Sunday, February 10th, 2008 by Adam Wagner
Roethlisberger to start contract talks
Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers are planning on starting discussions about a contract extension this week. The situation finds the Steelers in uncharted waters for them as Roethlisberger is undoubtedly the offensive face of the franchise (Hines Ward may be right there, but he needs to have someone throw him the ball) and will demand a lengthy, expensive contract. How the negotiations happen could decide whether the Steelers are stuck in salary cap hell for the next decade or whether they are a contender.
When an extension for Roethlisberger was first mentioned, last summer, the logical comparisons were the six-year, $67ish million contracts signed by St. Louis’ Marc Bulger and Dallas’ Tony Romo. Since then, Roethlisberger has improved steadily while Bulger has regressed and Romo has put up numbers but failed to win the big game. Right now, the NFL’s elite quarterbacks are probably Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Brett Favre with Roethlisberger, Romo, Drew Brees, Carson Palmer, and maybe Eli Manning (depending on whether or not you see the Giants’ victory over the Patriots as a fluke or not) on a level immediately below them. That is pretty lofty status for Roethlisberger, who just completed his fourth season of play.
By signing Roethlisberger, the Steelers would be admitting a change in offensive philosophy, depending more on the pass than the run, something that they have gradually 
worked towards over the past four seasons. The most major move in that process came last summer when Bruce Arians, who ran the pass-happy offenses that breathed life into Jeff Garcia’s career in Cleveland earlier this decade, was named the Steelers’ offensive coordinator. Arians does not think like a typical Steeler coordinator, constantly looking to throw the ball instead of to run it and turning to the pass game not only to gain leads, but also to hold them. For his offense to work, he needs a quarterback like Roethlisberger who, not coincidentally, works best in an offense where he is given the freedom to throw as much as possible.
This shift is a case of Steelers’ fans receiving what they asked for, a franchise quarterback, and learning that old adage “be careful what you wish for” as the Steelers will undoubtedly be more exciting in some situations over the time of Roethlisberger’s reign, but will also have to put up with the downsides of having a franchise quarterback. One example of this came earlier this year after Roethlisberger said that he would like to have Alan Faneca back and would like to have a tall receiver.
The comments were taken out of context, but that the quarterback would even make them was a little bit surprising. The Steelers do not have anything resembling a major problem at wide receiver. Yes, a third or fourth round pick on one would be nice to add some quality depth there, but they do not need to make a free agent signing or anything of that ilk to improve at the position. Instead, they need to improve on the line, where Faneca’s return appears almost as unlikely as the NHL supplanting the NFL as the country’s most popular sport. It’s not happening. Roethlisberger should have deflected the question or said something along the lines of, “Well we struggled at . . .” thereby not giving a direct answer and not ticking anyone off in any way.
As long as the offense is based around the quarterback and not the running game, though, the quarterback will receive more attention from both the media and opposing defenses. This makes a quality running game even more important, something that the Steelers seemed to have at times last season but which seemed to disappear at others. In order for the Steelers to achieve the most success, they undoubtedly need to sign Roethlisberger, but they also need to be aware of all of the other facets of their team, from the running game to the offensive line to the aging front seven. A large extension for Roethlisberger is a necessity before it becomes a distraction, but the Steelers need to keep an eye on the big picture at the same time.
Leave a Reply