I don't know what to make of Rudolph

Both were good, but don't forget the little jump pass to JC while scrambling that went to the house.

 

Remember Bradshaw?

 

Mason has a 103.2 career QBR. The guy is better than most Hall of Famers and looks to be one of the best of all-time at this pace. Enjoy greatness.

I giggled typing that.

 

Just remember Santa thought the same thing and we all know how that turned out....

 

I just can't get over anyone being upset with what we saw last night. If Mason keeps checking it down even when it isn't there I can get being bothered by the checkdowns but they were there for easy pickings all night. I love that Mason is smart and patient enough to keep taking what is there. For many years that was what Brady and the Pats did to us and we had no answer.

 

No one is upset. Far from it.

What some of us, or at least me, are saying is that the dink and dunk won't last long. The league will adjust and as of yet he has yet to show that he can throw the intermediate or deep ball with any consistency. If he can, then great. If he can't, then he's Colt McCoy 2.0. We just can't tell right now.

 

Mason has done exactly what you should expect out of a backup QB. He has managed the games well and made minimal mistakes. That is all you can ask for. You hope your backup gives your team a chance to win and we have had a chance in every game he has played. I don't care if he just hits the short check-downs, as long as he is taking what is open and isn't forcing I'm happy. We also have to remember he's only started two career games. Be patient, it should get better as he sees more defenses and has more time to work within the offense.

 

Rudolph so far through 10 quarters and 2 in a half games played. 50 for 74 for 515 yards completing 67.6 prevent of his passes for 6 TD’s and 2 INT’s with a passer rating of 103.2. That’s pretty good and definitely should have lead to at least one more win.

 

Yes of course I remember Bradshaw... he had Swann and Stallworth who actually fought for the ball. Hines Ward was the last Steelers WR who really fought for the ball in heavy DB traffic.

 

If you all recall he had us ahead in both the Seahawks and 49ers game in the 4th quarter and our defense could not hold the lead. If they would have played like they did last we would be 3-1

 

I like what he has done but if we are describing it like that then we should also point out that the offense did squat prior to that for most of the game which almost certainly played into the defense blowing the least thanks to being worn out.

 

Yeah, in SF at least, it's pretty hard to blame the D. It was pretty much a total team effort. The D gave up yards but got turnovers which the offense failed for the most part to capitalize on and then Conner fumbled with five minutes to go but the D failed to keep them out of the end zone.

 

Agree, but he's no longer the backup. He's the starting qb. QB1. Ben can say all that he wants, but until his arm (and doctors) says that he's ready to come back, Ben isn't our qb.

 

I think you over estimate how the team around Ben has made him. Fichtner has been bens coordinator for one year and one and a half games. Ben hasn't put us in a SB in 11 years. Taking what the defense gives you seems to be working out pretty good.

 

I liked way the entire team played O and D. I feel we beat this horse to death the first 3 games now get over those games and give credit where it is due.

 

It's been over 8 years. Steelers were in the Super Bowl, February of 2011.

 

ok winning SB.

 

He played a clean game. Don’t know if he trusts himself tho. Bringing out the wildcat also makes me feel the coaches don’t fully trust him. He did manage the game well and had zero turnovers. Can’t ask for more from a back up. If Ben isn’t able to return and mason is the guy next year he must start seeing open guys down field more than once or twice a game or it will be concerning and will have to look to draft a guy

 

What to make of his games? He improved from game one to game two. He can improve as he gains more experience.

 

He executed the game plan very well .. It seems to me that the Coaches really had confidence in our D to stop the Bengals as did I ... I stated in the game thread our D can play if a Team can't run the ball ..If we play a Team with a good running game we get caught on PA every time and the middle is wide open and then we try and sag the zone to protect the middle and now the RB is always wide open ,then we try Man to Man and there is always at least 1 DB who can't guard his guy and boom he goes off ....

Next week is a different beast all together , they can 4 sure run and we have mad problems with a running QB ,if you blitz the wrong way at the wrong time their QB can score from anywhere ..With that said our Team should be prepared to go deep and go deep often we will need big plays and lots of them ...I would start by moving Juju to the slot as it is harder for him to be doubled and he has more field to work with..Next I would use the T formation yes I said it a old school set hardly used ..I would put JuJu at the FB and let him start his routes from there he gets a free release on every play ..We toyed around with a passing T formation years ago and it can be really hard on a Defense knowing who to guard from the backfield.. We have 2 good RB'S so this opens up every trap and every pitch and every swing and screen pass , my favorite route for the FB is straight down the middle on a seam pass use the outside WR'S on 9'S if they in cover 2 Ju Ju is open from 10 yards to the goal post once he clears the LB'S zone...

 

You don't know what to make of Mason either?!?! Same here.... although with a twist for me. It is not that I do not believe he can or cannot succeed in the NFL.


I do not know what to make of Mason because Mason has JUST started playing. Two games is too early to judge. For that matter, it is also difficult to gauge what the team wants him to do going forward. One aspect is for certain; he can THROW the pigskin. However, there is another aspect more important than that I am certain of Mason and I will explain further below.



The point of emphasis being used here with Mason currently needs to be factored within the current set of circumstances; one that even supercedes statistics and talent but coincides with wins and teamwork... confidence. The more a person has, the better their belief in themselves. Of course, it is paramount that one can control the amount of confidence one possess. Being too overconfident yields negative outcomes; turnovers and bad throws being among them. Having not enough confidence will yield to a pedestrian performance or even worse, very conservative. Have to find the happy balance and that, in it of itself, is no small feat.



Those who can not just routinely showcase but control confidence are the ones who have a good shot of success. Talent and teamwork help greatly but the belief in oneself is immense. This level of confidence can then trickle down towards your fellow teammates; in turn believing in that very same person. Within the same context, having the correct level of confidence is also about having self awareness. Being able to self critque is very simple to enact upon as a Quarterback. However, how one relays the message through self criticism is vital; taking ownership of one's mistakes as we would call it. Overall though, these principles are what some can call leadership.



Now, Mason is never short on confidence as he always has something to prove. He has been that way since High School. However, that alone is not going to be enough; his latent talent yet tapped and skills the same. How he has allowed his confidence thus far to not just placate trust in his coaches and players and take ownership but also allowed that very same confidence to inspire the team is what I will be looking forward to moving forward in Mason Rudolph.



Having confidence is one aspect. Being able to control and wield that confidence for the benefits of your teammates as opposed to yourself is another story all together. That is what the GREAT leaders do. Mason has the intangibles to do it. The question now becomes can he maintain this level of confidence he currently has against Baltimore after winning his first ever game?!?!




Time to find out.



P.S. @SteelCity_NB




It is becoming more and more apparent on why you held Mason in such high regard more so than I gave you credit for after the conclusion of the 2018 NFL Draft. To think his improvement would be this good. I believe you may be right about him being a special player.

 

Kid is legit. They are working him in slowly and things will open up in time. Love what I saw and there is some truth to idea that NE has been running a similar O for years. Juju is here, DJ looks great and I believe in Washington. RBBC is always a good thing, too. Maybe we finally realized that after years of lying about it. Credit where it's due.

 

I blame Randy f for the lack of offense in San Fran......Absolute terrible gameplan..
Defense on the field way to long.

 

Elite and inconsistent. Never any doubt Ben was looking for the 30 yard chunk play but sometimes the four yard check down to keep the chains moving is what's needed. At this point I'm thinking Mason is doing what he is told to do. Get some gritty wins under his belt and he may go rogue in the future just like Ben. I'd like to see him pick up some yardage on scramble play too besides blazing it into open grass with style as his throw away pass.

 

Brady is a cold calculating fish who understands that 35 to 40 five yard passes can get you 400 yards of offense and 4 TD's. He knows how to keep drives moving and eat up the clock. He is physically in pain when there are wasted drives that don't result in points and I love seeing that discomfort. It is also why he has had multiple SB MVP awards.

Ben is and always will be that gunslinger. He can win a shootout. He can give up that highlight reel play and make your spirit soar by scrambling, extending the play and making magic. However he also wastes possessions thinking the next one will make up for the home run shot that didn't happen. He thinks that momentum swing is one play away and it's why he gave us one of the greatest drives in SB history but will never get that MVP nod because it's go big or go home with him. Last SB was about getting him MVP and it derailed long before the Mendenhall fumble. But damn that drive with Holmes was great.