My training camp/pre-season primer and roster predictions... qb & K's

It's time to take a look at the most important position on the team... we've been fortunate to have the benefit of an elite franchise qb for some time now, and it looks like he's getting better with age.... as of late though, it seems that we've been equally unfortunate to not have the best quality of back up qb either... last yr. showed how much different the offense runs without ben, and it wasn't pretty... same goes for our kickers... we lose suisham in pre-season to injury, lose a fa. signee in pre-season to injury, and lose a draft pick for a veteran that actually lost us 2 games before we got it right.... now on to the individual

QB:
Ben Roethlisberger: A truly elite qb that just gets better with age... Big Ben led the league in passing yds. per game, and was the only qb to throw for 300 yds. against the Denver defense.. and he did it twice (the 2nd time without Antonio brown, and with an injured shoulder)... for years, ben operated behind a porous o-line, and still brought us to the promised land.... now he has a borderline elite line in front of him, and deadly weapons at every skill position to go along with his own ability to extend plays.. with ben, the offense is basically unstoppable, and if he can stay healthy, then this offense may be re-writing more than a few records this yr.

Landry Jones: Big qb that scares me every time he is under center.... There's the one game against Arizona, where he did his best big ben impersonation... all his other games were head scratchers though, including his brief relief stint in the playoffs that nearly handed the bengals their first playoff win in 2 decades.. The coaches and f.o. appear dedicated to attempting to make jones into a viable nfl qb, but I am not seeing it..... The mechanics can be coached, but the head is all jones.. for now, we are stuck with him, but i'm hoping the management team will see the light and correct this mistake in the next yr. or 2

Bruce Gradkowski: Journeyman qb that has a good head on his shoulders.... Grad doesn't have the arm of ben or jones, but he won't panic under pressure, and is fairly accurate..... A threat to take off and gain a few yds. with his legs if the play breaks down.... We will utilize him this yr. as a veteran side line presence, but I fully believe he's gone after the season..

Dustin Vaughan: D2 product with great size and a live arm... Moves well in the pocket and can deliver the ball in tight spaces... Still needs development due to his small school background, and will more than likely be placed on the practice squad... has the tools to stick though in a yr. or 2

PK:
Chris Boswell: Shaun Suisham's release put to rest a competition that was shaping up to be one of the most interesting of camp and pre-season.. The Boz came in and saved our special teams, breaking team rookie records with 29 fg's and 113 pts... The fact that he did it without the benefit of a full season just shows the type of potential he really has.... How we went through 3 kickers before actually giving this kid a shot is truly mind blowing to me, but it worked out in the end....

That covers the offense, which most of the civilized world knew was already potent...
Next up comes the defense and all of our real question marks.... stay tuned

 

I have to agree with pretty much all of that. Keep Ben healthy and the sky is the limit.

 

Agree, we need to be all out in protecting Ben, cause we're hurting without Quality Backup on our team. One area I thought we should of improved this year but didn't do anything. Ben also needs to throw it away when in trouble, I know that's not his game but he is getting older and not as ilusive as he once was.

 

We live and die with Ben. Good Ben good day. Bad Ben bad day. Unfortunately he is inconsistent. Glad we have him.

 

i'm not as down on landry as most and think the kid has gained valuable playing time and has improved every year. i hope the improvement keeps going forward. i really don't think grad is anything special. his vet presence isn't that great either. far from what lefty and charlie brought back in the day. he just was never a starter like those guys were prior to becoming bens backup. i'm pulling for the young kid vaughan to make some strides. younger with landry and vaughan is my thinking as we move forward.

 

Depth at QB is a huge problem, IMO we still need to be watching QB'S that get cut during the pre season . Without Ben this Team would be lucky to win 4 games all season , that is not a good place to start the season...

 

I'm with the distinguished gentleman above. I'd have a lot more faith with Charlie.2 when we start the season. Then if Jones legitimately wins the position, all the better.

 

I agree, he is expected to be the number two by the coaches, and will be the number 2 in camp, more importantly for landry this is his final contract year so he needs to earn a new contract based on this years performance, I think he will and he will get that new contract as well....

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2016/06/randy-fichtner-expects-landry-jones-steelers-2-quarterback/

 

I think the Landry Jones experiment should come to an end. If #7 can stay healthy we have a good shot to contend
for the big prize. Steeler scouts should be leaving no stone unturned in their quest for the next Steeler QB.Its time. Jimmy Kelly's nephew maybe a starting place? Chad Kelly.

 

i don't think thats why he's here but if by then he's capable then so be it. we still need a #2 and jones has looked the part to me. every year he remains in this offense and around the same core of players the better it should make him. ben is the man and nobody out there will become the new ben. folks have to realize it will be different when that time comes. even when the quest begins we will need a #2 and a #2 that is familiar will go a long way.

 

I agree with you mac. I look at Landry Jones much like I look at Jarvis Jones. I want to ask people what are you expecting, what is it that you want this player to do? If they are expecting the level of talent or player that they are replacing or back-up then they will be let down. If you have low expectations and are looking just to see what they can do then you might be pleasantly surprised.