My Problem With Tomlin's QB Depth Chart

ORIGINALLY POSTED OCT 5, 2023

UPDATE (JAN 1, 2024): I WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG.

(TL;DR - I'm not suggesting that Kenny shouldn't be QB1 - he's our starter, is potentially our future, and deserves to have the best shot at it. I'm solely discussing the matter of who should be QB2 and QB3, and why, imo, Mitch is too much like Kenny to be a good choice at QB2.)


If Kenny's kneecap bruise is severe enough to affect his performance, or if playing with the injury could make him susceptible to sustaining an even greater injury, then Kenny will likely sit - but, as it stands, I think the 50-50 chance that Kenny will sit this week.

Either way, though, I think it's safe to say that whatever uncertainty exists right now in who starts, the Steelers are going to play it up for stategic purposes, just as any team should. It's a tactic as old as the game itself (and one that I like to call "Schroedinger's QB": Posit that two QBs have a roughly equal chance of starting, so that the opposing defense is forced to divide up their limited time and energies preparing for both, since - until the real starter is revealed, both are effectively starting.

It's not a mystery as to why this ruse is used as often as it is - beyond some PR work, it requires little investment and has a huge upside. However, what can actually be gained from it, in the end, depends on a number of factors. For one, the opposing team has to believe that there's any doubt regarding who actually starts - but, perhaps more importantly than that, the opposing team has to believe that the alternative is good enough or is at least sufficiently different enough in play style to consider drawing up different schemes for.

And therein lies the problem.

Even when setting aside Canada's rudimentary playcalling and the fact that no one fears Mitch Trubisky, I think the larger problem here is that Kenny and Mitch are functionally identical at the position, with perhaps only very marginal differences separating their respective skill sets. In fact, their similarities are so problematically evident, that I've begun to hear multiple people here and elsewhere refer to Kenny as "Mitch 2.0" - and honestly, it doesn't take much study to understand why that is. The film doesn't lie, and if we ordinary Steelers fans can see that, then there's a basically a 100% chance that the Ravens see it no differently.

In other words, I don't think it matters to the Ravens (or, tbh, any other defense for that matter) who starts, since there's practically nothing that meaningfully differentiates the Steelers QB1 and QB2 - or at least, not to the extent that any team would find it necessary to take extra precautions in the event that one starts over the other.

And, though not the only reason, I think it's the one that best illustrates why I think Tomlin made a mistake in choosing Mitch over Mason at QB2. For all of Mason's flaws - and there are many (not the least of which being mobility) - the dude has a good arm and can at least throw relatively accurate deep balls, which is not something anyone worries about with Mitch.

Granted, given Mason's statuesque pocket presence, one could strongly argue that, unless the OL can get its sh*t together and the playcalling improves significantly in quality, there's probably no appreciable benefit to starting Mason over Mitch, as Mason probably won't consistently get the sort of protection that would be needed for him to throw downfield to begin with - and while that may he true to some extent, I think that even an unlikely to be utilized skill set as a backup QB is still better than an identical skill set, and especially as it pertains to Schroedinger's QB.

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Conclusion:

I'll end with a disclaimer that I don't belong to the Mason Rudolph Fan Club. I don't think he's the answer at QB, I just think he's just an objectively superior choice at QB2. And his career stats with the team don't lie - love him or hate him, he has, by most metrics, achieved more than any other QB currently on the team, with arguably less.

But, what do you guys think - did Tomlin make the right choice in designating Mitch at QB2, or would Mason have been the better call? If you don't think it matters, given the shoddy state of the OLine and Canada still having a job, then hypothetically speaking - if we had a good OLine and a great Coordinator - would it matter then?

 

The amount of bad/horrible takes on this forum are endless. But "Kenny having possibly faked his injury" might be the best one i've seen

 

I didn't say that he did. I'm just saying that it's possible. I'll edit that part of it out though, because I don't want that particular aspect to be the topic.

 

I really do mot want to alienate you, I appreciate many different takes, inputs, but dude I have to tell you, it might be wise to not only edit, but delete the whole post. Just saying.

 

Why delete the whole post? If you're not keen on the topic of who should be QB2 in this situation, that's fine - who knows, maybe I'm the only one - but I thought I'd mention it anyway. It is a Steelers forum, after all.

 

KFP is starting. KMFP may get benched but we will see how the game unfolds. Hopefully KFP leads them to victory.

 

I'm not ragging on you, we will see who they choose, but unless KP is not activated for the playoff roster, MR would still be the emergency QB and cannot come in unless both the others cannot play.

 

I don't disagree with anything you stated. I hope for the same. But do you think that if the injury was worse, that Mitch would be the better choice at QB2?

 

Landry Jones was routinely hated by fans until he was got rid of, then almost immediately missed.

It seems the same is happening with Mason Rudolph in some corners.

 

True that. But, I can't help but to wonder if the depth chart in that regard could have been better, with MT being called up in the emergency situation. I don't know, I guess I just don't really see what Mitch brings to the table, in that regard.

I obviously hope that we don't ever have to find out what would happen if we go that deep, but you never know.

 

I’ve seen enough of what Mitch can do and I’ve seen enough to know what Mason can do. I have not seen enough of what Kenny can do with a decent surrounding cast and more importantly a better OC. Kenny is my choice for starter for a good portion of this season and then I will evaluate further.

 

I mean, I get your point, but tbh, I've never met a single person who's ever missed Landy Jones

 

I agree. I think I might have mistitled my post. I think Kenny should be starter, as QB1, all season. I'm only regarding to who is better suited as QB2. Mitch and Kenny have very similar playstyles, which I'm arguing is not of any benefit, in terms of forcing other teams to think outside of the box if our QB2 has to step in.

 

I don't believe that. I don't know a single person who wanted Landry Jones back. He was so bad, he didn't play another NFL down after steelers cut him.

 

Mason Rudolph is so overrated.I mean he was benched by the Duck in 2019 because he was so bad

 

True, but does that really mean that Mitch is objectively better at the position of QB2? I don't necessarily think that's the case. Maybe in a vacuum.

 

Mitch make the playoffs twice with the bears as starter....He is still below average but much better that Rudolph

 

Kenny faked it? Someone believes that?

 

who is Landry jones

 

theres no way Kenny faked his injury .Maybe Matt Canada fakes being an OFF coordinator but Kenny nope

 

What Mitch did with the Bears isn't really all that relevant to what he's done since then. Despite being benched for Duck, Rudolph has nevertheless objectively performed better in Pittsburgh than Mitch, which is really the only metric that should be looked at. He's 5-3-1. Mitch is 2-3. And while it's true that Mitch did some awesome things on other teams, in Pittsburgh, he's statistically either on par with or worse than Mason.

Again, we're just talking about with the Steelers.

Either way, if we're going to use your metric of ignoring Mitch's record and stats with Pittsburgh and only look at his past success in Chicago as an indicator of success, then why not have Mitch start at QB1? I mean, he's done more than Kenny, right?

Of course no one is seriously suggesting that, and I think we could have easily gotten better depth at the position for much cheaper than Mitch - I'm just saying that Mitch's past achievements, while impressive, aren't necessary proof that he's the best back up.

 

At least we are comparing Apples to Apples to Apples in this discussion…….or is it Oranges to Oranges to Oranges? Either way I think all 3 of these guys may not be anything to write home about when their careers are over. I hope Kenny shows me something more this Sunday but I’m not holding my breath.

 

No

 

It looks like all three QBs suck but one is young and needs more time to prove us wrong. The other 2 have shown conclusively how crappy they are.

 

I get that Mason is possibly the best pure passer of the three and if we had good pass protection he should probably be the choice. However his lack of mobility and how slow he takes going through his reads will get him killed behind our line.