My ultimatum to ben is this
1) Thank you for being QB for he Pittsburgh Steelers since 2004.
2) everybody who is a true fan of this team, in this city, knows that Ben would be held in much higher national regard if he played in a major market- Just ask Clemente.
3) Ben has provided some of the most thrilling Steeler Highlights, amazing plays, and victories that I cherish. My love for this team goes back to the days of Hannraty and Shankiln.
4) No matter what anyone says- the NFL had a crisis on its hand when NE was caught cheating, the NFL lied (2004 AFC Championship Game), the NFL covered up, because the extent of that scandal threatened to bring down the league. This scandal is still being covered up and it remains Roger Goodells original sin and it has, to this day, enduring repercussions that have extended throughout Ben's entire career.
5) Ben showed how people can change and he has continued to live up to that standard. It is a life lesson that was played out on a national stage. He could of fought it, the law was likely on his side, but I believe he looked at the person that he had become and he made life changes. That is a testament to the individual and the network that supported him.
6) Our offense that past 2 years was based on short passes. When Ben went out, Rudolph came in and then stopped throwing the ball downfield, king of the checkdowns.
Duck came on and played with abandon, people loved it, until he too was bridled, and checking down. I called it fearful Fichtner disease, always preaching doubt.
Our offense this year came to a halt when BMORE showed the world that we would not throw downfield. Was that Ben's surgically repaired arm? or was that Fearful Fichtner running the same offense he ran the previous season??
I am going with the latter.
7) My ultimatum is this-I am looking forward to climbing the Stairway to Seven, with #7, this year, with Ben as our QB, and going out on top.