The Benwagon

I just want to start this post by saying that I'm sitting in the Philadelphia airport en route to Columbus, OH for a weekend trip, and at my gate, I see not one, not two, but THREE people wearing Steeler gear. Outstanding work, Steeler Nation.

Count us as members of the Ben Roethlisberger Fan Club, or as Mondesi's House calls it, the Benwagon. I know its been disputed a lot over the past few weeks, but I still don't see how anyone can still rate Carson Palmer ahead of Roethlisberger. The tired old "he's on a better team" argument doesn't work anymore for Ben. Palmer has more weapons at his disposal and has done much less with them. Period.

Ben proved his value last Sunday with a great game against Cleveland. With the exception of a first-half interception, he was flawless. And he even ran for 49 yards and a score (the crucial 30-yard scamper in the fourth quarter). One of the problems I've had with Roethlisberger in his short career is that he has forced some balls into bad spots in the defense instead of tucking it in to run. The message seems to finally be getting through to him from the coaching staff. When Roethlisberger is playing like he is right now, there's not a QB in the league (except for Brady and Peyton Manning) that I'd rather have.

The receiving corps again impressed against the Browns. Is it time to recognize Heath Miller as one of the top five tight ends in football? Given his blocking ability and receiving acumen, I'm ready to put him up there.

Looking ahead to this week's game against the Jets, I must admit that I'm a little worried that New York will move the ball on the Steelers' defense. I don't have a very good explanation for this, but its just a hunch. With the Jets starting Kellen Clemens and having a bye last week for him to work with the first team offense, New York will certainly provide more of a challenge than if it had started Chad Pennington.

Also, I know its been said on a few other blogs, but Mike Tomlin, please, be careful with your challenges. Its not a good sign that Tomlin's challenge success percentage at the end of the year is likely to rival that of a Pittsburgh Pirates' player's batting average (if he's lucky).