First I want to clear up one thing before I give you my take… I’m not saying AT ALL that the Lamar Jackson pick by Baltimore, and the Mason Rudolph pick by Pittsburgh were bad picks, as in fact I had an A+ grade on both. But what I’m focusing on is the fact that everyone is being CRITICAL of Big Ben and Joe Flacco’s recent comments that told the media that they were “uninterested” in focusing on mentoring their new potential successors. Personally, I’m 100% on Ben and Joe’s sides.

When you look at this situation from Flacco’s spectrum, we already know he’s been regressing ever since his Super Bowl run nearly a half decade ago. He’s clearly just a shell of himself, but is also clearly the STARTER of this team that was a 4th and 19 stop away from a playoff berth in 2017. Baltimore is still very talented on the offensive side of the ball, and Flacco still has just enough in him to start over the next few years at least.

So why in the world would he want to help a rookie take his OWN job? I find that ridiculous, frankly. Yes, veteran players with as much experience and success like Flacco should always be teaching their teammates to ensure that the team is in good hands once his time ends, but when you approach the time of your career when you only have a few good enough years left, there’s no reason why you should want to increase the chances of losing that opportunity to play.

For Ben, it’s a lot of the same; except in his case, he’s still playing at an elite level, and has a chance at another title before he’s forced to retire. This correlates to his other comment that he’d rather the front office “pick guys who could help to win now”. I totally agree as this is a Steeler team that is a sure-fire contender when at their best, and only has a few more elite seasons in Ben.

Mentoring from the right guys is certainly crucial to a player’s success – especially at QB – but there’s times where your own career comes before another. It may sound selfish, but it’s only human to have that thought.

Comment your take below. Should they be focusing on mentoring for the future, or making the most of what they have left?

 

(P/C: https://russellstreetreport.com/2017/02/27/street-talk/joe-flacco-matt-ryan/)