Steelers - Eagles: Preseason #2 - Comments

[steelmann58]

We all know if ben misses significant time we are screwed anyway but LJ has been in this system to show if he gets it or not and just don't see that from him.

[bradshaw2ben]

I know and tend to agree with TWDLOBS, but seems to me they don't want to even play the preaseason games....

I think that's true, except for practicing run game on both sides of the ball (not enough padded practices) and live STs reps.

My preseason watching has evolved into scrutinizing punt and kick coverage plus some run D.

[jeemie]

I know preseason wins and losses doesn't mean all that much, but it blows my mind that the Steelers have won only two preseason games...in four YEARS. To be 2-13 in that time frame really does speak to piss-poor depth.

And it kind of has been reflected in our regular season performance...two seasons of no playoffs...two seasons of sneaking into the playoffs after an uneven regular season and then looking kind of like shit in the three playoff games we've been in.

[Legacy User]

I know preseason wins and losses doesn't mean all that much, but it blows my mind that the Steelers have won only two preseason games...in four YEARS. To be 2-13 in that time frame really does speak to piss-poor depth.

And it kind of has been reflected in our regular season performance...two seasons of no playoffs...two seasons of sneaking into the playoffs after an uneven regular season and then looking kind of like shit in the three playoff games we've been in.

While I agree our depth isn't ideal, we did play the Broncos very tough with a decent amount of our starters missing. Once Ben is back we should start clicking again.

[R_S]

I know preseason wins and losses doesn't mean all that much, but it blows my mind that the Steelers have won only two preseason games...in four YEARS. To be 2-13 in that time frame really does speak to piss-poor depth.

And it kind of has been reflected in our regular season performance...two seasons of no playoffs...two seasons of sneaking into the playoffs after an uneven regular season and then looking kind of like shit in the three playoff games we've been in.

That's really simplifying things to say they lose preseason because of depth. The Steelers actually showed pretty great depth last year.

When you have Laundry vs Bradford and Dustin Vaugh vs Chase Daniel. who do you think is going to win?

[K_C_]

I know preseason wins and losses doesn't mean all that much, but it blows my mind that the Steelers have won only two preseason games...in four YEARS. To be 2-13 in that time frame really does speak to piss-poor depth.

And it kind of has been reflected in our regular season performance...two seasons of no playoffs...two seasons of sneaking into the playoffs after an uneven regular season and then looking kind of like shit in the three playoff games we've been in.

That's really simplifying things to say they lose preseason because of depth. The Steelers actually showed pretty great depth last year.

When you have Laundry vs Bradford and Dustin Vaugh vs Chase Daniel. who do you think is going to win?

Why, exactly, can't we have good back-up QB's?

[USS Steelerworks]

I don't know if we need to find Ben's "replacement". My thought process is this...

1.) Let Ben play out his career
2.) Have one really shitty season without a franchise QB
3.) Draft in the top 10
4.) Find another franchise caliber QB

The Suck for Luck plan.

The problem with that method is that you never know who will be available when Ben calls it quits. There is also no guarantee that even the best prospect will live up to expectations. In fact, odds are he won't. For every Ben Roethlisberger there are ten Ryan Leaf's.

The problem with drafting a QB in rounds 4-7 is that they are more than likely going to be a wasted pick. The first round is still where you are most likely to find a starting QB. Look at the current starting QBs in the NFL today and see what round they were drafted in:

1st Round: Roethlisberger, Manning, Rivers, Newton, Palmer, Ryan, Bortles, Luck, Rodgers, Cutler, Stafford, Bradford, RG3, Mariotta, Winston, Alex Smith, Flacco, Bridgewater, Tannenhill, Goff, Gabbert, Sanchez
2nd Round: Dalton, Brees, Carr, Osweiler
3rd Round: Wilson

That right there is 27 out of the 32 starting QBs in the NFL today. You are left with:
Tom Brady - 6th round - 17 years in the league
Kirk Cousins - 4th round
Tyrod Taylor - 6th round
Ryan Fitzpatrick - 7th round - 12 years in the league
Tony Romo - UDFA - 14 years in the league

So only 2 recent (which is relevant given that todays college QBs come out of college far more experienced than was the case a decade ago) NFL starting QBs in the league drafted past the 3rd round.

The Steelers basically have two options to obtain the next franchise QB after Ben Roethlisberger. Either employ the "Suck for Luck" mantra and accept a one year hit the season after Ben retires to secure a top 10 draft pick the following year or burn a 1st or 2nd round pick while Ben is currently on the roster toward the end of his career at the expense of upgrading another position to make another run at a SB while Ben is still playing (ala Favre vs. Rodgers). A third option I suppose would be to continue to burn 4th-7th round picks every year on QBs in the hopes of finding a needle in a haystack though they are more likely to find the next Landry Jones or Jim Sorgi this way.

The whole point of the Steelers backup QB should be to fill in for Ben for a game or two while leading the team to a .500 record, not turn the ball over and simply be a chain mover but in no way should it be expected they can lead the team to a winning record or playoff spot over an extended period of time. IMO this kind of QB is best suited to be a veteran who had earlier career success but for whatever reason is no longer the same kind of player he once was. Byron Leftwich, Charlie Batch, Bruce Gradkowski were the perfect types of backup QBs for Ben over the years. This whole concept of "developing a young QB into a backup" is nonsense. If a player whose ceiling in this league is a backup at the most important position on the field then that player is worthless when the other 31 teams are playing guys whose ceiling in the league is a starter.

[R_S]

I know preseason wins and losses doesn't mean all that much, but it blows my mind that the Steelers have won only two preseason games...in four YEARS. To be 2-13 in that time frame really does speak to piss-poor depth.

And it kind of has been reflected in our regular season performance...two seasons of no playoffs...two seasons of sneaking into the playoffs after an uneven regular season and then looking kind of like shit in the three playoff games we've been in.

That's really simplifying things to say they lose preseason because of depth. The Steelers actually showed pretty great depth last year.

When you have Laundry vs Bradford and Dustin Vaugh vs Chase Daniel. who do you think is going to win?

Why, exactly, can't we have good back-up QB's?

Well the run with Batch and/or Lefty at backup was excellent. Now they are stuck on Landry. He has flashed (Arizona last year) but I'm not gonna get too hung up on it right now. If Ben goes done for an extended period of time, they are fucked anyway. Look how Dallas's backups did without Romo.

[bradshaw2ben]

The problem with drafting a QB in rounds 4-7 is that they are more than likely going to be a wasted pick. The first round is still where you are most likely to find a starting QB. Look at the current starting QBs in the NFL today and see what round they were drafted in:

1st Round: Roethlisberger, Manning, Rivers, Newton, Palmer, Ryan, Bortles, Luck, Rodgers, Cutler, Stafford, Bradford, RG3, Mariotta, Winston, Alex Smith, Flacco, Bridgewater, Tannenhill, Goff, Gabbert, Sanchez
2nd Round: Dalton, Brees, Carr, Osweiler
3rd Round: Wilson

That right there is 27 out of the 32 starting QBs in the NFL today. You are left with:
Tom Brady - 6th round - 17 years in the league
Kirk Cousins - 4th round
Tyrod Taylor - 6th round
Ryan Fitzpatrick - 7th round - 12 years in the league
Tony Romo - UDFA - 14 years in the league

So only 2 recent (which is relevant given that todays college QBs come out of college far more experienced than was the case a decade ago) NFL starting QBs in the league drafted past the 3rd round.

it's looking more and more like Trevor Siemian, not Sanchez, will be the starter in Denver... so that's one fewer 1st rounder and one more 7th rounder, if true.

[steelmann58]

I still can't Believe neither Tee Martin or Omar Jacobs had a NFL career with the steelers

[Legacy User]

On a positive note, our starting defense (the 'starting' players that have actually seen the field) actually looks pretty decent in both preseason games.

And Berry has been BOOMIN' the ball!

[steelclan]

My two favorite things about this game were Sean Davis breaking up that screen. He looks like he could be a force in the secondary once he gets it all together. Don't know why but steelers have long had trouble with those types of plays. Davis collapsed the point nicely.

Second one is Richardson. He's a keeper. He's like carry Davis but you know good. Guy runs hard and has some quicks. Wouldn't mind seeing regular season time for him.

As far as starters resist the notion. I don't care how rusty they are vs the skins. Take the first half to work it out.

Difference between Davis and Shark is one is making the same mistakes he did as a rookie the other is already correcting mistakes from his first game.

[Orangesteel]

The problem with drafting a QB in rounds 4-7 is that they are more than likely going to be a wasted pick. The first round is still where you are most likely to find a starting QB. Look at the current starting QBs in the NFL today and see what round they were drafted in:

1st Round: Roethlisberger, Manning, Rivers, Newton, Palmer, Ryan, Bortles, Luck, Rodgers, Cutler, Stafford, Bradford, RG3, Mariotta, Winston, Alex Smith, Flacco, Bridgewater, Tannenhill, Goff, Gabbert, Sanchez
2nd Round: Dalton, Brees, Carr, Osweiler
3rd Round: Wilson

That right there is 27 out of the 32 starting QBs in the NFL today. You are left with:
Tom Brady - 6th round - 17 years in the league
Kirk Cousins - 4th round
Tyrod Taylor - 6th round
Ryan Fitzpatrick - 7th round - 12 years in the league
Tony Romo - UDFA - 14 years in the league

So only 2 recent (which is relevant given that todays college QBs come out of college far more experienced than was the case a decade ago) NFL starting QBs in the league drafted past the 3rd round.

The Steelers basically have two options to obtain the next franchise QB after Ben Roethlisberger. Either employ the "Suck for Luck" mantra and accept a one year hit the season after Ben retires to secure a top 10 draft pick the following year or burn a 1st or 2nd round pick while Ben is currently on the roster toward the end of his career at the expense of upgrading another position to make another run at a SB while Ben is still playing (ala Favre vs. Rodgers). A third option I suppose would be to continue to burn 4th-7th round picks every year on QBs in the hopes of finding a needle in a haystack though they are more likely to find the next Landry Jones or Jim Sorgi this way.

The whole point of the Steelers backup QB should be to fill in for Ben for a game or two while leading the team to a .500 record, not turn the ball over and simply be a chain mover but in no way should it be expected they can lead the team to a winning record or playoff spot over an extended period of time. IMO this kind of QB is best suited to be a veteran who had earlier career success but for whatever reason is no longer the same kind of player he once was. Byron Leftwich, Charlie Batch, Bruce Gradkowski were the perfect types of backup QBs for Ben over the years. This whole concept of "developing a young QB into a backup" is nonsense. If a player whose ceiling in this league is a backup at the most important position on the field then that player is worthless when the other 31 teams are playing guys whose ceiling in the league is a starter.

Excellent stuff Steelworks. Totally agree. I said it in another thread. I don't even think the Steelers know what the hell they are doing with Landry Jones. Still saving face that they spent a 4th on him? Perhaps. But it is so obvious that he will never be a legit backup, which begs the question, why in the hell is he still on this football team?