Steelers Fans vs.
Rod Woodson

Personally, I still have a place in my Steelers-loving heart for Rod Woodson. He was my favorite player for almost 10 years, and as far as I'm concerned, his rather public battle with the front office (specifically, Tom Donahoe) won't change that.

CLICK HERE to submit your thoughts on Rod's latest round of comments, or to just reminisce about the good 'ole days. BTW, don't let my opinion of Rod influence your submissions. I understand there's a good deal of resentment toward Woodson among Steelers fans, so if you've got a beef, let 'er rip.

The following articles are listed in the order they were received (with the most recent entries at the top). This isn't a "guestbook" format... I read and manually insert every message, so you may not see your submission show up immediately. Thanks a million for your comments, people!



Submitted by Glenn Fulghum
Visit Glenn's excellent Steelers website: Sauron's Steeler Page

Watching Rod Woodson play Steeler Football prior to his injury was usually a wonderful experience. He embodied the aggressive style of defense which has been a Steeler trademark for the last 25 years, and made it pay off in interceptions and points. Yes, he would occasionally get burned on a hitch-and-go or something, but even then he had the acceleration to cover the mistake most of the time. Truely, he was a Steeler Great.

I attended the game at which Barry Sanders juked and Rod imploded. It was an ugly thing to see. I thought the organization showed incredible faith by holding the slot open for his return to play in Superbowl XXX.

Unfortunately, the free agency agreement which Rod and all the other departed Steeler players wanted has caused economic reality to set in. These players have benefited substantially from this agreement. To make the claim that "I should be able to stay here for my entire career, and they should pay me as much money as I want" flies in the face of reason. There is no bottomless bucket of money. There IS a salary cap. The objective will ALWAYS be to get the best 11 players on the field while operating under those guidelines.

Rod, you're a Raven now. Live with it. Live on the other side of the ball from the Black & Gold. Try and remember when YOU once played for division champs. Players come and go, but the Team lives on....

Sauron




Submitted by Caseyfarms@aol.com
Rod was the greatest cornerback I've ever had the privilege to watch play the game, hands down. Neon Deion couldn't hand him his jock, but that was in his prime, and during his prime he was paid very well. San Fran offered Pro Bowl money to Rod at the end of his career (when he struggled to be average) and cut him a year later. The Ravens were desperate and they offered big money, but you've got to wonder how long they will pay big money to an average cornerback.

Rod, you will always be my favorite, but Tom Donahoe made the right decision, and you made the mistake of leaving the 'Burgh, baby. So eat crow and wonder what might have been.




Submitted by J.C. Clyde
I now live in the Baltimore area and they are definitely playing up the Rod vs. "His old team" thing in the media. I guess they have to find some angle to get the fans going. After all, they do have a team named after a crow-looking, scavenger bird. Throw Art Modell and the nifty purple uniforms in and I'm ready to trade in my Black n' Gold hardhat... NOT! Seriously, this all comes down to one thing... the dreaded Salary Cap. The players union negotiated the contract and it's great when they're young and flying high. Five years down the road, maybe a surgery or two and many millions later, they can't understand why a team would disrespect them like that.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed many years watching Rod Woodson and reveled in his sometimes superhuman athletic prowess. Maybe Rod's just like me and misses the days when a player started at, played for, retired from, and is inducted to the Hallowed Hall from the SAME TEAM. Those were the days, sportsfans.

J.C. Clyde
Laurel, Md.




Submitted by The Infamous "Cman"
"(Donahoe) believes players are expendable, but you can't keep losing Pro Bowler, Pro Bowler, Pro Bowler every year," Woodson said. "Eventually, it catches up with you."

OK. What probowlers did we lose this year? Thigpen and Jackson. And to a man, people agree it would have been unwise for PGH to pay those players what they got. And who did PGH sign? Dawson, Kirkland, Steed, Gildon, Stai. 3 probowlers Rod, three. Hopefully Lake will be four.

Sure Rod, like you weren't expendable? You were so critical that the 49ers cut you after your cheap 1st year was up. PGH offered you more $$$ than anyone, so are all other team in the NFL even worse than PGH at signing players?

"Those personal comments in the papers about players, that bothers me. This is a business and you have to be political about the way you say things, not just wake up in the morning and say, `Hi, I'm Tom Donahoe. I can say anything I want.'

Oh you mean like when you said PGH could win a super bowl easily if they wanted to, that was an accurate well thought out point? Or when you claim PGH said degrading things about you in your meeting, that was professional? I say throw a screen to his side to FU and JB all day and see how he holds up.

"His comments were totally unnecessary and unprofessional."

Donnahoe has bee biting his tongue since day one. The crap Greene and Woodson spewed since the day they left was "unnecessary and unprofessional." Then Kevin wanted to come back after saying PGH treated him so wrong. I guess they feel only teams who over pay players can win.

Rod's still a spoiled brat, and doesn't speak the truth. Kordell, two words: double moves. He will jump on the first move and hold or get burnt. I'd hate to see Rod have a big day and be in their face.

Cman



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