U mad, bro?: Steelers fans cranky about QBs! Ben Roethlisberger, his backups, guys they haven't drafted yet

Mar. 4—So long as we have Steelers quarterback angst, "U mad, bro?" will always have content.

However, this week I was getting concerned. We were overrun with positive responses to the "Breakfast With Benz" columns of late about the "Miracle on Ice," Robert Morris hockey player Chace Sperling, and the Penguins-Whalers trade retrospective.

So much so, that I was wondering if I'd get any negative blowback at all.

Pfft, that's not who I am! Fortunately, I dug deep enough to find plenty of entries for this week's "U mad, bro?" post.

Seriously, though, thanks to those who reached out about those pieces. They were fun to write and I'm glad so many of you liked them. It means a great deal to hear encouraging feedback.

But now let's get back to what we do best. Wallowing in the animosity, bile and angst of being a Pittsburgh sports fan. Especially in a year when the Steelers and Penguins failed to get out of the first round of the playoffs and the Pirates had one of their worst seasons ever.

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Let's start with a humdinger. I didn't get the name of who sent this email. Come to think of it, after reading it for the seventh time, I also didn't get the point. It's got something to do with Ben Roethlisberger, though.

"Are you kidding me? You think the Steelers have a better chance to win with (Mason) Rudolph or (Dwayne) Haskins? Give Ben a running game. Give Ben an offensive line. Give Ben a healthy set of linebackers.

He's not what he once was. But no one on the team is.

How about bringing the Duck back? He won his first 3 games.

Maybe they can lose 12 games with Ben this year. And get a high draft pick for a quarterback. That's how the Steelers do it. See Terry Bradshaw. See Ben Roethlisberger.

Ain't going to happen this year. Ain't going to happen this year for the Pirates. Ain't going to happen this year for the Penguins

You want them to throw in the towel. Thanks for your support."

Help! I can't tell what is sincerity and what's sarcasm. What's going on here, exactly?

Are there two people typing on the same keyboard at the same time? Are you arguing with yourself? Was this some sort of schizophrenic episode spoken into a "talk-to-text" function?

I can't make heads or tails of this. I'll try anyway because I think you are right on two things.

1.) Roethlisberger does need all that help.

2.) He's not going to get enough of it this year.

Unfortunately, because of those factors, that's exactly why I'm saying moving on from Roethlisberger would be the best thing in terms of starting the rebuilding process now and — in a worst-case scenario — putting yourself in a high position to draft a potential top-10 quarterback.

And I never said they'd be better with Rudolph or Haskins. I said they'd be better off not working so hard against the salary cap to keep Roethlisberger at the expense of losing other players.

Also, it's not my job to "support" the team. That's your job.

But I suppose if I can't understand you, why should you understand me?

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Susan responded to my article about what Ben Roethlisberger's contractual situation likely means for Mason Rudolph.

"Mason Rudolph has no business playing as a quarterback in the NFL, and certainly not for the Steelers! Cut him. He is HORRIBLE!"

I wonder what Susan is going to write if the Steelers do that yet keep Dwayne Haskins.

Yikes! That could get ugly.

Sorry, Susan. I don't see them cutting Rudolph going into this season. Unless they draft a first-round quarterback this year. Even then I would expect Rudolph to stay on the roster. And, under those circumstances, they'd trade him instead of cutting him.

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Mike is reacting to my story about Sidney Crosby's 1,000th game and the pace he is on for the rest of his career.

"Nice article on 'The Kid.' But in the entire article, how can you not mention Gordie Howe? Are you thinking that hockey didn't begin until 1975?

If you look at Mr. Hockey's career — even just the years in the NHL — his longevity dwarfs all the players you mention.

I don't argue with Sidney Crosby's Hall of Fame career, but you need a wider lens to compare him to the full breadth of the all-time greats."

I appreciate the email, Mike. But it wasn't a "comparison to other greats" so much as it was a comparison of longevity to other superstars of his relative era. I was already pushing it by going back as far as I did, considering Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr were included.

Plus, Howe played 70-game seasons most of his career. Not 82. He also never played an NHL postseason longer than 14 games. It's not apples to apples in terms of the pacing.

Crosby already has more postseason games played (168) than Howe (157), believe it or not.

Yeah. Howe played a long time and was excellent. Not the point. He has the NHL games played record. I get it.

But the article was never intended to see if Sid could reach that mark. The article was intended to project his longevity compared to other modern-era players that played similar regular season (and postseason) formats.

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Steve emailed about my column arguing against the notion of the Steelers trading up for quarterback Mac Jones of Alabama.

"I'd have no problem if they can land him, regardless of what happens with Ben this coming season. As long as he's a good and accurate passer and has the smarts for the position, why not? I think scouts and GM's passing on him, or devaluing him and other QB's because they're not athletic enough, is comical and short-sighted.

Most of the mobile 'athletic' QB's are realistically only one good injury away from being nothing more than a less mobile, mediocre pocket QB anyway. These kind of QB's are 5-year, high-risk gambles."

Steve, I think we are being too linear with our usage of "mobile." It sounds like when you say "mobile," you think Lamar Jackson or Michael Vick. As in a guy who may wind up in the NFL's top 10 in rushing.

When I think mobile, I'm thinking Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen or Russell Wilson. Players who are good passers but can move in the pocket to elude the rush or escape it when things break down.

The questions about Jones are if he can even do that.

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Let's end with something that made me mad. Because it made me remember times I lost lots of money. It was a tweet that was posted by FOX Bet analyst Todd Fuhrman.

Oh, gee, Todd. I don't know specifically about one time. But I can give you a bunch that all kinda went the same way.

And they usually came from my colleagues in the Pittsburgh sports media who would say, "I know the Steelers aren't good as big favorites, but there's no way they'll fail to cover against (fill in the blank) at quarterback."

Over the years, those "fill in the blank" quarterbacks included Ryan Finley, Ryan Mallett, Bruce Gradkowski, Terrelle Pryor, Brandon Weeden, Jake Locker, Kellen Clemens, Blake Bortles (twice), Tim Couch, Matt Cassel (in Kansas City) and Tim Tebow.

Just to name a few off the top of my head.

There. Does that make you happy, Todd?

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.