Kevin Colbert On Landry Jones Being Backup QB: ‘Well, That’s An Option’

The quotes from Colbert are meaningless. He has to be evaluating trade offers right now, so he's going to sell the idea that Dobbs or Rudolph could also be the No. 2 quarterback. That doesn't mean it is true.

The idea that Dobbs earned the job doesn't hold up. It seems to be based entirely on the preseason games this year, ignoring what happened in practice and what Jones and Dobbs have shown previously. The coaches are going to use what they saw in practice. They are going to use what they see in meetings. Most importantly, they are going to use what they have seen in previous seasons.

Jones barely played this preseason. He only got to throw 13 passes in two preseason games, and he completed 10 of them. The one interception was the ball Hunter caught, then allowed a defender to rip it from his hands, so clearly it was not Jones's fault. The only game they both played in, against the Eagles, Jones started and completed all four of his passes, including a long touchdown to Smith-Schuster. Dobbs threw one interception in that game and easily could have had two or three more.

I do like what I've seen from Dobbs this preseason. He was fantastic against the Panthers and made plays in the other two games. (He didn't play at all against the Titans). But let's not overstate things here. We are still talking about a guy who had accuracy issues in college, something that very rarely improves at the pro level. He also hasn't thrown a pass in a regular-season NFL games. Jones has started and won in the NFL. He has also come off the bench to rally the team in a win. Those those performances should and will play a role in the team's decision.

That is part of why Jones played so little and why this wasn't really a fair competition in the preseason. The Steelers do know what they have in Jones, which is why they didn't give him an even competition with Dobbs. Dobbs got 43 pass attempts in three games. Jones got 13 pass attempts in two games. The team wasn't even trying to hold a preseason battle between the two. They are trying to find out what they have in Dobbs. They may have been trying to get him ready to step up if they got a good trade offer for Jones, or they could have been showcasing him, hoping to squeeze some value out of a player they plan to cut.

As I have posted elsewhere, they need to balance this season and the future. It does seem that the best thing for the Steelers beyond this season would be Dobbs, but it is every bit as clear that they are better off with Jones in 2018. For a team that views itself as a Super Bowl contender, they can't put so much focus on the future that they screw the team up now.

Then we get to the other thing we saw against the Panthers, which was a very sharp performance by Rudolph. The more faith the team has in him as its No. 2 in 2019 and a potential starter after that, the less it needs Dobbs. Rudolph's strong outing against Carolina could make it easier to let Dobbs go.

 

The cuts have been announced, Brian Allen and Keion Adams have been cut. Also Hugenin and Bucky Hodges. They cut Landry Jones and Nat Behre, didn't see that coming.

 

Sometimes you got to say it multiple times for those who don’t quite understand.

 

"That doesn't mean it is true." Formerscribe

It is true now!

 

Clearly, it is true now. That doesn't make my previous comment any less accurate.

The Steelers decided to gamble their entire season on 36-year-old Ben Roethlisberger staying healthy. I hope they are right.

 

No...If Ben went out, with our defense...It wouldn't have mattered

 

Guess no one bought the bluff and e lost the hand.

 

Maybe not, but You still don’t spell out your plans to everybody.

 

This is the part so many posters here don't grasp. I'm not talking about a catastrophic injury that ends his season. I'm talking about something that might cost him part of a season.