It's time to give Ben a rest

After 7 games, who would have thought that the Pittsburgh Steelers would have the same 2-5 record as Oakland and Cleveland.....with 1 of Oakland’s 2 wins coming at the hands of the Steelers....

It is time for Pittsburgh to make a change at quarterback by starting Charlie Batch and sitting Ben Roethlisberger.....now before all the Steeler fans get upset, I am not saying that Big Ben is a bad quarterback.....however, I am not sure that he is a top rated quarterback either....

This I do know, Big Ben needs to sit....I am not solely blaming him for the Steelers 2-5 mark....but the fact is, Big Ben has been through a ringer physically over the last five months....

The man had his skull and face tattooed on the windshield of a car, the had an appendectomy, and just last week he suffered a concussion....I don’t care how much he and the Steelers spin it, Big Ben is not a healthy person right now....and who would be after going through all those traumatic events....

I have never been a big Charlie Batch fan....but he has been impressive with the Steelers and is very capable of leading this team.....

I would not write the Steelers off just yet either....they have backed themselves into a corner and cannot afford to lose any more winnable games (such as Oakland).....but this team has the leadership in head coach Bill Cowher and in players like Hines Ward who can make a difference....

But that difference has to start first by benching Big Ben - even if the move is temporary....

In his recent column, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King mentioned his smartest quarterbacks in the league....his QBIQ Top 10 were: 1. Peyton Manning; 2. Tom Brady; 3. Brett Favre; 4. Gus Frerotte; 5. Brad Johnson; 6. Trent Green; 7. Donovan McNabb; 8. Trent Dilfer; 9. Drew Brees; and 10. Mark Brunell....he went on to write that Charlie Batch, Jake Delhomme, Jon Kitna, Damon Huard, and Matt Hasselbeck were next on the list....

Missing from that top 10 list was last year’s Super Bowl quarterbacks, Big Ben and Hasselbeck (even though Hasselbeck was listed just outside the top 10).....also missing was Carson Palmer, Duante Culpepper, Chad Pennington, and Eli Manning....

What happened to the Donovan McNabb for MVP bandwagon?.....

Will people stop anointing Dallas quarterback Tony Romo as the next Troy Aikman.....Peter King called Romo, "Tony Terrific".....he led the Cowboys to 1 stinking win so far....1 win....these are the same media wonks who also praised Matt Leinart after his Monday Night game against Chicago....since then, Leinart has lost to Oakland and Green Bay....

Remember, 1 or 2 wins does not make a career.....

Peyton Manning’s performance against Denver was one of the best I have seen in years....when will defenses learn that the only way to beat Manning is by blitzing and making him move around in the pocket (ala the Steelers did in the playoffs last year).....if you drop 7 or 8 and give Manning time, he will shred any defense....

Manning was quite impressive, but hold off in writing the Colts ticket to the Super Bowl because the have to have the worst run defense in the league....Denver running back Mike Bell tore apart the defense with consistent runs of over 8 -10 yards....heck, fullback Cecil Sapp even ripped the Colts for a couple of good runs....looks like Booger McFarland is not the answer....

Arizona has a new quarterback......they have a new All-Pro running back....they have a beautiful new stadium.....but they are the same old Cardinals – losers....

Cincinnati has been a disappointment so far this season....I know they have injuries to the offensive line, but they just seem out of sync so far....

Remember when Carson Palmer was worried about his surgically repaired knee....

The biggest thug in the league is Tennessee safety Pacman Jones.....Jones is a good player, but he acts like he is in the hood or something....

Is the David Carr era starting to end in Houston?.....I don’t see why not....the Texans have given him more than ample time to lead this team....and it just ‘ain’t happening"....

What really has Reggie Bush done so far?.....

Will someone explain to me why Washington won’t give 2nd year quarterback Jason Campbell a chance?.....in 2005, the Redskins traded up late in the first round to draft Campbell....since then, he has been holding a clipboard while other young qbs are getting playing time such as Frey, Smith, Leinart, Young, Gradkowski, etc....

Bill Parcells will be back next year if the Cowboys make the playoffs and Romo shows promise....