The journey toward Super Bowl LII ended far too prematurely for the Pittsburgh Steelers, sending them into offseason mode before we were ready for it. But we are in it now, and are ready to move on, through the Combine, through free agency, through the draft, into OTAs, and beyond.
We have asked and answered a lot of questions over the years and will continue to do so, and at the moment, there seem to be a ton of questions that need answering. A surprise early exit in the postseason will do that to you though, especially when it happens in the way it did.
You can rest assured that we have the questions, and we will be monitoring developments all throughout the offseason process, all the way down to Latrobe. Pending free agents, possible veteran roster cuts, contract extensions, pre-draft visits, pro days, all of it will have its place when the time arises.
Question: Of the Killer Bs, who is the most responsible for making the other two look better?
Inspired by David Carr’s ghastly explanation for leaving Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger off his list of the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL right now, I thought we could have a discussion about the team’s Killer Bs, and who is the most responsible for the trio’s collective success, or if there even is one.
The Killer Bs—Roethlisberger, wide receiver Antonio Brown, and running back Le’Veon Bell—are all among the top players at their positions in the NFL, and according to the NFL Network, among the top 20 players in total.
Carr argued that he would not put Roethlisberger in his top 10 quarterbacks because he believes he has too much talent around him that carries him, but he never seemed to stop to consider whether or not he played a role in making that talent as good as it is through his own play.
He is, of course, wrong. Roethlisberger definitely helps Brown and Bell to be as good as they are, but all three of them assist one another in some respect or another. What I’d like to discuss here is if one of them plays a role paramount to the others.
A case can be made for Roethlisberger just by the nature of the quarterback position. He puts passes in position for Brown to do the amazing things that he does, and the same can be said for Bell. Yet both of them also so remarkable things after the catch in their own right, in addition to making highlight-reel catches.
Nobody is individually responsible for more touches than Bell, though. The fact that he can contribute in multiple phases could give him the nod, by virtue of what he can do for the entire offense as a whole. Yet Brown may well be the single best player in the entire league.
So what are your thoughts?
