Dear Ben: This is just the first of many
January 26th 2011 01:03
This opinion piece by Gerry Callahan of the Boston Herald is one of the more mean-spirited, aimless and generally useless pieces of would-be journalistic crap I've read in a long time. Yet it is just the first salvo in what will surely be a testy two weeks.
My big problem with his article is that he starts out by pleading for the moral high ground, that all NFL fans should unite to back the clean and green Green Bay Packers because (gulp) God help us all if Ben Roethlisberger and his Steelers win another title. Callahan's piece wandered. If he was going to blast Roethlisberger for being an immature idiot who was accused of a heinous and disgusting act, then he should have maintained that strain. Instead, he goes off into equally disgusting man-crush mode, whereupon he begins arguing against those saying Ben's a "great" quarterback by comparing Ben to the man he has a man-crush on, Tom Brady.
He tries to bring the opinion piece back around to the moral high ground, but unfortunately his ass-like braying has now fallen on deaf ears. Either criticize Ben (rightfully) for being a jerk. But don't criticize for being a jerk but then get all off on a tangent about how he's not a great quarterback.
Because that's where Callahan is completely, and stupidly, wrong.
Stupid? Yes. Totally stupid. I very much doubt that Gerry Callahan has watched Ben Roethlisberger play football ever except when the Steelers are taking their annual ass-beating from the Patriots. From those games Callahan can certain draw certain conclusions. Wrong ones, but he can draw them. More to the point, he whines about how Ben isn't a great quarterback because the rest of the team is great.
Ah, excuse me, Gerry. But just in case you forgot, the only times that pretty-boy Tom Brady actually won anything that mattered was when he played on the NFL's best team. When the Patriots had the best defense, best wide receivers, best coaching staff, best offensive play-callers. When the Patriots mini-dynasty was in full swing, the Patriots were unbeatable because they were a great team top to bottom. Now they're not. Sure, Tom remains great, but the Giants put the hurt to him and he got the Manning face AND happy feet. The Ravens gave him a slap-down last year, and this year they got dogged by the school-yard bullies. So I guess that Callahan forgets to consider the post-season when complaining about how people like me *dare* to compare Ben to Tom. If Tom was Mr Uber-Quarterback, he would have lifted the team onto his shoulders all by himself, and in a great moment of shining glory lifted the Patriots to certain victory like Atlas lifting the globe. Or some such crap like that.
Callahan's piece does open the front, however, of all columnists engaging in open, hostile criticism of the quarterback. Much of it is deserved, but the on-field stuff is not. Little he does on the field is worthy of criticism. Here's the bottom line. His 35.5 QB rating in the AFC Championship Game means absolutely nothing. Why? He, and his team, won. He made plays when he had to. I'll take the player who excels in the clutch every time it really matters. Tom's pretty passer rating is sitting at home with Giselle.
I really and truly wish that Ben had more sense than a goat. Clearly he did not, and those egregious actions in Milledgeville will be front and center for two straight weeks. But I can criticize when I read something as ill-conceived and thinly-veiled as Callahan's piece. He's throwing a hissy fit because he doesn't like Ben, and doesn't want Ben and the Steelers to tie his immortal precious doll-baby Brady's 3 Super Bowl rings. Get over yourself. And leave your writing centered on things you know about, like Boston sports.
My big problem with his article is that he starts out by pleading for the moral high ground, that all NFL fans should unite to back the clean and green Green Bay Packers because (gulp) God help us all if Ben Roethlisberger and his Steelers win another title. Callahan's piece wandered. If he was going to blast Roethlisberger for being an immature idiot who was accused of a heinous and disgusting act, then he should have maintained that strain. Instead, he goes off into equally disgusting man-crush mode, whereupon he begins arguing against those saying Ben's a "great" quarterback by comparing Ben to the man he has a man-crush on, Tom Brady.
He tries to bring the opinion piece back around to the moral high ground, but unfortunately his ass-like braying has now fallen on deaf ears. Either criticize Ben (rightfully) for being a jerk. But don't criticize for being a jerk but then get all off on a tangent about how he's not a great quarterback.
Because that's where Callahan is completely, and stupidly, wrong.
Stupid? Yes. Totally stupid. I very much doubt that Gerry Callahan has watched Ben Roethlisberger play football ever except when the Steelers are taking their annual ass-beating from the Patriots. From those games Callahan can certain draw certain conclusions. Wrong ones, but he can draw them. More to the point, he whines about how Ben isn't a great quarterback because the rest of the team is great.
Ah, excuse me, Gerry. But just in case you forgot, the only times that pretty-boy Tom Brady actually won anything that mattered was when he played on the NFL's best team. When the Patriots had the best defense, best wide receivers, best coaching staff, best offensive play-callers. When the Patriots mini-dynasty was in full swing, the Patriots were unbeatable because they were a great team top to bottom. Now they're not. Sure, Tom remains great, but the Giants put the hurt to him and he got the Manning face AND happy feet. The Ravens gave him a slap-down last year, and this year they got dogged by the school-yard bullies. So I guess that Callahan forgets to consider the post-season when complaining about how people like me *dare* to compare Ben to Tom. If Tom was Mr Uber-Quarterback, he would have lifted the team onto his shoulders all by himself, and in a great moment of shining glory lifted the Patriots to certain victory like Atlas lifting the globe. Or some such crap like that.
Callahan's piece does open the front, however, of all columnists engaging in open, hostile criticism of the quarterback. Much of it is deserved, but the on-field stuff is not. Little he does on the field is worthy of criticism. Here's the bottom line. His 35.5 QB rating in the AFC Championship Game means absolutely nothing. Why? He, and his team, won. He made plays when he had to. I'll take the player who excels in the clutch every time it really matters. Tom's pretty passer rating is sitting at home with Giselle.
I really and truly wish that Ben had more sense than a goat. Clearly he did not, and those egregious actions in Milledgeville will be front and center for two straight weeks. But I can criticize when I read something as ill-conceived and thinly-veiled as Callahan's piece. He's throwing a hissy fit because he doesn't like Ben, and doesn't want Ben and the Steelers to tie his immortal precious doll-baby Brady's 3 Super Bowl rings. Get over yourself. And leave your writing centered on things you know about, like Boston sports.
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