Steelers must weather fans' storm
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So now, 24 hours from minicamp and 12 weeks from maxicamp, we have what they call in the NFL some measurables.
The suspension of Ben Roethlisberger is six weeks (adjustable), the statement of Ben Roethlisberger regarding the suspension was eight sentences, the number of Steelers with a chance of starting a game at quarterback this season is four, and the dew point is about 29.
Let's keep this to meteorology for the moment.
The relevant question for the Pittsburgh franchise on this, Day 56 of Retreat From Milledgeville, is perhaps best cast in figurative meteorological terms: How long can you stand in the rain?
The Roethlisberger issue, even as it has achieved some administrative plateau of resolution, remains a steady rain on the image of the franchise, the city, and, again, if you must, all of Steelers Nation.
Big Bad Ben is an issue as minicamp opens, because he is not there. He'll be an issue when training camp opens, because he is there. He'll be an issue when the season opens, because he won't be there again. And, if and when he finally pulls on a No. 7 for a football game The Nation really cares about -- sometime in late October, then you'll see an issue erupt reliably into a circus.
That's what the Steelers bought with their decision to retain and rehabilitate the quarterback rather than trade out from under him in the days leading up to the draft. You can likely attribute that to a stunning lack of interest from every corner of the NFL in loading Ben's baggage. Art Rooney II, as I've mentioned, is in a much better position to have made that call than I, and what follows does not say he's wrong, only that there's a price for everything.
In the case of our working metaphor, you go stand in the rain for six months, minimum.
First Published April 29, 2010 12:00 am
