Roethlisberger vs Rudolph

Forget what Ben has done in the past. Think about what we have seen this season.

Who is the more accurate passer right now?
Mobility?
Arm strength?
Reading the defense?
Decision making?

 

There's too much blind hatred for Rudolph around here to have a legitimate discussion on this topic.

 

Again i go back to the fact that he couldn't hold the job when ben was hurt against an undrafted free agent who has not even played another snap in the NFL since he played for us. Rudolph's decision making is not good. His time to go thru the progressions is abnormally slow. He looks like a player that lacks any confidence in himself. Yes he has a better arm than Ben at this point and better mobility but none of that matters when your decision making and progressions are as bad as his. And thats saying a lot cause Ben is terrible in those categories as well.

 

Need to see Rudolph on the field again to offer any sort of informed opinion tbh.

Back in 2019 he was effectively a rookie, he never got a helmet during his first year with the team, no first team reps in practice, he didn’t even have a QB coach. He was a project at that stage and the team took a gamble having him there as the primary backup. I’d be disappointed if he hasn’t improved since then.

That said I don’t think his ceiling is very high to begin with.

 

go back and watch the game last year against the browns. We are resting starters and they’re fighting for their lives. We had a crap o-line and no running game.

 

When Rudolph does play this season he can't go through a bunch of reads and wait for a receiver to get open. If he does that he will get killed behind our OL.
I think that he will play sooner rather than later because Ben is through but he will be injured before he plays more than a game or two. I think Haskins finishes out the season.

 

Let Rudolph start, once he gets killed out there throw in Haskins......after he gets killed then we can move forward by replacing all of them. What do we have to lose at this point.

 

Mobility? Definitely Rudolph
Arm strength? Ben has plenty of strength. He constantly overthrows receivers
Reading defense? Who knows until Rudolph gets in a game
Decisions? Same as reading defenses

 

Ben's arm is not what it once was. Maybe it is in part due to him almost never stepping into throws but he floats almost everything. Throwing the ball with distance doesn't really say a lot about arm strength. What does is the fact that Ben rarely if ever zips balls into spots. Again, he floats almost everything now.

Anyway, we won't know unless Rudolph actually plays but it is hard to imagine him giving less than we are getting from Ben now. I suppose he could turn the ball over a ton in addition to not leading us to points.

 

Look, we all know Ben is done. But to honestly believe that MR is better seems a bit delusional. MR has been 1/2 step behind since being drafted and was exactly the same in college. His accuracy isn't any better than Ben's as he is constantly over throwing and throwing behind WRs. The speed of of NFL seems to be too much for him. I would take on Haskins before MR just because he seems a little more durable and doesn't seem to be 1/2 step behind. Either way, we all know that none of the QBs in this roster are the future for this squad.

 

I rest my case.

 

Don't agree with your first statement. I think we've seen plenty to know he isn't the answer. I do agree with your last statement and never understood how they were so high on him to begin with. All of the knocks on him are exactly the same as when he was at OK St.

Aside from Ben, the Steelers have been below average at drafting QBs. Mason, Dobbs, Dixon, Jones, Omar jacobs....

 

No one knows what MR would do at this point until he is treated as a starter would be treated in game prep, etc. and believing he is the guy going forward. I will be glad to say get rid of him if he actually gets a legitimate time to prove what he can do and not a game or two and he sucks. How many QB's would be left in the NFL if they were treated the same way or after having a couple of bad games? This is all a mute point anyway if you know what I mean. JMO>

 

But yet Rudolph outplayed Roethlisberger vs. Browns at the end of last season... with backups.

 

Rudolph has more mobility. He can actually take snaps from center and run the full offense.

Roethlisberger still has a stronger arm, but it almost doesn't matter given how inconsistent he is in terms of accuracy. Rudolph doesn't really have the zip for intermediate throws into a tight window, but he is more accurate on deep throws.

I'm not sure either of them is particularly good at reading defenses.

Roethlisberger's decision-making has gone in the toilet. I'm not sure about Rudolph's. We have only seen one full game since 2019. I think he was rattled by the big hit that knocked him out against the Ravens. Maybe he can handle pressure better now. There is at least the possibility that he can get better. That isn't happening with Roethlisberger at this point.

 

I wouldn't stop at Haskins, I'd try Dobbs or get Randle El back or someone. After all of these players trying to do something, it won't matter this year so yes, why not? But you know there is only one possible situation that Ben is not taking snaps. I will still have some faith that this year is salvageable until we get to the point of no return. With the way other div teams are playing, this may come sooner than desired. JMO>

 

Unless the OL gets magically fixed, Ben is still our best option. We can't run right now even though we have a gun slinger sitting back there.... you put Rudolph in there and they will load up the box every single play until Rudolph proves that he can make a play. I'm not sure what the issue is, if it's Matt Canada, Ben, Tomlin, etc, but the play calling SUCKS as bad as the offensive line..... until either of those things changes, we will struggle.

 

Only Rudolph? Ben has earned his hatred for years Heinz.

 

The same people wanting to see Ben benched in favor of Rudolph were probably calling for Ben to be benched in favor of Landry Jones or Dennis Dixon....

 

If Ben continues to struggle I don’t see the harm in giving Rudolph some reps. It would probably be a case of Ben being taken out under the guise of an injury to save him from the public humiliation of being benched. He may well get injured anyway with all these hits he is taking.

If the offence sucks at home the next few weeks then fan pressure will start to become a real factor. I expect to see Rudolph on the field at some point soon, however it comes about.

 

Rudolph did most of his damage after the Browns built a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter. Roethlisberger did the same thing the following week. The Steelers were just in a bigger hole. It isn't as if he had no starters out there with him, either. Rudolph's touchdown passes were to Smith-Schuster and Claypool.

 

Blaming the o-line is lazy. They are getting better each week. We are seeing improvement out of them. With that being said we are still seeing the same mistakes from Ben. Look at his decisions on 4th down in consecutive weeks. He’s been fooled pre-snap and checks down to the flat while missing open receivers.

 

The whole start Ben or Rudolph argument depends on how you view the season and what you hope to learn from it.

If you take the “never give up on a season, we’re in it to win it until we’re eliminated” view. Then, I suppose you can argue that Ben gives the best chance to claw back in the playoff hunt. But this argument seems to hold less and less water as each week passes. If at the bye week, it’s more of the same, you have to go w/ Mason, flaws and all. Because his flaws might now be as bad as Bens

if you take the”it’s a lost season already, lets prepare for 2022” view. Start Mason, see if confirms your 1st round grade on him. Decide whether he’s part of the future or the past and scout accordingly. Decide whether Matt Canada’s offense is worth keeping. Give Haskins a shot in December, once he’s had a chance to practice with the starters. Don’t go into the off season with the same question marks you had last yr.

In my view Ben is done. I get deferring to him to a degree, and he deserves every chance to turn things around. He probably won’t. Ben gets no later than the bye week. No improvement? Start Mason.