Why can't the Steelers pick up a guy who is not a complete moron? Can somebody please answer me this? With the 18th pick in the NFL Draft, the Steelers selected Florida center Maurkice Pouncey. Pouncey was an All-SEC Honorable Mention last year, his sophomore year. Allegedly, he received over $100K from some shady agent, sometime between the SEC Championship and the BCS Championship game, which Florida lost. I should probably change the word received to accepted, because he had a choice. He could have said no. I am not about to go on some tangent about how "Oh, Pouncey had no real choice other than to accept the money. The NCAA does not pay their players while they cash in on their players' performance. Poor Maurkice Pouncey", because frankly, I do not feel that way. Was Pouncey really that strapped for cash? He couldn't wait a few months before he gets his multi-million dollar contract from an NFL team? Sure, the NCAA could give a little back to their players (or employees, depending on your point of view), but Pouncey has to think clearer than that. Didn't he read the Sports section, where Reggie Bush, OJ Mayo, and the entire area of Southern California has been called out by taking money and illegal benefits from agents trying to get a leg up? Is Pouncey that shortsighted? The Steelers maybe should have done a better background check on this guy.
Your telling me the Pittsburgh Steelers are not going to do some extensive research on who they are going to pick up? They have a suspended quarterback, who has been accused of sexual assault on two separate occasions. Their star outside linebacker, James Harrison, has been accused of domestic violence (Remember that? Dan Rooney was accused of having a double standard after he got rid of wide receiver Cedrick Wilson on the same charges). They just released their wide receiver after he set the stage for Lindsay Lohan after throwing glass at their girlfriend. The latter of these people is Santonio Holmes, who the Steelers gave about 412 chances before deciding to say "You know what? It is time to let him go before people start questioning our morals". The Steelers have had one of the most respected franchises in all of sports since the Rooney family bought the team eons ago. I have been a Steelers fan all my life, but these incidents are shocking. What upsets me the most is that even after all these incidents, the Steelers front office does not learn. They still draft some schmuck like Maurkice Pouncey and not realize what they are doing. I am just waiting for something improbable to happen now, like Troy Polamalu finally snap and urinate in a parking lot after a victory (That's what 2007 draft pick Matt Spaeth did after a win this past season).
The Maurkice Pouncey incident has only made me more agitated at the Steeler organization. When my father heard about all this, he said they should just "clean house". Now I am not saying the Steelers do anything that drastic, but the Rooney family needs to take a good long look at itself. It needs to see that the conduct of its players are horrible, and they need to set some kind of standard for incidents. I believed the Steelers should have traded Roethlisberger on draft day and picked up Jimmy Clausen, who the Steelers passed over for some reason. They should have used Roethlisberger as an example. They should have done more extensive research into Pouncey's past, maybe revealing that he was not all there. Maybe ask a few more questions, I don't know. But you cannot draft someone like this after having your organization become one of the most respected to a laughing stock almost overnight. My Steelers have to get their act together.
The Peanut Gallery starring Brendan O'Hare will be going on vacation for the next week. If there are any comments, questions, or concerns, comment below. See you next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment