Mason era should be over

Hello darkness my old friend

 

Yes just like we all were saying jackson would never be a good staring QB. I am one of them. Ben has made us all spoiled. Dont give up on mason yet we really have no other option. Not getting one in draft unless we get lucky and if you actully think Duck is the answer we are worse off than we think

 

Fitzpatrick ready to crack the top 10.

 

Hey Steel_Elvis.

Yes, in very big part you have nailed it. A strong running game would go a long way for Mason. Unfortunately, our "seamless replacement" of Bell, Connor (according to some here in the summer) has filled in soooo admirably. What a bang-up job he has done! When not hurt, he is okay.

I love his personal story. I hope he can maintain a healthy life. However, that is not going to cut him any slack on the field. He is about a (C+) RB in my opinion. We need him healthy and out there. Man, this "O" has gone from Riches to Rags overnight. We were once loaded not long ago. Now we basically have scraps. I think the WR corp could be good. No true #1 but as I stated before, if each of the starters would understand his role, and play within them, we do not need a #1. Also, the TE has all but disappeared from our "O". Not good there either.

STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid

 

Washington did not do fine with Roethisberger. He did very little last season.

Johnson played a game and a half with Roethlisberger and their one full game together, he caught three passes for 25 yards. He has had better games with Rudolph.

Conner has played all but one game this season with no fullback. The one game he had Nix to help, he put up big numbers. He has also been hurt a lot again.

Your claim regarding those guys was flat-out wrong.

Smith-Schuster and McDonald have dropped off a great deal from last season, but they aren't just missing Roethlisberger. They are missing Brown. His absence has hurt the offense, too.

This is not to say Rudolph isn't a problem. He was just okay until Thursday night, when he was atrocious. The more I see, the less I believe he can be a long-term option for the Steelers, but to put it all on him is flat-out inaccurate.

 

Jackson showed flashes as a rookie. He also had some really bad moments, but the ability has always been there. People forget the guy won a Heisman Trophy. He was a better college quarterback than Rudolph and he has shown a hell of a lot more as a pro.

Hodges should have played the second half Thursday night. Rudolph clearly didn't have it. I don't think Hodges is a long-term answer, either, but the Steelers better be ready with a quick hook against the Bengals.

Right now, the Steelers better hope Roethlisberger can come back and be a quality starter again next season because I don't think his replacement is on the roster yet.

 

I get what you are saying however maybe Duck and/or Lynch won't miss open guys. I am on the Mason train but for some reason there is no chemistry with him and Fitch, injuries are not helping Mason as well. Mason is the most blitzed QB in the NFL and we have no running game. With all that said when Mason starts missing these in stride throws it has me worried. It isn't just the Thursday night game either. Now like some have pointed out we lost a couple games due to fumbles and if we win them games maybe the outlook would be different.

What I do know is that for the first time in a very long time we have a defense that is dominate. We need just a little help from the offense to get us over the hump.......a hump that many here included myself didn't think we were even close to. I hope with the extra days and the embarrassment of Thursday behind us Fitch removes his head from his butt and gets a game plan together and we right the ship this week.

There is a lot of great opinions and points about start/sitting Mason and I agree both ways. However that isn't gonna happen so I am ready to see what Mason can do now. Mason needs to step up as does the players and coaches around him if we want a playoff run. jmo

 

I'd take him back over Lynch, but I see no reason to believe he would be better than Rudolph or Hodges.

 

Hey Steel_Elvis.

Yeah, I may be a little harsh with the C+. I guess in a part, I am comparing him to Bell ("A" Grade) to a degree. I knew this was coming though with Brown's departures. There were so many Steeler fans over the summer that felt that those two were going to be soooo easily replaced with JuJu and Connor. I kept telling them...Wrong!

Add in Ben's injury and we went from a top tier "O" to average at best. I only say average because Ben's injury had not occurred at that point. Now we are below average with my man Mason, who I do like for the record. You just do not replace that kind of talent that quickly. As I stated, teams had to Game-Plan for Bell, not Connor. Also, IMO, Connor's fumble ("Ball-Security") in the SF game cost us a win in big part.


STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid

 

Hey NY STEELERFAN.

Yes, I am still down with Mason. I can only hope that Thursday's game was an anomaly. However, at this point in the season I do not want to start playing Musical QBs. His accuracy is of concern I admit even with the W's under his belt. Man, he was making these throws in college. So, we know he can do it. Are there options on the bench, sure. Let us see how he handles the next game. Mathematically, and not hanging by a string mathematically, we are still "In The Hunt".

STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid

 

Somebody posted a scouting report on Rudolph from his college days and that really seemed to nail what is wrong. He is waiting for guys to be college open and that just doesn't happen often in the NFL. He is too slow making decisions and his accuracy is not consistent.

 

He is what he is at this point. He just needs to play average for us to be a wild card but he’s not even doing that right now

 

He's a second-year player who didn't play at all as a rookie. There is certainly room and potential for improvement.

That said, he isn't getting better so far. He's regressing.

 

Every aspect of the offense has regressed this season, and not all based on QB play. Most of it to the detriment of QB play (Oline, dropsies, no run or attempt to establish a run, ect).

 

At this point it can’t hurt. Dobbs would be the running game

 

Rudolph beat out Dobbs in the preseason. It was clear and easy to see in the preseason games. Dobbs was still as erratic as ever, mixing in the occasional spectacular play with a string of missed throws. There are absolutely many ways Dobbs could be performing worse when you look at the season as a whole. I say that because it would be incredibly difficult to play worse than Rudolph did against the Browns.

 

He also didn't face starters in real games the way Rudolph has this season. We saw that once from Dobbs last season and he was terrible against the Raiders, one of the worst teams in the NFL.

That would be comparing apples to apples. The same can be said of this preseason. What you just tried to do is compare Dobbs last preseason to Rudolph in the regular season this year. That is not a fair or accurate comparison.

Dobbs made his entire reputation among Steelers fans against guys who are now bagging groceries. He was not a good quarterback in college, nor was he one with the Steelers. Rudolph beat him out and even with Roethlisberger's elbow hurting, the Steelers were happy to trade him for a draft pick.

Speaking of that, were you complaining when the Steelers traded Dobbs?

 

I am not sure there is a more true statement on this board. Our line has taken a step back and we lost Munch, our receivers have taken a step back and the loss of Drake has to play a roll in that....especially mentally. We lost one of if not the best WR in the game and also James which is a lot of production to replace. The injury bug has not been kind as well.............

 

Didn't Dobbs play vs the same guys bagging groceries now???????

 

They were cashiers not baggers.....wait I bag my own groceries...what does that make me?

 

Not getting paid for doing someone's else's work?

On an unrelated note, did you know it is illegal to pump your own gas in Oregon? It is state law intended to create jobs for people. Weird!