one team seriously considered Big Ben trade

[SteelAbility]

Re: one team seriously considered Big Ben trade

On the flip side, the Steelers could have came out when this first started and said that they were not shopping him. Instead, they chose to neither confirm nor deny it when asked, which gives those two hacks credibility.

Why would they do that? The rumors served a purpose.

Which was what? Scare Big Ben into obedience or alienate him further from the team?

Nothing is confirmed from the Steelers, they are often cryptic about personnel plans. So I don't think we can say with any certainty that the rumors served as a message to Ben. But this definitely seems like a situation where they should made their intentions known.

The rumors can create an artificial sense of value, which could ripple into some idiot FO, like STL or DET, making a ridiculous offer to get Ben.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Re: one team seriously considered Big Ben trade

Schefter and Florio really blew this out of proportion. Schefter reported that Ben was being shopped. Florio, who recently has done little more than turn the "tweets" of real journalists into stories, repeated this story without confirming any of the sources. It was later reported that the Steelers weren't shopping Ben, but that a few other teams made offers.

Florio, rather than admit that he is a plagiarizing hack who failed to confirm a rumor before peddling it as the truth, tries to spin the issue as the Steelers trying to put toothpaste in the tube when, in reality, the whole situation was created by the media failing to confirm stories.

On the flip side, the Steelers could have came out when this first started and said that they were not shopping him. Instead, they chose to neither confirm nor deny it when asked, which gives those two hacks credibility.

The rumors came out of the Steelers organization. This was planted for a purpose. They did it to send a message.

If they wanted to trade him then they would just do it....the way they did with Santonio. No indication at all prior to him being dealt (at least not from the Steelers side of it).

If the rumors would have been sources from Oakland and St. Louis, then I would have given it some credibility, but as soon as I saw that it came from Pittsburgh sources I knew that it was a smokescreen.

[Pahn711]

Re: one team seriously considered Big Ben trade

The rumors came out of the Steelers organization. This was planted for a purpose. They did it to send a message.

If they wanted to trade him then they would just do it....the way they did with Santonio. No indication at all prior to him being dealt (at least not from the Steelers side of it).

If the rumors would have been sources from Oakland and St. Louis, then I would have given it some credibility, but as soon as I saw that it came from Pittsburgh sources I knew that it was a smokescreen.

According to everything I've read, Schefter was the first to give to accentuate the rumors. I think you are giving him too much credibility if you believe his sources were directly from the Steelers FO. Unless I'm missing something here, it seems to me like even that can be called into question. I guess I'd just like to see a more credible source confirm this before buying in.