1. Hi Guest, Registrations are now open. See you on the inside.
    Dismiss Notice

Have We Seen the NFL Potential of Mason Rudolph?

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by mcam, Dec 2, 2019.

  1. No, Mason will eventually play at an NFL caliber level and supplant Ben as the Franchise QB

    12.1%
  2. No, Mason will eventually play at an NFL caliber level but be a career backup in the NFL.

    67.2%
  3. Yes, He doesn't have what it takes to be an NFL QB and is destined to join Landry Jones in the XFL

    20.7%
  1. mcam

    mcam Well-Known Member

    2,594
    498
    Feb 5, 2017
    Got to admit it's pretty eye opening watching Hodge come in and have vastly different results than Rudolph completing long completions downfield and everything. Meanwhile Mason would be throwing underneath routes to running backs.

    Got to say I'm a little disappointed, but what I'm not sure of entirely is if this is the Mason Rudolph revealed as an NFL QB. I think it's fair to say he looked pretty much terrible. Hodges already looks to have taken his backup job when Ben returns.

    Do you think this is the best we've seen of Mason Rudolph?
     
  2. STEELWINDS

    STEELWINDS

    1,484
    346
    Sep 12, 2019
    Hey mcam.

    I hope Mason stays with the Steelers and has a prosperous career with us. I for one, have been in his corner since he took over in the Seattle game. It wasn't until the first Browns game that he imploded. Even with that, I wanted him for the Bengals' game. Unfortunately, he did not do so well there either. Neither did Duck actually but the big difference in that game was Mason's pick vs. Duck's TD. Game Winner! They are both young and I have no problem with Duck taking it from here. I still have confidence in Mason but in he end he has to stand alone in a sense and earn it back.

    STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid
     
    • Like Like x 1
  3. troybellringer55

    troybellringer55 Well-Known Member

    6,177
    1,624
    Nov 17, 2011
    Mason needs to work on the decision making process and speed it up about 100 times. faster

    Needs to learn to bounce outside the pocket when it breaks down. Extend the play. Once thing Ben did great in his career.
    But a lot of that was the difficulty in bringing him down with his size.

    He be vastly improved if he can do better in those areas.
     
    • Like Like x 2
    • Agree Agree x 1
  4. thesteeldeal

    thesteeldeal Well-Known Member

    13,841
    1,898
    Oct 18, 2011
    Admittedly MR seemingly fell off a cliff based on his play lately. There can be plenty attributed to his regression. At the same time he was playing as good or better than Hodges for at least a couple of games(same as Hodges) Doesn’t MR have a couple long TDs to his name as well? Wasn’t he much better in the pocket before his concussion? People are acting like these things never happened. I understand Hodges is playing better at the moment but people act like MR wasn’t at one point doing many of the same things. The kids been through a lot and people are crucifying him already.

    The same could be said about Conner and JUJU. There was a time not long ago where these guys could do no wrong.
     
    • Agree Agree x 4
    • Like Like x 1
  5. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

    16,211
    4,202
    Oct 19, 2011
    Yes he was in no way ready for the speed of the game. They put the whole field on his plate and he can't run through his progressions fast enough.

    Add to that some truly dumb game plans that are designed to get the ball out quick and it makes for a poor showing.

    Hodges was looking at his primary then his second read and then on the move. Once he made some plays and the Browns had to play honest it opened up more reads.

    If and when Mason gets another shot it should be one read and if it's not there take the check down. Fans and the check down Charlie comments be damned, move the chains and get the win.
     
  6. SDOT

    SDOT Well-Known Member

    4,982
    684
    Aug 1, 2016
    I think so. The biggest thing to me was his lack of football IQ and inability to read the defense. Hodges(udfa, rookie, and played for a fcs) came into that hostile Ravens game and was audibling right away. I haven't seen Rudolph audible once. I like how Duck sees one on one and takes chances deep. Like that JW touchdown. Touchdown or interception deep and Browns have to go 80-100 yards. Rudolphs lack of arm strength is a concern too. I doubt he has much of a career.
     
  7. FeedTheMachineFTM

    FeedTheMachineFTM Well-Known Member

    4,053
    364
    Jan 1, 2012
    I still think the kid has A LOT of learning to do..I think he's got the tools ,but a Franchise caliber QB,i just don't know..Those aren't easy to get ..
     
  8. KMM

    KMM Well-Known Member

    1,350
    341
    Sep 17, 2018
    Rudolph is what he is and his ceiling just isn't very high

    Average to below average arm strength
    Way below average accuracy
    Slow decision making

    If it were just one of those things it would be correctable. Three? Hard to overcome all that.

    And no, he was fundamentally just as bad in those early games. If you looked beyond the actual result you saw it. He made essentially one really good pass on those long TDs, the one to JuJu on the crossing pattern, the rest were busted coverages where he just had get it there. They weren't challenging throws. As for his accuracy you could see the marked different between him and Duck. Duck put the ball in places where the receivers could make a play. Rudolph put the ball in places where the receivers either absolutely had to make a play or they had no chance, like the last pass he threw vs the Bengals.

    The coaching staff isn't blind. They knew his limitations and gave him what they thought he could handle and as it turned out even that was too much as defenses caught on.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Disagree Disagree x 1
  9. HeinzMustard

    HeinzMustard Well-Known Member

    10,761
    2,642
    Nov 18, 2015
    I'm not buying into all the negativity towards Rudolph here. A lot can happen during the next 2 years. Rudolph's rookie contract was for 4 years... so he has next year and 2021 if the Steelers don't trade him. I doubt he gets cut. He's good enough to be a backup... jury is still out on whether he can improve enough to be a starter.

    Sometimes a benching is the best thing that could happen to a young, inexperienced QB. It happened to a certain Steelers QB that eventually won 4 Super Bowls.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
    • Winner Winner x 1
  10. KMM

    KMM Well-Known Member

    1,350
    341
    Sep 17, 2018
    My negativity is based on what I saw over the 8 games.

    He couldn't throw a deep ball.
    Passes to the outside lacked zip.
    He was consistently inaccurate. High, low, behind.
    He was indecisive. Consistently a beat late on throws
    He hung his receivers out to dry.

    And you're right, things could change. I'm not ruling it completely out, but I'm saying its unlikely, nor am I saying he's not an NFL QB, just not as a starter.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
  11. SteelersFanCanada

    SteelersFanCanada Well-Known Member

    2,240
    541
    Nov 14, 2019
    The only thing I know definitively is that MR wasn’t ready to start this season.

    He plays like he’s trying to not make mistakes.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  12. Lambert

    Lambert Well-Known Member

    3,121
    790
    Jun 5, 2015
    Liked what I saw before the Baltimore head hunting incident. Didn't like his play after. Still think there's an NFL QB there but he needs lots of work.
     
  13. SteelinOhio

    SteelinOhio

    5,425
    1,314
    Oct 16, 2011
    Based on what we've seen so far, I think the 2nd option is the best guess for Mason's future. I'd love to say that he's going to be highly successful, but based on his play this year so far, that's definitely not a given.
     
  14. Francoboy

    Francoboy Active Member

    40
    16
    Dec 5, 2017
    I feel like he had no awareness in the pocket. 2 safety's? I get those were poor play calls but he needed to get rid of the ball.
     
  15. MojaveDesertPghFan

    MojaveDesertPghFan

    7,902
    3,081
    Oct 19, 2011
    But that was back before microwaves and the internet. Today, people demand results in a matter of seconds!

    I actually agree with you HM but it doesn't seem to be happening much anymore. With MR though, it's not even the case that he was highly touted with all the spotlights on him like so many other top QBs. He became a starter only by attrition, not pure merit. Which then more resembles another certain Steelers QB who went on to appear in 3 SBs. :shrug:
     
    • Like Like x 1
  16. Thigpen82

    Thigpen82 Bitter optimist

    10,242
    1,426
    Oct 17, 2011
    I agree. I also don’t think there’s that much difference between MR and Hodges. Duck has better pocket mobility. But the difference in results has been receivers making plays: MR was plagued by receivers dropping balls; Washington pulled off some amazing grabs yesterday.

    Post concussion, MR lost confidence, so it was right to bench him.
     
    • Agree Agree x 4
  17. Voice of Reason

    Voice of Reason Well-Known Member

    268
    67
    Jan 7, 2019
    I think this is spot on. They are both young and making youthful mistakes. Even in the Cleveland game, there were several plays where Hodges bailed or took a bad sack (instead of moving in the pocket). At the end of the day, I don’t think either are the long-term replacement for Ben.

    I think it was already alluded to, but Washington deserves a ton of credit for Ducks successful outing.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  18. KMM

    KMM Well-Known Member

    1,350
    341
    Sep 17, 2018
    That's because Duck gave Washington a chance to make a play. Rudolph didn't provide him those chances because he can't throw it accurate enough.

    The drops are a direct result of not throwing passes in good spots or on time. The receivers didn't magically go from good hands under Ben, to bad hands with Rudolph, to back to good hands with Duck. JuJu, McDonald, and Washington's skills haven't changed, the QB has.
     
  19. HeinzMustard

    HeinzMustard Well-Known Member

    10,761
    2,642
    Nov 18, 2015
    I don't agree. Rudolph was victimized by numerous drops (Moncrief, Washington, Johnson and Juju) that were perfect throws while he was starting.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
  20. KnoxVegasSteel

    KnoxVegasSteel Well-Known Member

    6,037
    1,621
    Oct 21, 2011
    He's not trying hard enough then.
     
  21. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

    15,299
    4,324
    Nov 4, 2011
    I think Rudolph played the role of game manager effectively before his concussion, and a bit less effectively thereafter until he imploded vs. the Browns. If he can get his head on straight again, I can definitely see him being a decent backup. I don’t see him as a future quality starter. He lacks accuracy and timing when leading receivers on any throw in between a dump off and a bomb. I think he throws a pretty good lofted deep ball, but a starting NFL QB can’t survive on bombs and dump offs. Can he fix it with improved mechanics? Maybe. I hope so.
     
  22. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

    21,270
    5,117
    Apr 21, 2016
    C'mon guys! :lolol:



    Mason has yet to play 500 snaps and nevermind a season. We really do not know what his projection is. Again, get back to me after the 2020 NFL Season.



    There is truly too many aspects and unknowns at play here. Most notably being the lack of trust from the OC in addition to Mason's growing pains, we really cannot throw Mason in the "NFL Draft Graveyard". Him sitting will likely serve him well in the long run.



    For now though, the playoffs are top priority. Devlin gives us the best chance at that. Shelve the "Mason Initiative" for the time being.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  23. bigbenhotness

    bigbenhotness Well-Known Member

    21,276
    3,292
    Nov 1, 2014
    his mechanics are just all wonky and it looks like his helmet is too big for his body lol

    duck already throwing a prettier deep ball than Mason
     
  24. 4124life

    4124life Well-Known Member

    1,032
    173
    Oct 15, 2018
    Over eight games he was doing decent work compared to many qbs around the league, wasn’t until that browns game that he completely went down the drain. On the season he threw 12 tds with 9 interceptions, two of those were on the receivers not hauling it in. He looked garbage against Cleveland but overall his play wasn’t the worst I’ve seen.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  25. 4124life

    4124life Well-Known Member

    1,032
    173
    Oct 15, 2018
    Either way I’ll support devlin like I did Rudolph. He may end up good he may not but he earned his shot like mason and he’s getting the job done so far so let’s let him ball and see what happens.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2

Share This Page

Welcome to the ultimate resource for Steelers fans. Sign Up Here!