The State of the Steelers

The message of the Pittsburgh Steelers for as long as the Rooney's have been running things has been character over championships.
Thus the reason why they shipped Santonio Holmes out of town for a 5th round draft pick. Last year Holmes caught 79 balls, for 1248 yards, and 5 touchdowns. Those stats are worth more than 5th round draft pick. Just over two years ago Santonio made one of the greatest plays in franchise history and he won the MVP of Super Bowl XLIII. Yet, his off the field issues have continued and now as a Jet he will be suspended four games for violating the league's substance abuse policy again.
This move made by the Steelers shows their philosophy. If you are a punk off the field you don't deserve to be a Pittsburgh Steeler. I was not happy when I heard Holmes got traded because it certainly doesn't increase their chances of winning another super bowl. But, I am now glad that the Steelers got rid of Holmes for the fact that he never learned from his previous mistakes. He got suspended by the Steelers for a game in 2008 for getting arrested with possession of marijuana, since then he has thrown a glass bottle at a women's dome and apparently failed another drug test. One strike is a mistake, the second is a problem, the third is a trend and I don't see Santonio breaking that trend, so have fun in New York buddy.
As for Ben Roethlisberger, who now has more screw-ups than Super Bowl rings, is awaiting a decision from the commish about his punishment. Frankly I think the Steelers have to trade Big Ben. Not because they would look racist for trading the black wide receiver and keeping the white quarterback. The Steelers are gold standard of the NFL and have created something called the Rooney rule, which lead them to hire a black young head coach just four years ago. So don't say they are racist because that is absurd.
Anyway back to Ben, not only did he almost kill himself on his motorcycle after winning Super Bowl XL, but he has now been accused twice of sexual assault/raping two young women. Even though he has not been charged with a crime, there is obviously something wrong with him for continuing to put himself in bad situations. I would have to say these mistakes are becoming a trend. There are also questions of Ben's impact on the locker room. Last year Hines Ward called out Big Ben for missing an important game late in the season against the Ravens with a concussion. I'm not in the locker room but it seems like some guys like him and others don't. But I'll side with Hines Ward, for he is the definition of a Pittsburgh Steeler.
Big Ben is suppose to be the face of the franchise after he received a 100 million dollar contract just before last year. Yet, he isn't acting like it. The Steelers are not the Raiders or Bungals, who take in criminals and relish in the bad boy act.
I think the Steelers need to part ways with Big Ben even if it means not winning a Super Bowl until they find a new franchise quarterback. I don't expect the Steelers to trade him because of the contract he has will make it nearly impossible to move him. If he's not traded I think that Roger Goodell has to suspend him for at least 4 games and then the Rooney's should add on at least 4 more for the embarrassment he has caused the team and city. He needs to be shown that the type of activities he has been involved in lately is not acceptable. Even though those 8 games or more probably means the Steelers won't contend for the playoffs this year, I would rather cheer for a quarterback who is a good guy and cares about his community, like Drew Brees, then a schmuck like Ben Roethlisberger. So maybe after those 8-16 games he's out for, he will realize he needs to change and then he can win back most Steelers fans.
My stance of trading Big Ben will probably change once he makes one of his scrambling plays and finds somebody wide open in the endzone, but if he starts the first game of the season, I don't know how I'll feel. I was rooting for Tiger Woods to win the Masters, but I don't think I'll be cheering for Ben. Tiger's actions were immoral but he never broke any laws, Ben has come close to breaking the law and after reading and hearing about what happen to the 20 year old goal in Georgia it is disgusting.
If Ben wants to keep Dinking Like a Champion, go for it, but hopefully he will be on a different team the next time he gets in trouble.