Vote For Ben

I'll admit, Draft Day is getting to me. I have publicly come out against this new format, where Round 1 is now prime time on Thursday night. I still believe that it will take the excitement out of the later rounds. But today has a different feel than other NFL drafts. It almost feels like Election Day.

With the old Saturday/Sunday format, it started early enough that you couldn't think about things all day. There was just an hour or so of pre-draft specials, not the all day, CNN-esque coverage like today. When you have to wait all day long for the thing to even start, well, you start begging for more information.

This year, we all want to know one thing: Is Ben Roethlisberger going to be a part of it?

That's the story, because what we're talking about here is a 2-time Super Bowl winning quarterback, a young franchise quarterback, who instantly makes your team better. And you can get him fifty cents on the dollar. Pittsburgh seems ready to let him go.

The odd thing is, nobody seems eager to get him. I'm not talking about the actual teams (who the hell knows what they're thinking), but the fans. All I hear is how Big Ben is nothing but trouble and only suited to be a Raider. This is all based off his off-field performances, because before this offseason there was nothing short of Manning or Brady straight up that would've pried him away from the Steelers.

So are we really that moral, or do we just want to be heard that way? Remember how everyone hated Michael Vick's return? Well, it didn't take long for Philly fans to start chanting his name. When it comes down to it, we'll take a winner no matter what. Ray Lewis proved this. So did Pacman Jones.

I would bet the farm that Roethlisberger cleans up his act. I mean, he has to, right? So imagine getting his productivity, then add the fact that he won't be running around trying to get ass and pounding Jager-bombs. Shouldn't we expect his numbers to go up?

As a Chiefs fan, I'll give up the #5 pick and Matt Cassel if they want him. Reports are that a first round pick is all the Steelers really want. Other than Eric Berry, I have a hard time making a case of a home run pick at #5, and even then your taking a potential Pro Bowl safety over a proven, possibly Hall of Fame quarterback in Big Ben.

Say what you want about character issues, I want to win. I vote for Ben.