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Big Ben is the starting QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He gets paid the big bucks to be the focal point of the offense – to make everything work. What’s right for the Steelers is for Big Ben to play the best way that he can. I would have a hard time believing that bringing a backup QB in ‘for a different look’ would benefit the team at all.

I find the labelling of Big Ben as egotistical or a diva to be a strange Pittsburgh phenomenon. He mentioned a few broken bones early in his career – in disagreement with his coach – and he was slapped with a label.

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Now in re Ben’s ego – you may be absolutely correct about this, but I have another theory as well.

There are some people, and I freely admit I am one of them, who have a lot of trouble delegating. because of one of several assumptions: 1) you can’t trust that the person you delegate the task to will actually do it; 2) you can’t trust that the person you delegate it to will do it the way you do (in other words, as well), or 3) you just aren’t able to relinquish control. As a person who has trouble with this, I don’t really want to attribute this to ego, although in fact that may be exactly what it is. But it is also due to some unfortunate experiences in which the person to whom I delegated a task in fact either did not do it or did not do it in a satisfactory fashion. This naturally makes one more reluctant to trust someone the next time. I’ve gotten better through the years, but my default is still “Okay, I’ll do it.”

It may seem strange to view Ben scrambling or hanging on to the ball as equivalent to delegating tasks, but I think they both boil down to some extent to a trust issue. Perhaps one of the things Haley has done for Ben is to patiently help him see that he doesn’t always have to be the hero. What we’ve seen in the last few seasons is perhaps Ben learning that he can rely on his teammates. This interpretation is bolstered by the time he has spent working outside of the regular team activities with his receivers, and part of this is possibly because he has seen how the chemistry he and Antonio Brown have developed has paid off.

This is all pure speculation, of course. But if you can’t speculate on a sports site, where can you?

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What I would love, LOVE, to see this season is the Steelers really using Vick. Not in the 4th quarter, not because Ben is hurt or struggling, but as part of a plan. I won’t pretend I have any idea what that plan is. Just him trotting onto the field when no one expects it, to screw with defenses like they’ll see from the NFC West for example. Changing everything, I hope, just by having Vick out there instead of Ben.

Two reasons why this won’t happen? Vick himself. A few years ago I watched a lot of Eagles football in the preseason and early season and he was a revelation at first. I’d never watched him in action before. Wow. What talent, I thought. He’s amazing. And he is. In certain specific moments. But then….the red zone fumbles and interceptions. How can someone so good be so bad at times? It amuses me now to remember that I said to someone, “And we thought Ben was wildly erratic at times! Vick is a heartbreaker.” A talented man, indeed. But in my small sample of his playing skills, not a sure thing when it looks like a sure thing. He scares me. I want to see the Vick who is, as he’s often described, dangerous in a good way, not the bad way. Maybe as a backup, with the pressure off, he would make better decisions? Older, wiser? Or more desperate? in the split second after I’d be thrilled to see him take the field, I’d be terrified. But that’s Steelers football….

Then there’s Ben’s ego. Can he stand there and watch Vick take over his team for a few plays? Share the glory? I never quite trust that Ben is doing what is best for the team over being a hero. I don’t think that opinion is worth any explanation, just a feeling I get from time to time, and I’m not enough committed to it to do more than air it out. Something about him has always rubbed me the wrong way even when he seems to be saying all the right things. I wouldn’t want any other QB, but that doesn’t mean I’m able to wholeheartedly love him. Weird stuff, this watching from the couch. Sometimes we think we see personality but then again actors and artists are rarely able to hide their real selves even when they’re speaking lines written for them or under layers of paint. I’m not, by the way, pretending to know something or predict something. Again, just airing out a thought.

One of these days I’ll remember why I couldn’t make an account here and give myself a real name when I’ve tried in the past, but for now I’ll sign off as Earthling. I also wholeheartedly want to thank both Ivan and Rebecca for making this a safe space to think. I love all of your articles, I think about them for days. You’re doing a bang up job. Now get Hombre de Acero to do his 5 Burning Questions here and you’ve combined the very best of thoughtful analysis.

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