TPOP: Like Tears in Rain (WEDDLE)

Here is my latest article for The Point of Pittsburgh.  It parallels the free agency of Rodney Harrison in 2003 with the upcoming free agency of Eric Weddle.  

Essentially, it is my plea for the Steelers to sign Weddle.  

Like Tears in Rain
by Tiger Rowan  

The manner in which memories get entrenched into one’s brain is fascinating. Science has indicated that smells are the primary catalyst for sparking a memory. For example, the mixture of cookies and pine trees often takes people back to when they were kids on Christmas Day. Sounds can have this effect, as well. For me, it is showers… specifically a shower from thirteen years ago.

I was in the shower, listening to local sports talk radio, when I heard the crushing news: Rodney Harrison had signed with the Patriots*. I stopped lathering, and just stared at the fogged up mirrors. A tear may have escaped from the corner of my eye, but who really knows, as it would have been lost amongst the droplets of water careening off of my face.  

Read more:  
http://www.thepointofpittsburgh.com/like-tears-in-rain-history-repeating-from-2003-for-steelers/

Feel free to pass this along to anyone who might enjoy it and/or who might empathize with missing out on their favorite free agent.  


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Great read Teeg! As usual.

For some reason, I thought of this:



Good song, good movie. Good article!

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Great read Teeg! As usual.

Thanks.


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jak341 wrote:

For some reason, I thought of this:



Good song, good movie. Good article!

Nice.

Thank you for the kind words.


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great article Teegre!

harrison'samonster wrote:

great article Teegre!

Thanks, HAM.

So... are you on the "sign Weddle" bandwagon? Why or why not?


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hey t, imo this is the best article you've written yet!

Eric Weddle would be a HUGE upgrade over Will Allen, hopefully a Mike Mitchell type of deal gets him wearing the Black & Gold...

teegre wrote:

harrison'samonster wrote:

great article Teegre!

Thanks, HAM.  

So... are you on the "sign Weddle" bandwagon?  Why or why not?  


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Yes. Sign him.

1. Like Buddha and I discussed briefly in the other thread, he has the beard and the ability to stunt the growth of our young players. Like him already!

2. Like Hawaii said just above, he's an upgrade over Allen. I have loved Allen and his contributions to this team. I think he's still got some football left in him, but I think we need to fill this spot with somebody who can make our defense better.

3. I don't give Ben many more years, and we need to make a move to instantly make this defense better. We talk about pass protection and pass rushing, but we need to think of pass disruption too.

Great read teeg.

I love how you remember the exact moment you heard the news about Rodney Harrison. We have all had those moments, good and bad, when you remember exactly how you felt at a specific moment of your life. Football has such an emotional component to it, and our love of the game has a way of making the emotions upon hearing the news of a player transaction feel like it has been branded into our consciousness. It can be recalled at any given moment with the right stimuli.

Very descriptive writing brother. You nailed the emotion of the moment.

Great read as always, Teeg! I'm excited at the prospect of upgrading the secondary through the free agency pick-up of Eric Weddle. We need a player who can come in and make a difference right now while the iron is hot. Weddle would fill that bill and allow more flexibility in the draft.

The Steelers could still draft a good young safety, but having Weddle would allow them to bring him along at a pace that wouldn't endanger the team's chances at another Super Bowl next season by relying on a rookie that may make more mistakes and take more time to learn the system.

We need immediate impact players added to this defense now before the Big Ben window closes. This sounds like our best option at taking a step towards that while also adding a badass looking beard back to the defense!

hey Teeg, if you want to come on my talk radio show and talk steelers one Tuesday night (9pm est) private message me.

One of the best if not the best article I've read from you T.

Hawaii 5-0 wrote:

hey t, imo this is the best article you've written yet!

Eric Weddle would be a HUGE upgrade over Will Allen, hopefully a Mike Mitchell type of deal gets him wearing the Black & Gold...

Thanks, brother. That means a lot coming from you.


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fer69 wrote:

One of the best if not the best article I've read from you T.

Wow... thanks, Fer. I truly appreciate the kind words.


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harrison'samonster wrote:

teegre wrote:

harrison'samonster wrote:

great article Teegre!

Thanks, HAM.  

So... are you on the "sign Weddle" bandwagon?  Why or why not?  


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Yes.  Sign him.

1.  Like Buddha and I discussed briefly in the other thread, he has the beard and the ability to stunt the growth of our young players.  Like him already!

2.  Like Hawaii said just above, he's an upgrade over Allen.  I have loved Allen and his contributions to this team.  I think he's still got some football left in him, but I think we need to fill this spot with somebody who can make our defense better.

3.  I don't give Ben many more years, and we need to make a move to instantly make this defense better.  We talk about pass protection and pass rushing, but we need to think of pass disruption too.

1. Obviously

2. So true. If Weddle has "anything" left, it'd be an upgrade over Allen.

3. Exactly


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pczach wrote:

Great read teeg.

I love how you remember the exact moment you heard the news about Rodney Harrison. We have all had those moments, good and bad, when you remember exactly how you felt at a specific moment of your life. Football has such an emotional component to it, and our love of the game has a way of making the emotions upon hearing the news of a player transaction feel like it has been branded into our consciousness. It can be recalled at any given moment with the right stimuli.

Very descriptive writing brother. You nailed the emotion of the moment.

It's crazy how vividly I remember the exact scenario.  There was a guy called Boston Rob on a local SD radio show, and all of the Chargers talking heads were congratulating him on the signing, and B-Rob was like "Who is Rodney Harrington???"  (He didn't even get the name correct.)  

His unimpressed reaction was like salt in a wound.  

Anyways... thanks, brother.


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Buddha Bus wrote:

Great read as always, Teeg! I'm excited at the prospect of upgrading the secondary through the free agency pick-up of Eric Weddle. We need a player who can come in and make a difference right now while the iron is hot. Weddle would fill that bill and allow more flexibility in the draft.

The Steelers could still draft a good young safety, but having Weddle would allow them to bring him along at a pace that wouldn't endanger the team's chances at another Super Bowl next season by relying on a rookie that may make more mistakes and take more time to learn the system.

We need immediate impact players added to this defense now before the Big Ben window closes. This sounds like our best option at taking a step towards that while also adding a badass looking beard back to the defense!

Yes, yes, yes.

I agree with this post 100%.


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Another fun article to read.

As for the 31 year old Weddle, he would have to come cheap and hope to get 3 years out of him. There was all this rally cry of fans to release Polamalu when he was 31 because he was getting too old, yet the fanbase now pumps the tires of the bandwagon for the 34 year old Will Allen or 31 year old Weddle. Makes me think of the old adage "the most popular guy in town is the backup QB".

I say pass on Weddle and look to the draft.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

Another fun article to read.

As for the 31 year old Weddle, he would have to come cheap and hope to get 3 years out of him.  There was all this rally cry of fans to release Polamalu when he was 31 because he was getting too old, yet the fanbase now pumps the tires of the bandwagon for the 34 year old Will Allen or 31 year old Weddle.  Makes me think of the old adage "the most popular guy in town is the backup QB".

I say pass on Weddle and look to the draft.  

I hear your concerns, especially because Troy went from All World to Jason Worilds in just two seasons.

But...

1. Weddle was injured. It wasn't a though his play had diminished.

2. At times, he was the only player trying. After the Steelers game, he mentioned this to the media... which the coaches did not appreciate.

3. Rumor has it that McCoy put Weddle on IR partially as a disciplinary measure.

SUMMATION:
While I understand why you'd be concerned, I personally see Weddle's situation more akin to Rodney Harrison's situation (and less like Troy's situation).

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2016 NFL Free Agents: Top 90

9. Eric Weddle, S, Chargers. Age: 31

Eric Weddle is coming off his best season, as he was hindered with some injuries throughout the 2015 campaign. However, he's still one of the top safeties in the NFL. Weddle, who turned 31 on Jan. 4, should still be able to play on a high level for three or four more seasons, as safeties tend to perform well into their mid-30s.

http://www.walterfootball.com/freeagents2016all.php#o0eWAiUD0OXcvrYX.99