Ten Selfish Reasons Ben Roethlisberger Needs to be at OTA’s Monday

For Pittsburgh Steelers fans, the season begins today.   The Pittsburgh Steelers start OTA’s and Steeler Coach Mike Tomlin expects to see Ben Roethlisberger.  Call me nuts, but I would have loved to not hear Tomlin say the phrase ‘expects to see.’ 

How about this comment?  ”Ben will be here Monday.”

No questions.  No legal strategy.  No excuses.

We talked about this extensively and came up with ten very selfish reasons why Big Ben needs to be playing football Monday:

10.  Winners win. Remember the 35-0 rout (at halftime) of the Ravens in front of the legendary Steelers (minus Lambert) reunion night? Ben is the best money time QB in the NFL. He needs to get dialed into some football. Because you know, football players should focus on one thing, football. It supports the golf habit nicely.  Just watch:

09.  Charlie Batch?   So, you thought the announcement of a two-year deal with  Batch just so happened to be announced three days before OTA’s begin?  Surely, you know better than that.  Batch has thrown 135 passes in his career in Pittsburgh.  “I’m excited (the new contract)  its’ done.”  Yeh, I’m sooo excited too.

08.  Batch has thrown two passes for the Steelers in the past two seasons.  Sure Batch is a mentor.  Sure he’s safe.  Sure he has been a capable backup–but that was years ago.  Batch is a 35-year old, third string quarterback. 

07.  Can anyone be positive Batch is healthy?  I’m not.  The Batch injury history is: leg, knuckle, knee, concussion, knee, collar bone, wrist.  He will be 36 on December, 10 2010.   

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06. How comfortable are you with Dennis Dixon as your back-up quarterback?  We thought so. Ben get here Monday please sir.

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05.  Dennis Dixon looked very similar to his collegiate performance in this video.  The Ravens highlight is impressive, but the NFL isn’t the PAC-10.

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`04.  Ben needs to realize a considerable number of people support him.  I don’t know what happened and it’s not my business. I just know what I have seen in Ben’s personality and its’ nothing close to what I have heard, read, or listened to during this madness. By my unreliable count, the only Pittsburgh media type that hasn’t jumped on the Bash Ben bandwagon is Mark Madden from WXDX.  Madden predicted the charges against Roethlisberger will be dropped.   

Remember, Ben has many Akim Haven’s waiting for him.

03.  It’s time for Ben to start focusing on football.  The big hits are only months away.  Are you comfortable with Dixon and Batch taking a hit like this?

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02.  The team needs to know that Ben respects them.  The owner is looking for it.  The coaches are looking for it.  He is the leader of this team. 

Without Ben this team has a completely, entirely, absolutely different outlook in 2010.  His teammates know that fact.   In defending the comments he made prior to the Steelers road game against the Ravens last season, Steelers WR Hines Ward made the understatement of the century.   “He gives us the best opportunity.”  Enlightening stuff Mr. Ward.

01.   Roethlisberger can’t control anything that is going on in the Milledgeville case, that’s over for now.  Roethlisberger has one place to be on Monday.  We don’t want the Rooney’s to have any reason to make moves with Big Ben. 

Ben can control that beginning Monday.  So here we go, we bet he will be on the field Monday working on the one thing he can control–winning a championship for the Steelers fans.   UPDATE:  Ben won’t be reporting today.  Now I am sick.

  00.  Let the circus begin.