Big Ben and the Disappearing B’s

It wasn’t the most difficult nickname in the world to come up with based on its obvious nature but the “Killer B’s” was something that was just too easy not to happen. So it did.

Ben Roethlisberger was the first of the B’s and then was followed Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and then Martavis Bryant. The four men together comprised arguably the most talented offensive foursome in the NFL. The problem was that these superstars haven’t spent much time together to prove just how amazing they could be.

With Martavis Bryant already on the shelf for the season, Le’Veon Bell will now see his equipment collect dust for at least the first four games of the season (barring his appeal which he claims he will win). That leaves Big Ben and the league’s best wide receiver in Brown as the only two remaining and I think I probably speak for many of you when I say “I feel bad for them.”

While there is still a lot of firepower left on this offense I can’t help but feel for Brown and especially the 34-year old Roethlisberger.

I would love to tell you that Roethlisberger has four or five or six more years left in him but I can’t. His body has taken enough punishment for 12 quarterbacks during the same span and his time is running short. Mike Tomlin knows this and so does Kevin Colbert and Art Rooney II and that’s why they’ve been trying to rebuild the defense and give him as many options on offense as possible.

The problem of course is that if those weapons can’t stay on the field then what good are they? I’m told the disappointment from Ben’s camp at the latest news is about what you’d expect. Frustration, anger, all the above as they say but what more can he do about it?

Like Mike Tomlin, Ben Roethlisberger can’t spend every waking hour monitoring the behavior of the players on his team. I’m sure that when he finally addresses the media as camp opens, he’ll be asked about the troubles of both Bell and Bryant and I fully expect that that he’ll give very standard yet well-thought answers.

Regardless of what he says I do believe the frustration will be visible. Like us, it takes time to understand the decisions his teammates have made and he’ll eventually adjust and adapt. That’s what the great ones do. At the same time however I have to imagine Roethlisberger will wonder what may have been had all the “B’s” been in their rightful places.