Blame Front Office for poor back-up quality?

Its my personal opinion that we should have used a pick after the 3rd round on a QB in one of the previous few drafts. The one BIG problem i have with having Charlie or Bryon as our backup QB's is that they aren't mobile at all... This is a huge problem because Ben's ability to keep plays alive with his FEET and TOUGHNESS gives us the best chance to win. Playing teams like the Ravens that can get in the backfield in 3 seconds against Bryon or Charlie leave us in a world of hurt

So my question is WHY did the Front Office not deem it necessary to either draft a QB or pick one up in Free Agency that at least resembles Roethlisbergers play style. Instead we have a 39 year old back-up and a back-up QB that takes 4 seconds to go through his throwing motion.

 

expecially when you know ben always has something ,maybe they bring back johnson he has some mobility

 

I am going to have to agree with you, I too have thought about it
I even mentioned during the draft process the kid from Mich St.I think the Skins drafted him in
the 3rd round. can't think of his name right now. I thought he maybe our back up answer?
Oh well we must go on with the cards we are dealt. If Charlie and Byron can hold up for a
month we maybe alright?

 

Absolutely agree here. How much do you think the Dolts would have loved to have someone like Batch or Leftwich when Manning went down? How about the Patriots when Brady went down. I know that Cassel did a good job, but look at what he is doing now. You cannot have a backup franchise quarterback behind your franchise quarterback and the chances that you're going to find a franchise quarterback in the third round or later is minimal. So, what's the option? The Steelers have arguably the best solution to a bad situation in the league. They're not wasting roster spots on someone they want to develop into a starter before they think it is time.

I think that there may be many on here who don't remember the late-70's and early 80's - during the ending years of Bradshaw's career. Everyone thought that Cliff Stoudt was the answer and would just pick up where Bradshaw left off. He was young and "developmental". Well - that didn't work out so well - and neither did the search for the next 25 years. The Steelers FO is more savvy than we can give them credit for. They know that the option that gives them the best option to win without Roethlisberger is someone who knows his role and can step in and start without feeling that he is auditioning for a starting role on another team. Is Leftwich the answer for the longterm? Nah. But the Steelers aren't to the point where they're thinking long-term yet. Maybe this injury changes things. Maybe not. But until it does, we have the best backups for a bad situation.

 

Agree for the most part. Just off top of the head, Hasselbeck is a better backup than Lefty or Charlie at this stage in their careers

 

is kurt warner in football shape ?

 

I hope Leftwich comes in and lights it up on some deep throws. Then everyone can shut up about not having a quality back up. Not too many teams have a former #7 1st round pick who was a starter, and has a 1-1 playoff record. Which I have you know is the same amount of playoff games that Tony Romo has won.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it, boys and girls.

 

I truly think that the key to running this offense efficiently now is to continue with the dink and dunk passes. Im sure that the coaches and Lefty are working on his delivery speed on these types of passes this week in order to be successful. I have the confidence that Lefty can succeed in this offense while Ben is out, and in order to avoid the rush this is what will neutralize teams like the Ravens who are quick with the rush. I totally agree that Lefty is a quality backup and as long as the coaches make the changes necessary, I think we will be ok. We have seen so many teams be successful with the quick passes, so there is no reason to believe that the Steelers cant be the next successful team to win without their starting QB.

 

I thought Charlie was our franchise backup quarterback.

 

i blame them too its like we have just settled on them rather than trying to get someone tht can be more effective

 

On the same note - the Steelers did VERY well with their backups when Bradshaw went down. They just weren't the guys who could lead the team for the long term. Bradshaw did not play every down of every game in the Super Bowl years, yet, we were able to go get those trophies. The key is not to have multiple franchise-type quarterbacks, but one franchise guy and one or two others who can help the team to succeed when the #1 goes down. I think, for the most part, that we have those two in Batch and Leftwich. The next few weeks will be telling - but I'm not as nervous as I could be.

 

It's important to remember that both Batch and Leftwich used to be NFL starter calibre QBs. Alright, they've done better as back ups, but that kind of experience is important.

I would like to see a younger mobile back up, of course, but then I'm haunted by the memory of Dixon. Why didn't he work out?

 

lots of teams have franchise qb's and they still drafted some good young talent to back them up. they were not drafted to take over the starters job but to be taught in the system and be a viable canidate if the starter does go down. the game has evolved since the days of bradshaw and the 80's backups. these younger guys coming out have won on the big stage in college and are starter capable if the franchise goes down. they are not there to take his job in the next couple of years, but give support to him if something like this happens. i don't have a problem with us drafting a guy with alot of potential to sit behind ben. charlie and lefty are near their end in the league and this coming draft may be a good time to look for this next backup.


NE.... ryan mallet he wasen't drafted to take bradys spot but he was a very good qb in college.
Philly... nick foles he wasen't drafted to take vicks spot but lots of hype and potential coming out.
SF... kapernick not there to take smiths spot
WASH... kirk cousins not there to take RG3's job.
CLE...mccoy weeden is there guy, but colts a decent starter quality backup
NYJ... mcelroy why all the talk of tebow behind sanchez, mcelroy won a national championship he's not there to take over yet. well maybe.
HOU... t.j.yates he's not there to take over for schaub, but a highly ranked qb coming out
DEN...oswieller he's not there to take over for peyton.
OAK... pryor not there to start over palmer
DET.... kellen moore not there to take over for stafford.
GB..... graham harrell not there to take over for rodgers.


having a draft pick to play backup is not a bad thing. it doesn't in any way mean he's there to take the franchise qb's job. having alot of potential to do so isn't a bad thing though. alot of these guys could very well be capable of starting for teams. i think to much is assumed that it will somehow affect the starter. having a good young backup in the pipeline is not a downer as some are making it out to be.

 

Really? I don't know about that one bud. At times he looks like he has potential but.....I think i'll take Lefty or Batch over him anytime. He scares me more than they do, lol

 

i think most of them could be an improvement over lefty or charlie in another year or two. why wait for those years, that just ages the other guys on offense. it's not all about ben on this offense. we have alot of really good players besides him to think about. it's not just grooming a guy to take over for ben. having a good young qb in the system is smart planning and not a waste of a draft pick. let's face it byron and charlie are decent vets for this year, but not a longer term solution to a backup. by the time ben is ready to go, this young guy can have an understanding of the offense and the players around him. all pluses. what is the downside?

we know charlie and lefty are not long tern solutions. keep one and draft one to eventually take that 3rd qb role. in a year or two, he could step in as the #2. lefty would then be about 35 or more. if ben, lefty and charlie all retire at the same time we have nothing to look forward to and might as well get rid of all our offensive skill guys too because they will be wasted for a couple of years. that's like hoping you can fund your retirement with lottery tickets. it's not a threat to ben. same as those other teams franchise qb not being threatend by good young talent they drafted. win , win if we get a good one.

 

Couldnt disagree with you more on Leftwich. He may have came in and made a "few" plays to win the game last week, but he hasnt won a start in the NFL in something like 6 starts... and hasnt had a win as a starter in 3 years.

 

I agree. people have unrealistic expectations when it comes to back up players. when starters go down the team needs to find other ways to compensate to win games.

 

That may be true, but many (if not all) of those starts were on a pretty poor TB team. I think I read earlier today that Byron's numbers with the Steelers are very good... Something like 10 TD's and 0 picks with a 107 QB rating. This includes preseason, but still, I'm fine with those stats.

 

Close.

Charlie IS our franchise backup QB!

 

I would much rather have a veteran who has started and won meaningful nfl games than someone who won in college and took a few preseason snaps. That said we probably don't need two vets - perhaps the third should be a young guy.

Other than Lefty 's slow motion wind up I like him. Well that and the fact that we call him Lefty and he is right handed. I mean I know his name is Leftwich and knew he was right handed but for some reason when he came in to the game Monday I expected him to throw lefty. I know, I've got issues.