will this be good for ben?

since charlie and lefty won't be here for ben to fall back on, will this make ben have to rely on his coaches more? maybe helping? maybe ben having to help two new guys along will help his game too. thoughts?

 

I don't believe that Leftwich ever helped Ben much on the sidelines. Charlie was more of the QB mentor to some point but Ben will always know that he is relying on his own talents towards achieving victory.

 

we know ben will relyon his talents, but he won't have those other two vets to discuss this with on the sidelines and in meetings. their knowledge and what they see during plays, will be lacking for ben now. that's what i'm talking about. will he have to rely on fitchner and haley more now?

 

To me, outside of his rookie season of coarse, it will be Ben's most challenging season of his NFL career. Not only is he going to miss those two vets and their knowledge but he will have a 2nd year OC with a different mindset of ball control Vs. wing it and sling it. A depleted WR core, a new RB and uncertainty for the first time at the TE position. Is he up to the challenge? I completely believe he is.

 

I think the thing that would challenge Ben is to bring in a young, hotshot QB to push him to be better. With Methuselah Batch and Rip Van Winkle Leftwich he didn't have to worry about being pushed. Some young, hungry QB with starting potential may be the elixir that Ben needs to make himself better by being better prepared for the gameplan, studying game film of his opponent's defensive tendencies, etc.

 

I guess I missed something. When were Charlie and Leftwich let go? I went to steelers.com after reading this thread and they're not on the roster but I don't remember seeing anything about it here or anywhere else.

 

They were both under contract through 2012 and I believe they are now UFAs.

 

I had to go back and re-read what I wrote, and just as I suspected not once did I suggest that Ben had become Mark Sanchez. I didn't even say that Ben would be "riding the pine" at any time in the forseeable future. But my opinion of Ben is that he has a tendency to be LAZY when it comes to game preparation and film study. I have been consistent with that opinion and feel as strongly about that today as I ever have. Ben has gotten by up to this point in his career on superior physical ability. We've all enjoyed watching Ben "go sandlot". It's been fun. But the last couple of years we've seen at least some deterioration in Ben's physical dominance. Ben CAN overcome that and still have many years of success. But I think in order for him to do that, his mental game must increase in direct proportion to the decrease of the physical aspect of his game.

Of course we're not going to draft anybody this year that will overtake Ben as the starter anytime soon, but I'd love to get somebody in there with a little swagger who is willing to work hard to hone his skill and prove that he belongs at the NFL level and is not content to sit on the bench his entire career. Somebody who will work hard on and off the field to become a top flight NFL quarterback. If we were to bring somebody in like that, Ben may decide to actually start putting a little more work into mental preparation and gameplanning. Ben's been a great QB for the Steelers, the best since Bradshaw, but in spite of what some believe there is plenty of room for improvement in his game and his leadership abilities.

 

I know what Jack is meaning but it's really hard to put in to words because the natural inclination is to believe that he's saying "push Ben to get better OR ELSE" and I don't think that's exactly what he's meaning to say. I think it's more about bringing in a guy that might ignite a leadership quality in Ben. Maybe someone that has a layer to his game that Ben doesn't which might inspire Ben to work on what lacks in his game just as Ben might inspire a young guy to fix a hole he might have in his game. Maybe if we brought in a "cerebral" young guy it could help Ben to be more "cerebral" and maybe if we brought in a young guy that's not really comfortable under pressure Ben could help him with that aspect. You know what I'm saying? We all know there's no way Ben is losing his job and none of us want that to happen anyway. I'm far from thinking that Ben is stupid and I'm sure Jack is too.

 

i think this thread got off track. nobody is saying ben will be benched. nobody is arguing competition is healthy no matter who it is.

my question is about ben coming to the sidelines and going to charlie and charlie saying when we are in this formation the safety is creeping up towards the slot receiver and peeking in the backfield or anything else that a vet may catch and ben doesn't see happening.

will gradkowski be able to bring this type of help or who will ben turn to. is this a good thing if it's haley or fitchner that he's having to deal with more then usual. is it a help to ben if he has to explain something they are doing to a young qb now instead of old reliable qb/coach batch helping the process as an extra set of eyes.

it will be very different to what he is used to between series.

 

A very legitimate question Mac, this should be interesting year for Ben R. I think Charlie
was the ultimate team player and Steeler Not to mention PREPARED. With Ben's physical skills starting to ERODE I believe he must
listen to his coaches more and devote more time to mental preperation if we are to get where we want to be. He needs weapons also,
that Colbert and Tomlin must provide him in this draft. If the Steelers decide to not sign Manny then the Steelers will have to bring in atleast
2 more WR either thru the draft or FA. They also will need to draft the starting RB that must be able to play and PRODUCE right away.
When you have a super physically gifted player like Ben is, it is hard to change this type of athlete because his natural ability always got him thru
situations even at this high level, I don't think this is the case anymore and he will have to tweak his game, or the Steelers will again be a 500 team.

 

any team without charlie is a worse team

HINES

 

I have a feeling, and would love it if it happened. That Charlie will be hired as a QB coach

 

He can't miss lefty. How do you miss a guy coming for a few plays (cept the Bmo game) which MT should have pulled him.
Lefty makes a few plays then spends the next month on the trainers table.

 

it's really not about ben missing him playing. it's the other parts of the game that a vet helps. the extra set of eyes that see's what defenses are doing. it helps with adjustments during games and in meetings and putting together tendencies of other teams defenses, and even down to certain players that they are familiar with.

95% of a backup qb's job is mental, not to just wait around until the starter goes down. they help in preparation before the game and during the game. the coaches and ben can't see it all. chuckie and lefty had alot of starts in this league over the years. that skillset and expierience is gone. i think it helped ben over the years. again another hit to the already bleeding offensive side of the ball.

 

Still hope Charlie comes back as a QB Coach though Mac.

 

i imagine he will go into it at some point.

 

I think it will be. He's got alot on his shoulders right now. I've heard people say he's more accurate when flushed out of the pocket and under pressure, I think it's the same way on this level of potential. When the stakes are high he plays better, and having been beat up these past few seasons I think he's about ready to make another run.

 

Ben is almost a 10 year vet...he isn't going to miss them from an x's and O's stand point at all.

 

A fair assessment of charlie batchs status...

Mark Kaboly | Tribune-Review
The Steelers head into the offseason with 18 unrestricted free agents and six restricted free agents. We will take a look at each individual player up until free agency starts on March 12.
Name: Charlie Batch
Charlie Batch

Contract status: Free agent
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6-2
Weight: 220
*Age: 38
Experience: 12
Quarterbacks on the current roster: Ben Roethlisberger
Free agent quarterbacks: Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwich
2012 season: Charlie Batch was forced to start a pair of division games – Cleveland and Baltimore – because of injuries to Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich. Batch was good in one and bad in the other. Batch completed 25-of-34 passes for 276 yards and a touchdown in helping the Steelers to an upset win over division champion Baltimore Ravens. Batch didn’t play as well in his start against Cleveland when he threw three interceptions, was visibly rusty and the Steelers turned the ball over eight times in a loss at Cleveland but showed, at 38, that he can still be a viable backup quarterback in the NFL.
What about this: In Batch’s two starts, he completed 68.8 percent of his passes when he was under pressure and only 63 percent when he wasn’t under pressure.
What the Steelers should do with Batch: Batch showed that he can be a valuable commodity especially in short-term use, and the Steelers felt the same way. Batch was elevated to the No. 2 quarterback for the final three games of the season even when Leftwich returned from his rib injury acknowledging that the Steelers’ coaching staff was comfortable with how Batch played in his opportunities. The Steelers need to have at least one younger quarterback on the roster meaning either Leftwich or Batch must go. You can’t go wrong by keeping either one, but Batch showed that he can get the job done on a more consistent basis over the past three years.
What the Steelers will do with Batch: A veteran backup quarterback isn’t a top priority of the Steelers heading into free agency because they would be happy to have either Leftwich or Batch back backing up Roethlisberger. The Steelers will be in no hurry to re-sign any of their backup quarterbacks just like they have rushed in years past so the Steelers will probably wait until deep into free agency once again, but will bring Batch back on a one-year veteran minimum salary.

 

I think Ben's ego is too HUGE for any other player vet or not to help him! Coache's remain to be seen! JMO!!! View attachment 379

 

What will be good for Ben is get him some more weapons we need a speed receiver to replace wallace.