THE BLACK AND GOLD POST

That's right. After 24 years. Not since 1980 when the Steelers took a strong, fast Tom Selleck lookalike named Mark Malone from Arizona State with the 28th overall selection have they used their first round pick on a quarterback. Faithful fans clamored 5 years ago when Cowher and Company took Plaxico Burress at #8 overall and passed on Chad Pennington. Chad is beginning to make a name for himself and Plex is quickly becoming Public Enemy #1 with his recent antics. Ya know what? Who cares. That was then; this is now. The Age of Roethlisberger is upon us.

After last season's 6-10 disaster, it became readily apparent that this team was in need of a whole lot of help. Chad Scott and Dewayne Washington combined to make the cornerback position nothing more than an opponent's gateway to the end zone. Troy Polamalu spent the better part of 10 games trying to figure out what he was supposed to be doing. Jason Gildon looked as if he was wearing roller blades on the wrong feet for as much as he was pushed around and Kendrell Bell and Joey Porter were average at best. On the other side of the ball, the offensive line was indeed offensive and looked more like Grandma's colander draining a pound of rigatoni than something that belonged on a football field. The two headed right tackle monster called OliverTodd RossFordham was as scary as it sounds and Amos Zereoue took his starting job and mastered hitting the line while goose stepping backwards. Try it sometimes without falling flat on your duppa. All this helped us reach that 6-10 plateau.

But this is 2004. A new season complete with new expectations, new hopes, new desires but with the same goal in mind; winning the Super Bowl. While some may say the quarterback position wasn't the one that was the most dire need, the pick of Big Ben at #11 was pretty much a no-brainer. The only cornerbacks in the Draft worthy of a first round selection were gone and while tackle Shawn Andrews was a possibility, the consensus in the Steelers war room was that this was the year to go QB. Some will argue that for every John Elway, and Peyton Manning , there are two Ryan Leafs and Jeff Georges. Conversely, for every Alan Faneca and Leon Searcy, there are also the Jamain Stephens and John Reinstras. The point is that every draft class is, when all is said and done, one big crap shoot.

You cannot normally say a draft is good or bad for at least two or three years. Many changes have been made from last year's squad, involving both players and coaches. While predictions from the so-called "experts" may not be all that promising, that doesn't mean we fans won't be watching. Big things may be on the horizon and that certainly has "Ben" a long time coming.

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