to the AFC Championship Game.
If they can snag a top-10 pick, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen will be around and could be thrown into the starting job from the beginning.
If the Steelers do hold onto Big Ben and wait out his suspension, they won’t have that difficult of an early season schedule. Dennis Dixon is a young quarterback and will most likely assume starting duties with Roethlisberger out. Although he doesn’t have the passing skills of Big Ben, he possesses good running and playmaking skills.
In week one, the Steelers have a big test at home against Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons were right outside of the playoffs last year, but were hurt by injuries to Ryan and star running back Michael Turner. Even if the Falcons are fully healthy, that’s a winnable game for Pittsburgh.
In weeks two and three, Pittsburgh is on the road at Tennessee and Tampa Bay. Tennessee is a tough team with Chris Johnson leading the way, but they don’t have a lot other than that. Tampa Bay is rebuilding and will not be good this year.
Week four is the big game when Baltimore visits Heinz Field and Dixon might have trouble with the Ravens defense, as he did last year in his only NFL start.
Roethlisberger might be back after four games, but in the event that his suspension is five or six, a home game with Cleveland is winnable, as is an Oct. 24 meeting at Miami.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a difficult dilemma with the draft beginning tonight, but they will probably hold onto their troubled signal-caller. It’s hard to be a Big Ben fan when he showed up to a press conference the day before his meeting with Goodell and had a slicked-back mullet — looking the part of someone who is up to no good.
Pittsburgh is a class organization, and at the end of the day, they will decide what’s best for the team.
Bangor Daily News