2006: Steelers drafted Holmes 25th overall after winning Superbowl XL. After a bit of an up-and-down rookie year (admittedly, I was not personally fond of him) he began to establish himself as a mainstay on offense. Personally, I remember a punt return against the Carolina Panthers in a 37-3 Steelers rout. Holmes was back to receive the punt, it bounced off of him, and the Panthers recovered the ball. But a bit of luck was all he needed, as the Panthers’ punter had drifted out of bounds on the play, which is apparently a penalty. On the re-kick, Holmes caught the ball and took it to the house. That play symbolized his rookie year for me. Fumbles and disappointment, but then all of a sudden, he became a threat.
2007: Came out of the gate to lead the Steelers in receiving yards and touchdowns, and officially became the deep threat Ben needed to show off his huge arm. Led the NFL in yards per catch, too, just for funsies.
2008:
2009: Started all 16 games for the first time and set career highs in receptions, yardage, and touchdowns. Even while the Steelers were struggling, Holmes was having his best statistical season. Unfortunately, a series a well-known late-game defensive lapses kept the Steelers out of postseason football and kept Holmes from expanding on an impressive playoff record. Then after Tweeting about his infamous affinity for weed, the Steelers sent him packing for a 5th-round pick.
And so ended a promising young player’s tenure in Pittsburgh. The sky was the limit for Santonio Holmes, and he’ll likely keep growing and getting better in New York. But all is not lost. If anyone is truly upset about this, keep in mind that you are not a GM and you should really leave important decisions to people who are. Let’s think about what has really transpired here.
This move helps re-establish the Steelers’ “high-and-mighty” image that Art Rooney Sr. projected onto his team. I’ve said before that this image doesn’t really exist anymore, but this move will please some fans who are getting disconnected from the franchise lately.
Unlike Ben Roethlisberger (who has yet to be actually convicted of anything in any previous case, mind you), Santonio Holmes has a history of marijuana posession/usage. And while you can debate all day whether Ben is stupid for hanging out at a bar in a college town (which, in itself, is not a legal offense), Santonio Holmes is legitimately stupid for posting on his Twitter page about getting high. There is no debate about that. It was a retarded thing to post and there’s no way he shouldn’t have expected that to come back and bite him.
While I’m sure the Steelers would love to have sent a message to the team with Ben Roethlisberger’s recent legal battles, he is just simply too integral to the team. The next best thing they could do was make an example of Holmes. And they did. One would have to imagine that Ben’s received this kind of message behind closed doors, and now he’s just watched one of his favorite targets taken away for causing trouble.
Also, Holmes will be suspended four games in 2010 already. He’s scheduled to hit the free agent market next offseason. He would have commanded top dollar, even with his off-the-field troubles, and the Steelers may not have been willing to pay him what he could get elsewhere. If we take that into account, we really only gave up 12 games at most of Holmes’ ability (excluding a potential postseason berth). As for the 5th-round pick, the Patriots got Randy Moss for a 4th. Just sayin’.
You think Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, Antwaan Randle El, and Heath Miller (<3) can pick up the slack in the pass-catching department? Suffice it to say, I'm confident in that group. And I'm still giving Limas Sweed one more season to prove he belongs in the NFL. If he learns to catch balls, I still believe he'll make us forget Holmes ever existed. Arnaz Battle and Tyler Grisham, whatever. Expect a middle round draft pick to be spent on a WR as well.
Plus, I never liked the nickname “Tone” and “Holmes” doesn’t roll off the tongue as well as I’d like, so now I don’t have to worry about those things.
One last thought: Today on Sportscenter they played clips from ESPN 1250 talk radio. I heard Steeler fans saying they were so glad to be rid of Holmes and they wished the team would get rid of Ben Roethlisberger as well because he’s such a blemish on the organization. I’m sorry, what? If you are one of those Steeler fans and you are reading this blog, get the hell out. It’s football. You want to lose Ben and Holmes, essentially the core of the team’s offense, because that “Steelers are better than everyone” image is THAT important to you? I’ll take that final drive against the Cardinals that won us a title, thank you very much. It’d be a different ending if Charlie Batch were under center. In fact, I’m guessing the ending would have occurred in Week 17 with the Steelers sitting at 5-11 and those same fans clamoring for the team to find a franchise QB because it’s supposed to be about winning. /rant
Sorry, but that report just struck a nerve with me. I’ve never heard fans being so high-and-mighty about their team. I could actually hear them looking down their collective nose at the rest of the NFL. For a moment I thought, “Wow, are Steeler fans really like this? I might hate Steeler fans.” Then I remembered why I got into the blogging thing. I am determined to make some people level-headed and normal about the sport we all love.
Things just got shaken up. The best we can do as fans is to assume the Steelers know what they’re doing. We’ll see the product on the field come fall. Until then, we just have to watch what the team does. The draft is coming in a few weeks.
Here We Go.
