Michael Wilbon on the Steelers

[ramblinjim]

This was in yesterday's Washington Post, he does a weekly chat about sports, somewhat like Bouchette.

Somerville, MA: Santonio Holmes, a Super Bowl MVP, traded for a 5th round pick?!? Are the Steelers stupid for getting rid of such a great talent or smart to identify a troublemaker and get rid of him now instead of dealing with his off-the-field antics while prepping for a season?

Michael Wilbon: The Steelers don't tolerate a lot of foolishness. The Redskins do, but the Steelers don't. And pardon me, but can you give me the franchise score in Super Bowls lately? Oh, right Steelers two in the last five years, Redskins one playoff win in the last what? I love the Steelers philosophy and their way of dealing with issues. It might even seem extreme to me, but they have their way and it works over the long-term, and in the short-term. There's no arguing with the way the Steelers do their thing. If they think Holmes was more trouble than he's worth, I tend to agree with the Steelers.



Many of us will look at something the Rooney's do and think "what in the............" yet from afar, another Sports writer tends to think they run the team the right way too. Naturally you can't get it right every time but I'll follow the track record.

[JTP53609]

he makes more sense then his side kick kornholer...

[ramblinjim]

His chat went a little further than I thought, here's two more.

Ben Roethlisberger: Apparently, no charges will be filed against him. How many more times can he act like a knucklehead before the Steelers decide to move on and replace him?

Michael Wilbon: Once more? Did that just come over the wire (as we used to say)?

_______________________

Steelers: If the Steelers don't put up with foolishness are they planning to trade Ben?

Michael Wilbon: Holmes had multiple run-ins and was expendable. Ben is now in the multiple category himself, but isn't expendable...Rememeber a few minutes ago when I said, "more trouble than he's worth." Ben's worth the trouble, still...for now.

[Oviedo]

Holmes was nothing more than a replaceable carbon unit like all the rest of the players. Some may be a little harder to replace than others but with 75 years of perspective the Rooney's know that they have replaced far greater players than anyone on the current roster.

The Rooney's look long term because the Steelers is there primary source of livlihood and has been for 3/4 of a century, unlike guys like Dan Snyder who want immediate gratification because their teams are hobbies and places to spend money they got elsewhere.

[proudpittsburgher]

Santonio was traded not because he screwed up multiple times, but because he showed little to zero remorse for doing so. Almost taunted the team, in a way, through his twitter account. Ben made a statement. Wasn't the most heartfelt statement, but a statement nonetheless apologizing for the position he put the team in. That only goes so far, and if Ben gets accused again, maybe a statement won't be enough, but it is clear why the rooneys did that they did to Holmes, and are handeling the Ben situation how they have.