Rudolph to start against Seattle.

Didn’t JJSS have a fumble at a crucial time in that Lions game as well? People like to use that Lions game to say that was the last straw with Rudolph. Huge overreaction. He had them in a position to win a couple of times and his receivers let him down with fumbles after big time completions. If Muth or JJSS had held on and not fumbled and the Steelers had gone on to win everybody would’ve been talking about how clutch Mason is. But instead it’s “that was the last straw” and people started writing him off. Weird.

EDIT: Watched the highlights and it was actually DJ who fumbled after a beautiful catch and run on a nice pass from Rudolph. Rudolph also had them in position for a winning FG late in overtime when Muth fumbled.

 

Yes. That's exactly what I think, and I don't need a wild conspiracy theory to back up my opinion.

 

He did very little right in regulation against a horrible opponent. That matters, too.

Rudolph made a terrible decision that led to the Freiermuth fumble. Rather than throw it away and take the field goal, he threw to his rookie tight end at the line of scrimmage with two defenders right there, one between Freiermuth and the sideline. That left him taking on two guys to just try to get the clock stopped. If he somehow manages that, they get to try a 55-yard field goal on a mess of a field. It's Boswell, so maybe he makes it, but it was far from a sure thing.

Rudolph wasn't good that day, and he made a terrible decision that led to the end of their last chance to win it.

 

I mean, other than the fact that his first game against Seattle was 4 years ago, there's a different defensive coordinator, and probably an entirely different defensive roster but yeah, should pretty much go exactly the same.

Also, his next game was against the 9ers, not the Bengals. It was his first start and was a loss. Then came a win against the Bengals.

 

He wasn’t great that day, but it’s odd the way people want to write him off as if that’s the last straw with Rudolph. You know who was way worse than Rudolph that day in sloppy conditions? Jared Goff. A Super Bowl quarterback and someone who’s been mentioned as a possible league MVP with the Lions. But everybody wants to throw Rudolph under the bus because of his poor play that day. Give me a break.

 

I don’t agree that Friermuth fumble was Rudolph’s fault. Friermuth made a clean catch and failed to cover up going for extra yards in slippery conditions. Juju had fumbled earlier. You are right on Mason’s first start at San Francisco. They lost 24-20 and the defense couldn’t get off the field in third quarter. Mason still had 2 td’s. He’s still the best qb on the team based on what I have seen. Next game will tell a lot.

 

All teams carry 3 since the rules change.

 

What facts??? You were wrong about Mason not sitting, and going over plays with KFP.....I got plenty of video proof shows Him doing it ....while being the 3rd string. The only fact are Mitch invited people to his house.....yeah that really helped.
I like KFP, and I think He needs more time, but right now some of You are so set in Your......Mason sucks....You can't see beyond Your noses. Its like the people that talked all year about how KFP studied way more film than Ben.....well that maybe true, but I can't tell.....I'm sorry some people have to work harder at something than others, and still aren't as good. This is no shot at You old man....You know I love ya.

 

Let’s not forget, Mason had only one day to prepare for that game as Ben wasn’t scratched with Covid until after Thursday’s practice.

 

Pickett and Rudolph are in relatively similar situations right now. Rudolph got the treatment of a third round pick behind a franchise QB that didn't appreciate his being drafted in the first place. Didn't show much when he was in there, but didn't get any extended looks either.

Pickett is the first round heir apparent selection and has been afforded 24 starts thus far, but under a severely stunted offensive coordinator/system. He got a (good) game and a (meh) half in with at least a different play caller before being sidelined the past 3.5 games.

Everybody knows this offense has to be upgraded with a competent OC, but Pickett's play has been justifiably concerning at times as well, as was Mason's a few years ago. Matters aren't helped for Kenny with the WHYDFML crowd though when Rudolph re-enters the picture and has a game against the same Bengal team Kenny broke out of his slump against five games prior:

Pickett @ Bengals, Week 11: 24/33 (72.7%), 278 yards; 0 TD/0 INT; 97.3 Rating; 2 sacks, 10 yards; aDOT: 8.5; CAY/Comp: 6.5 ... Steelers win, 16-0

Rudolph v Bengals, Week 16: 17/27 (63.0%), 290 yards; 2 TD/0 INT; 124.0 rating; 1 sack, 6 yards; aDOT: 9.0; CAY/Comp: 6.2 ... Steelers win, 34-11

Both looking for a chance to prove themselves after some rough starts to their NFL careers; both impressed against the Bengals. I hope Mason has another good go of things against a tougher Seahawk D this week, but Kenny's will still be the org's QB1 until they get a new OC.

 

I still hope Kenny develops into a franchise quarterback and I’m certainly willing to “grade him on the curve” until he gets a legit OC as @Blast Furnace mentioned earlier. I was absolutely convinced that ALL of Kenny’s problems were attributable to perhaps the worst OC the Steelers have ever had but as the season has progressed and I started to watch Kenny a little closer I realize now that he’s just not very good at this point in his career. He’s quick to abandon the pocket not allowing time for routes, especially intermediate to deep routes, to develop adequately. He’s quick to go to his check down when he doesn’t have to. He locks onto his primary target and has difficulty going through his progressions because of his happy feet. That insufferable spin move to the left is almost always unnecessary if he’d just learn to climb the pocket. @S.T.D and I had many discussion about who was at fault early in the season with him putting most of the blame on Kenny and me laying it at the feet of our pathetic OC. While I still believe that Canada was a major hindrance to Pickett’s development, I must admit that Kenny is much more to blame than I originally wanted to admit. He has some major fundamental flaws that need to be addressed by the new offensive regime and hopefully, whoever that is can help him take the next step. We shall see.

 

I've been trying to explain to people all week that Rudolph playing well was helped by the fact that the Bengals defense played them differently than the first time the Steelers played them. Instead of doubling Pickens like they did in the first game, the Bengals decided to try to take away Freiermuth because he had the huge game against them last time as Pickett gashed their defense in the middle of the field. They also doubled DJ a lot Saturday.

I know you saw the same and understood what I was saying, but most didn't want to hear it. I get it. People want to be excited about Mason Rudolph, but there are real football reasons for things happening on the field.

Again, most disagreed with me, so I'll let Mason Rudolph explain it to them.




X's and O's, game planning, and making adjustments matters. Rudolph got the opportunities to make those plays outside to Pickens because the defense dictated where the ball should go based on coverage. They chose to handle Pickens in single man coverage. Not a great idea. Rudolph made them pay for that decision.

Also, the coaches did a great job game planning. Rudolph talks about changing routes with in-game adjustments. He also says the tweaked plays and added a couple new plays. It seems the OC and play calling may be figuring ways to make the current offense operate better with improved offensive coaching and making some tweaks and adding plays that teams haven't seen before.

If we are going to knock the head coaches or coaches in general when we think they didn't do a good job, we have to compliment them when we see things work better and see improvement.

I'm really happy for Mason Rudolph. He comes off as a really good dude that is extremely happy that he is getting a chance to play. He's very likeable and he's an easy guy to root for. I hope he lights it up against the Seahawks too, but it is important that we as fans understand what is happening on the field and why. It's the only way to make informed evaluations and informed personnel decisions.

 

One man’s theory is another man’s fact.

Look, as I said earlier this isn’t a hill to die on for me, but I do think it’s plausible given the prominence of cancel culture in today’s world and how accusations, even false ones, can cast a shadow over someone’s reputation that may never go away. I’ve already given my thoughts and won’t go there again out of respect for the board mods and trying to adhere to the apolitical position of the board.

I know many disagree and that’s fine, makes the world go round. But others may think it over and come to the conclusion that it’s not beyond the realm of possibility like I have.

 

Do you think it’s just as simple as Rudolph is a smarter quarterback than Pickett? Rudolph’s Wonderlic score was 28 (above average for QBs coming out of college) and Pickett’s was 17 (well below average). I know that’s not the end all, be all, but there is a reason teams have been using the Wonderlic for decades now to determine a quarterback’s analytical and processing ability.

 

When Ben left the game at halftime the Steelers were leading 10-7 but Rudolph did have a good second half with the Steelers scoring 16 seconds half points. The defense was dreadful though giving up 3TD's in the second half.

 

No, it's the schematic differences in the way the Bengals defense decided to cover. It dictated where the ball should be thrown. The Steelers coaches had a good plan. And Mason Rudolph made the reads and the throws to take advantage of the opportunities that the Bengals gave them by allowing Pickens to beat his man like a drum and make plays. Many times, just running simple motion tells you that the defense is playing man. There are other considerations and you need to confirm that post-snap, but it was obvious what the Bengals were doing defensively.

Rudolph explains it in the interview I posted above.

 

You're correct. There isn't some massive conspiracy against Mason, he just hadn't played in a while and the last game he played was pretty rough against the worst team in the league at the time. There wasn't a lot of reasons for anyone to be particularly high on Mason. Now after the Bengals game that could change, but he will have a shot to prove this week that it wasn't just a fluke against a bad defense.

 

There is a lot more reason to dismiss him as nothing more than a career backup. That is just part of the unimpressive resume.

 

Ben was 8/15 for 75 yards with no touchdowns with average gain of 5.0 yards. Mason was 12/19 for 112 yards with 2 TD and 1 interception, and average gain of 5.9 yards. Ben’s TD drive was facilitated by defensive PI penalty which was ticky tacky. Mason had a much higher completion rate for more yards and was much more efficient on third downs. Mason clearly outplayed Ben, and perhaps that’s why he saw him as a threat at that time.

 

So are you saying you believe Rudolph was better than Ben Roethlisberger?

Do you also really believe that a game played against a team from many years ago with entirely different personnel can tell you how this game is going to go?

 

No, I am saying he had better stats than Rothlisberger for that one game where they faced same opposition, and has shown more potential than the other two qb’s on the roster. This one post was continuation in the thread where I had said he had shown potential before he suffered head trauma and hopefully he can get that magic back, and that next few games will tell us a lot. I am hopeful because of Cincinnati game.