8/17/16-Thoughts on The QB Situation, Harrison and A.B.

By: Mike Pelaia

As camp has ended it’s time to roll out a few thoughts on the current state of the Steelers.

The QB Situation: First and foremost, the backup QB situation has pretty much solved itself…at least in regards to who the number two guy is. Landry Jones was the front runner anyway but three minutes into Bruce Gradkowski playing in the pre-season opener, he went down with an injury that appears to have him out for the year, handing Jones the job. 

The question now is do the Steelers keep Dustin Vaughan as the number three guy or do they go out and bring someone else in? Perhaps Mike Vick returns for another season?  Honestly, at this point, I think the team should stick with Vaughan and take him on as a project. Should Big Ben go down, that’s when I’d consider bringing back Vick, if he’s still available.

Additionally, this has to be it for Gradkowski in a Steeler uniform. This will now be the second consecutive year that he’s been paid to not play and he’s not that good when he’s healthy anyway. 

James Harrison:  This won’t be popular amongst many Steeler fans but Harrison is wrong in the way he’s facing the NFL. Yes, I said it, he’s wrong. He’s refusing to listen to the league and go to New York for the interview. Listen, I’m not saying the man is guilty of PED use, in fact I’m quite positive he’s not. I’m also not saying that I like Roger Goodell and the way he conducts himself. However, the league has spoken and has threatened Harrison with a suspension and he wants to fight it and demand they meet with him on his terms? Sorry, that’s not how this works.  The league office is the court, and his employer. Do you tell the court system or your employer that they need to come to you when you get a ticket or have a meeting with your boss in regards to your performance? No, you don’t. That’s called the rules. Harrison is deliberately putting the rules aside and quite frankly if he continues to let his ego do the talking, he’s going to hurt this team in a major way. The black and gold need him and he needs to stop playing games and just go to the meeting already.

For entertainment, I like to peruse social media to see what the fans take on things are and on this one, it’s laughable. Everybody is lauding Harrison for his stance, sorry, it’s ignorant. You’re essentially praising his potential in hurting this team. Do you want Harrison to win a battle against a suspension on his terms or do you want the Steelers to win the Super Bowl and gain the easiest path in doing so by winning as many regular season games as possible?  I’m assuming you chose the latter so now I ask you this; do the Steelers have a better chance of doing so with or without Harrison?  Think about it and get back to me.

Antonio Brown: This might just be my day to upset Steeler Nation but I think Brown needs to go back to being the humble guy that he is at heart. He’s the best wide receiver in the game in my opinion and pretty much un-guardable but does he need to start showing up refs in practice? Does he need to keep talking about his contract or at least letting leaks out about wanting a new deal? He’s right by the way, he’s underpaid, but he signed the deal, play it out and the Steelers will take care of him. He’s loved, he’s a phenomenal player and he’s going to end up shattering all Steeler receiving records when his time is over. Tone down the diva that’s starting to show up A.B.