Rest In Peace, Super Bowl Controversy

[SteelShooter]

Originally Posted by clevestinks

AMEN My Steelers Brothers and Sisters!

Steelers 5-Time SuperBowl Champs!

Ooh-Rahhhh!

[HometownGal]

Originally Posted by Black and Gold Forever 32

I had no problem with Tommy Maddox until after the Jaqs and the poor excuses he made. He said it was to windy.

I don't want to get into the entire Maddox discussion all over again, as he is no longer a Steeler and it is irrelevant anyway, but I want to point out that your statement above is in error. You may not have read the post-game comments. Just wanted to set the record straight.

From the archives at Steelers.com, the post-game interview.

http://news.steelers.com/article/57965/

STEELERS PLAYERS

Tommy Maddox

Was wind a factor?

You hate to sit here and say “a lot,” but a lot. If you ask Byron or the kickers, it was such an inconsistent wind at different levels. If you threw it up into the air it did one thing or if you threw it down on the ground it would do another thing. I’ve played here a long time and with the Giants at the Meadowlands, but it was the worst day of throwing into something that I’ve ever had.

Jeff Reed confirmed in his post-game comments that the wind was indeed a factor in that game.

K Jeff Reed

Had you gotten the chance in overtime, it probably would have been about a 45-yarder. Was that makeable at that end?

“Yeah. I’d say 50 was probably the longest attempt [we’d try]. We may have gone 51 or 52, depending on the situation. The wind was really strong all day toward our bench and either behind you or in your face, depending on the kick. It was very makeable. It would have been tough, but that’s part of it. Both teams are playing in the same conditions.”

Does the wind swirl a lot more on the field, because it looked like the wind was straight toward the river.

“The flags up top are not an indication of anything [but] that’s what everyone looks at. It’s usually opposite of what’s going on up top. This game was probably the third-most windy – around that range – that I’ve ever played in. It was consistent all game. It didn’t really die down. It was swirling. It was all over the place. You never really knew what you were going to get.”

[BBC]

Originally Posted by HometownGal

I don't want to get into the entire Maddox discussion all over again, as he is no longer a Steeler and it is irrelevant anyway, but I want to point out that your statement above is in error. You may not have read the post-game comments. Just wanted to set the record straight.

From the archives at Steelers.com, the post-game interview.

http://news.steelers.com/article/57965/



Jeff Reed confirmed in his post-game comments that the wind was indeed a factor in that game.

No, he made excuses, make no doubt about it:

http://media3.steelers.com/MediaCont...1705_57988.pdf

Something you left out from the article you posted...

Did the fans booing have an effect on you?

I was disappointed in that. I’d be lying if I said no. I think that sometimes it is to be expected. When you have a track record in a city, like I do here, I was disappointed.

[HometownGal]

Originally Posted by BBC

No, he made excuses, make no doubt about it:

http://media3.steelers.com/MediaCont...1705_57988.pdf

Something you left out from the article you posted...

OK. If Maddox made excuses, then Jeff Reed confirmed his excuses as he said the wind was a problem that day as well. We'll have to agree to disagree here.

I left what you quoted out of my post because it was irrelevant to the discussion at hand, BBC, though I see nothing wrong with what he said there. He admitted that the fans booing bothered him - I don't blame him for having a normal human reaction to the usual turn of the tide with some Steelers fans towards every QB we have ever had in this city.

[BBC]

Originally Posted by HometownGal

OK. If Maddox made excuses, then Jeff Reed confirmed his excuses as he said the wind was a problem that day as well. We'll have to agree to disagree here.

I left what you quoted out of my post because it was irrelevant to the discussion at hand, BBC, though I see nothing wrong with what he said there. He admitted that the fans booing bothered him - I don't blame him for having a normal human reaction to the usual turn of the tide with some Steelers fans towards every QB we have ever had in this city.

When after the game, the only thing that you bring up is the wind, Dan Krieder "bumping" you (which, btw, never happened), and the fans booing you, you're making excuses. The guy played like crap, I can live with that. What made me lose respect for him are the things listed above, and making up the crap about fans trashing his yard and picking on his kids.

Wind and fans are a part of the game, if you can't handle either as a quarterback; you're in the wrong sport. To sit there and complain about the wind, about the fans, and about some imaginary bump, rather than admitting your own mistakes won't get any respect from me.

[BlackNGold203]

Originally Posted by HometownGal

I left what you quoted out of my post because it was irrelevant to the discussion at hand, BBC, though I see nothing wrong with what he said there. He admitted that the fans booing bothered him - I don't blame him for having a normal human reaction to the usual turn of the tide with some Steelers fans towards every QB we have ever had in this city.

Dont kid yourselves.....if Ben has a terrible streak of games....he will get lambasted as well...

Look..I'm a lifelong Pittsburgher...and have been a die hard Steeler fan since the Dick Shiner days....this town is HARD on QB's...people forget how Bradshaw was treated...

i agree..Tommy's gone..end of story...but PLEASE dont live under the fallacy that the way Tommy was treated in a special case....Bradshaw...Malone...Brister...Woodley...O' Donnell...Kordell...Maddox...all were torched in their day...and there WILL come a day when Ben will be too...I hope and pray its not for a long time...but when he had that accident?...I could sense the wolves circling already...

This is a GREAT football town...THE BEST...but we are far from saints...we too have our faults....

[BBC]

Originally Posted by BlackNGold203

Dont kid yourselves.....if Ben has a terrible streak of games....he will get lambasted as well...

Look..I'm a lifelong Pittsburgher...and have been a die hard Steeler fan since the Dick Shiner days....this town is HARD on QB's...people forget how Bradshaw was treated...

i agree..Tommy's gone..end of story...but PLEASE dont live under the fallacy that the way Tommy was treated in a special case....Bradshaw...Malone...Brister...Woodley...O' Donnell...Kordell...Maddox...all were torched in their day...and there WILL come a day when Ben will be too...I hope and pray its not for a long time...but when he had that accident?...I could sense the wolves circling already...

This is a GREAT football town...THE BEST...but we are far from saints...we too have our faults....

Bro, I think you misread what Hometowngal wrote...

I don't blame him for having a normal human reaction to the usual turn of the tide with some Steelers fans towards every QB we have ever had in this city.

[BlackNGold203]

Originally Posted by BBC

Bro, I think you misread what Hometowngal wrote...

Actually i didn't....I know how she feels and i agree with her....what i was pointing out was....

The venom against Tommy Maddox..albeit for poor play...perceived excuses..or whatever...is typical of how this town treats their quarterbacks. Alot of people assassinate Tommy..and play it off like it's an isolated instance...when in fact there is a long litany of this type of treatment against men who have played QB here.

I'm not trying to stir up a storm here...all I'm doing is pointing out the fact that even though Ben..today...is considered the chosen one....(and he should be)...he is about 3 bad games away from this town roasting him.

[HometownGal]

Originally Posted by BBC

When after the game, the only thing that you bring up is the wind, Dan Krieder "bumping" you (which, btw, never happened), and the fans booing you, you're making excuses. The guy played like crap, I can live with that. What made me lose respect for him are the things listed above, and making up the crap about fans trashing his yard and picking on his kids.

Wind and fans are a part of the game, if you can't handle either as a quarterback; you're in the wrong sport. To sit there and complain about the wind, about the fans, and about some imaginary bump, rather than admitting your own mistakes won't get any respect from me.

If you read the entire article from the Steelers own website, BBC, you would see that the wind, the Kreider bump and the fans booing him weren't the only things he talked about. He even openly admitted that he "didn't get it done". From the Steelers website link:

We fought through and had a chance to win in regulation and a chance to win in overtime but I didn?t get it done.

As I said earlier, the story about the trash in his yard and his kids being picked on were fabrications made by his agent, not Maddox, and played up by the media, not Maddox.

Look - the guy blew the game single-handedly and I don't dispute that. He stunk and there is no two ways about it. But when all is said and done, why belabor an issue that really had no adverse effect on the Steelers winning the SB? If that game had blown the Steelers' chances of making the playoffs, I could understand all of the anger, but it simply did not. I don't view anything that Maddox said that day as excuses, not at all. If Jeff Reed hadn't corroborated what Tommy said, I may have a different opinion but the fact remains that Jeff Reed did say the wind was a problem that day, as well.

When a player leaves the Steelers, even if that player wasn't one of my faves, I look back on what that player brought to the team no matter how small or large their contribution was, not the bad games they had or boneheaded plays they made at times.

Tommy simply got a taste of what every other Steelers QB has had to endure playing in this city. A hero one day and a leper the next. His statement that he didn't particularly enjoy the booing isn't abnormal - it's just part of being a human. All I can say is - poor Ben.

[BBC]

Originally Posted by HometownGal

As I said earlier, the story about the trash in his yard and his kids being picked on were fabrications made by his agent, not Maddox, and played up by the media, not Maddox.

Both Maddox and his agent were involved:

If you recall, McElroy and Mr. Maddox both claimed that angry fans threw garbage in Maddox's yard, and his children were harassed on their way to school.

Look - the guy blew the game single-handedly and I don't dispute that. He stunk and there is no two ways about it. But when all is said and done, why belabor an issue that really had no adverse effect on the Steelers winning the SB? If that game had blown the Steelers' chances of making the playoffs, I could understand all of the anger, but it simply did not. I don't view anything that Maddox said that day as excuses, not at all. If Jeff Reed hadn't corroborated what Tommy said, I may have a different opinion but the fact remains that Jeff Reed did say the wind was a problem that day, as well.

Thing is, I didn't care about the game. It was just one game, and it turned out to be a meaningless one in the long run. What I didn't like is the way the situation was handled. I actually liked Tommy, I was cheering for him, and I wanted him to do well as a back-up this upcoming season. He blew all of those things because of his actions after the game.