Steelers president Art Rooney II allowed last week that maybe it's time to start looking for a quarterback who could eventually replace Ben Roethlisberger.
That's prudent. It's also frightening.
It was either Einstein or Lombardi who first postulated one of the basic rules of football: No matter how many teams there are, there will never be enough good quarterbacks to go around.
When you get one, you pay him and keep him as long as possible. Roethlisberger will be 35 when this season begins (nobody believes he won't be there) and that's how old Terry Bradshaw was when he played his final game. Bradshaw appeared in only one game that year, the result of an elbow injury that came quickly and just as swiftly turned him into a logic-optional TV commentator.
There's no reason to suspect that Roethlisberger will reach the finish line just as quickly, but it's clear he's in the final stages of his Hall of Fame career.
So the low-key search starts for someone who can eventually take over the position.
History tells us that isn't easy. The Steelers were still in their dynasty years when they spent their first-round draft pick on Mark Malone in 1980. His selection probably should come with an asterisk, because there were people in the organization who believed he could have been a viable receiver or defensive back.
Malone had to wait his turn until Cliff Stoudt failed miserably. Then he did the same. His career passer rating was 62.4. They made the playoffs just once in his four years.
The Steelers traded for Miami's David Woodley, but that didn't work, either. Then came Bubby Brister and Neil O'Donnell, who were each drafted in the third round. They got to a Super Bowl with O'Donnell, but that didn't end well. He fled as a free agent.
That led to Kordell Stewart, a versatile player who eventually exasperated the coaches with his unwillingness to apply himself in the class room. That dissatisfaction led to flirtations with undersized Mike Tomczak and statue-like Kent Graham.
Tommy Maddox was rescued from the Arena Football/XFL scrap heap and did a decent job until a elbow injury gave Roethlisberger a chance. After two decades of false starts, the Steelers finally had their second franchise quarterback in the last 50 years.
Quality quarterbacks are so rare that teams are lusting after Jimmy Garoppolo, the Patriots' backup who has thrown 94 passes in his three NFL seasons. He has potential, he has the imprimatur of being selected by Bill Belichick, and he has to be better than Cody Kessler, because almost everybody is.
Brock Osweiler had some modest accomplishments for Denver in 2015 as Peyton Manning was wheezing through a final season. Osweiler hit the free agent market, and the Houston Texans gave him a whopping $72 million contract, of which $37 million was guaranteed.
Osweiler had started seven NFL games at that point.
So let the Steelers' search for the next one begin. Just be very wary. It's a dicey business.
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--FLIP A COIN
OK, you need a pick for the big game.
(By the way, a lot of advertisements make reference to the "big game." That's because the NFL has trademarked "Super Bowl" and anyone who uses that in advertising without the NFL's permission risks a blitz of lawyers that will hit them like James Harrison, Lawrence Taylor and Dick Butkus in pinstriped suits and wing tips).
Here's what I have: High scoring game. Close game. The difference could be how jittery the Falcons are at the start. Patriots 36-31?
But what do I know?
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