Dulac: Steelers Appear To Have Some ‘Internal Division’ Regarding Starting QB

A lot of that is perception too. Ridder has 14 TD's and 12 INT's in his career. Pickett has 13 TD's and 13 INT's. I get that Ridder has played less games and has a higher INT% but it's still more of a perception than a reality.

Yeah, the coaching staff change certainly makes a lot of sense too. Always hard to compare apples to apples in the NFL. At the end of the day, competent QB play is what is holding this franchise back and I want to find somebody that can provide that. I don't care who it is (Kenny, Mason, Fields, Cousins, Mayfield)... whatever. My faith in Kenny becoming a competent NFL QB is pretty much 0, but I certainly hope I am wrong. I'd prefer we add from the outside, but whatever we decide to do I hope the end result is at the very least decent caliber QB play.

 

How many games do we have to suffer through 100-150 total yards through 3 quarters? At one point through 5.5 games this season HALF of our drives resulted in a 3 and out. Literally 50% lol that is atrocious and the QB played a massive part in that. If Kenny played for the Chargers instead of the Steelers, he'd be 3-21 for his career record and benched by now. It's great that he has put together a few solid 4th quarters that we've ended up winning, but there hasn't been enough flashes of quality play that makes me think the kid can do it for any real stretch of time.

 

You stated I said something I didn't... It's not my fault you couldn't comprehend my point.. Scribe & I have made peace but it's laughable to believe that he illuminated anything for me...

 

That year. I agree, but not by much...What about the other years??? It's not really close. Of course none of that matters in the NFL. Here is my main thing. We all watch every part of the team automatically get better when Mason played.....I just want the best Qb on the team to play..

 

Maybe you should take a reading course to help you fight your way through all those letters, words, and punctuation marks.

Sorry that I try to take the time to explain things instead of posting a quick comment and dancing away from the issue like you do.

 

How is asking You a question misrepresenting anything???

 

Yes, you are correct. Mason didn't play as a rookie, my statement was incorrect. Good catch.

Mason's lone start in Canada's offense was 30 for 50 and 242 yards. It was a rainy game if I remember correctly, but certainly not a good game (and a big reason why people thought Mason was toast). Also, with such a small sample size with Mason this past year it is hard to tell if those were flash in the pan games or if they were signs of true progress. The only real thing we noticed was that the caliber of play we got from Mason was much higher than the caliber of play we got from Kenny and Mitch in 2023. It is also important to remember that it was the same offense as Canada, just a different play-caller.

I am not of the ilk that Mason was denied a chance. He had plenty of chances... he just happened to capitalize on what was likely his last shot in the league. Kenny has also had plenty of opportunity and he has yet to capitalize on any of it IMO. He will likely get another chance in 2024 and it will likely be his last shot at being a starter here in Pittsburgh. I don't think that Rudolph is the savior of our QB situation. I think he is a better hold over option than Kenny until we take another shot at finding the QB of the future (simply based off of recent caliber of play), but I am nearly 100% sold that neither of these guys are the franchise QB for the Steelers.

I'd be reluctantly ok with a Mason/Kenny battle for the job in 2024, but it is also why I have been very vocal in the explorative process to find a starter outside of our current situation. Fields, Mayfield, Cousins, etc. All of these options are superior IMO.

 

THIS

there are a # of BETTER options than MASON. But if we go CHEAP (which would not surprise me as they won't make the hard cuts and the BIG decisions), then it MAY be Mason vs. Kenny. Mason will kick his ass. He showed that he can and the players already know that......

 

Me too!! Went to the Colorado State game last night. Thought we were gonna' cough it up but Donovan Dent won it at 3 seconds left with a length of the floor layup. Third time this year he's done that for the winner.

 

I'm just trying to provide the correct information on the subject.

I broke it down with all those stats by season to show what Rudolph did and when he did it. I also wanted to show what can happen if a quarterback is given a chance in a real offense with good offensive coaching and talent around them. As those stats show, Rudolph didn't really do anything in Canada's offense and didn't play very well in general. I believe that Pickett will also benefit from being in a good system with good coaching. That doesn't diminish what Mason Rudolph did. He played three good games to help the team make the playoffs.

It is entirely possible to think that Mason Rudolph is not good enough to be the answer, but think he is a great backup and a solid player and person that can help the team. I believe that if they do sign Rudolph, that he and Kenny Pickett have a chance to be better quarterbacks if the system is sound and imaginative, and the new OC is a teacher...not just a coach.

So many look at Rudolph and just think he's better than Pickett, so he needs to be the starter. I see Rudolph, and see that Pickett may be able to be much better than Rudolph if coached properly in the right system.

I don't believe Rudolph can be a good enough quarterback to lead a team to big things.

I don't believe Pickett can be an elite, top 3 quarterback. I think Kenny Pickett has a chance to be a Goff type of player if developed and groomed that can take a team on a deep run and give you a chance to win it all.

That's how I see it, and that's why I favor seeing what Pickett can do. If he fails this year, at least they didn't give away a high draft pick to bring in another failed QB and they can go all-in and use significant resources in 2025 to get the best QB available.

Nobody knows what the team will do. I just prefer that they go with a player that has a chance to get much better, or at least definitively identify Pickett's ceiling.

 

Actually I addressed all your assertions in an intelligent & concise manner... You on the other hand have not addressed the elephant in the room at all... Rudolph is OBVIOUSLY better than Pickett... but tell me again about how the Rudolph supporters are the delusional ones... or maybe talk about duck Hodges again...

 

You didn't address any of my assertions or stats. You bitched about my post being too long. That's all you did.

There was nothing intelligent about your responses. Rudolph good. Pickett bad.

You try really hard to be relevant, but all you do is try to shout everyone down whenever they say a bad word about Mason Rudolph or a good word about Kenny Pickett.

You had your chance to post a thoughtful response to my post that had a lot of information and facts. Instead you decided to try to be a smart ass. You only succeeded in revealing your weak arguments and your reading issues in regard to lengthy, informative posts.

 

That was misleading. Ridder threw all 12 interceptions in 2023. Pickett went from nine interceptions as a rookie to four in his second season. Eight of those interceptions came in his first five starts. He had one for the rest of his rookie season. His ability to take care of the ball better than Ridder isn't just a matter of perception. It is also the trend of his career. If you are going to harp on his negatives, at least be honest about his strengths.

 

Not entirely. Ridder also started 13 of his 17 games started in 2023 too. He should have more picks in 2023 with 9 more games played.

Kenny definitely threw more picks to start his career than the end of his career. But I don't see it as a huge positive when he really is only doing so by only throwing highly safe routes. RB dump offs and back shoulder sideline throws almost never end up in interceptions. When 80% of your throws are within 7-10 yards of the LOS it is much harder to throw interceptions as well. Idk. He cut it loose as a rookie and turned it over a lot to start. He reigned it in afterwards.. Then he cut it loose to start the 2023 season and threw a good amount of picks again (and got lucky at least 2 more weren't picked) and then reeled it back in. It's kind of a "its great, but...." scenario. Like its great that he doesn't throw picks, but he takes no chances. He doesn't turn it over, but he struggles to score points.

I just don't care if he doesn't turn it over if he can't score points.

 

So still avoiding the question... I mean I can't really blame you as there's no logical place for you to argue from... I don't hate Pickett,,, I do like Rudolph... THE QUESTION IS,,, which of these 2 options is the better one??? Your only evidence to support Pickett over Rudolph is what occurred years ago while Rudolph was functioning as a backup without the benefit of starting reps for long periods of time.. I would also argue that his performance even at the time, is comparable to the best we've seen out of Pickett... So if the best you've got is some duck Hodges nonsense, then plz stop wasting my time...

 

You've been wasting people's time since I first noticed you posting. My original post was responding to another poster to put correct stats and context on a claim about Rudolph after he mistakenly claimed something about his rookie season. It was an honest mistake by him. That's all.

You are the one that got worked up at simple facts and stats that are 100% accurate, so stop trying to act like I'm wasting your time. Anyone can go back and read your nonsense and how you challenge people, but don't back anything you say up. You made this contentious when there was no need for it. It's who you are every time this subject is discussed.

I have answered the question many times on this message board. Pickett is the better option moving forward for a number of reasons.

 

There are not a number of reasons that make any sense,,,, I don't think you can state a single reason actually beyond maybe Pickett fits the new oc better... It's the cognitive dissonance that irks me with you Pickett fans... I actually like kp & possibly down the road he could become a viable option, but your "reasons" at this time are not based in logic... They're based in some hometown boy pride or something... After suffering through this offense for 2 seasons & seeing what it could be with a QB in the last 4 games it's hard to imagine returning to the same old disaster... I do resort to contentious sarcasm too often as it's my favorite form of intelligence, & you have been nothing but respectful... so for that I apologize , & will try a more reasonable approach with you in the future...

 

There is no doubt that the system and the quarterback need to be better. I'm just saying stacking numbers of Ridder and Pickett like that to suggest the former isn't worse at protecting the ball was misleading. In responding to that, you just changed the subject.

 

YIKES

 

I believe this will be Pickett's make or break season. Maybe the light goes on for KP in 2024? Hopefully the Steelers can have a better quality back up on the roster than Trubisky or MR.