A Little Pre-Draft Chat...

To be fair, I did have a plan for a podcast today, with a little bit of draft talk, but since we didn't get to it... with T-minus three hours until the first pick - and an interminable amount of time before the next one - let's talk Stillers:

First off, the most ridiculous quote I've heard yet about the 2010 draft... just before signing off of NFL Live this afternoon on the Mothership, Herm Edwards dropped this 'bomb':

"Tim Tebow? A Pittsburgh Steeler."

To which Jeff in Delaware responded: "Thankfully, [Herm Edwards] is an idiot."

Now to the main matter at hand: BIG BEN IS OUT AT LEAST FOUR WEEKS... and possibly six, if he slips up again between now and the start of the season... aaaand I wouldn't exactly rule that out just yet... yesterday, ESPN's Adam Schefter was reporting that the Steelers are actively courting trade offers for Roethlisberger, so the question becomes... what SHOULD they do?... is this rumor of a possible trade, if it's true... a classic case of overreaction?

Yes, Big Ben, according to unprovable accusations deemed unfit to prosecute, is a drunken slob who may or may not know the meaning of the word "no".... but again, I point to Ray Lewis in this situation. Ray-Ray... was not just charged in relation to a murder, he WENT ON TRIAL... in relation to a murder... and B-More was cool with that.... you can still hang, Ray-Ray.... "I didn't staaaaab noboooody"... allegedly... the Ravens were cool with that.

Now, Schefter said the Steelers may be willing to deal Roethlisberger in some sort of trade that involves a top-13 draft pick.... but... the Steelers are only five slots below that right NOW.... Schefter also said the Rams and Bills both said no to possible trades.... the Rams, that's a little surprising... I mean, that team is going NOWHERE, in a BIG hurry... two-time Superbowl winner at QB? That doesn't appeal over taking a big, big chance on Sam Bradford?

WHAT IF... the Steelers swapped Roethlisberger and their #13 pick... for Donovan McNabb and the Skins #4 pick?... now, this is so off-the-charts it's almost too ridiculous to bring up... then again, that would put it right in Dan Snyder's wheelhouse... that's right up Dan Snyder's alley... Skins already snagged Fast Willie Pee, and we got Randle El... why not keep swapping squads? What do YOU think the Steelers should do?

Gayle in Pittsburgh wrote to the program yesterday:

"Troubled and talented sounds like Oakland would be a great place for the jackhole."

But that's already out... and again, my personal opinion? You know, I'm honestly not sure how I feel about a possible Big Ben trade... does he fit with the quote, Steelers ethic?... I guess not... then again, the Steelers aren't exactly the most squeaky-clean team in the league... see... James Harrison, involved in an alleged domestic altercation... see also, recently-canned, Santonio Holmes... oh, you can SAY he was traded... fifth-round draft pick... a trade that Warren Sapp described as swapping Holmes for, quote, "a jawbreaker and a gum wrapper"?... he was fired.

We can keep going... in fact... when it comes to... rockin' the ganj?.... when it comes to... smokin' the dojja?... see Bam Morris... "What's that officer? There's a key of chron in my trunk? Well I don't know how THAT got there." And let's not forget problem child... erstwhile kicker and a man who strikes fear into Sheetz bathrooms everywhere... Skippy Reed.

Are they the Mugshot Extravanganza that was... the Cincinnati Bengals of the 1990s? No... but players getting in trouble is not really strange in just about every NFL locker room... guys get in trouble.... Big Ben's trouble is admittedly more serious... than gripping and ripping in a Sheetz men's room... it's more serious even, than a key of chron in your trunk... then again, it wasn't serious enough for him to get arrested... or charged... you know, we're not talking about an OJ situation where he's gone through a trial, been found not guilty, and now he's being hit with a civil suit... no, the first of these cases went straight to the civil suit... a year after the, alleged, fact....

This second alleged incident was brought to the authorities' attention with the speed and the quickness... in plenty of time to investigate and collect evidence for a prosecutable sexual assault case... and thus far, nothing has come of it... but then you go on Deadspin.com, or any other sports-rumor-mill website, and there are countless of stories of Big Ben being a Big Jerk... all over the Pittsburgh bar and club scene... no one officially on the record, of course... again, I don't really want to get into guilt or innocence... From a Steelers standpoint, for me, it comes down to this: Is Roethlisberger still capable of leading that team? Will those guys get behind him? So far, no one on the squad is comin' out and backing him... Is this a case where winning is enough, when it comes to the fans? Let me state this again: RAY LEWIS WAS ON TRIAL FOR HIS PART IN A MURDER.... A MURDER.... If the Steelers move Roethlisberger - and let's not forget about the clear, proven facts on the NFL side.. two Super Bowls... easily one of the top 10, if not top five, quarterbacks in the league... if they move him, then what? You gotta get a top 10 draft pick for him... gotta get a quarterback, right? I love me some Byron Leftwich... greatest backup in the NFL... but are you gonna run him and Dennis Dixon in the competition for 2011 starter?... I don't think you are... gotta get a quarterback... then again, you HAVE a quarterback... two-time Superbowl winner... top 10, elite NFL QB... possibly a drunken scumbag...

Big Ben came out in the same draft class, 2004, as Philip Rivers and Eli Manning, a fantastic draft for QBs by all accounts.. when's the last time that happened?... 1995 was the most recent time it was even CLOSE... Air McNair and Kerry Collins went top 5 that year... and you can go back past 1985 without seeing another QB draft class like that... 1983, maybe... Elway, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Ken O'Brien, there you go... a great QB class happens about... once every 20 years... it just happened six years ago.... Sam Bradford? Colt McCoy? Jimmy Clausen?

I don't know if that's worth giving up your two-time Superbowl-winning drunken scumbag quarterback.... allegedly.