QUARTERBACKS

This one's pretty much a slam dunk with the departure of Byron Leftwich. But, there are a few questions that reside in the quarterback area of the team.
1. What's going to happen to Ben and the Civil Suit? Will it be a distraction? Only time will tell but we know what happened last time there was a distraction after the Super Bowl Win. Motorcyle accident, appendicitis, write off the season. This is, of course, quite a bit different. Ben does not have a physical injury to overcome to hamper his performance. He just has to stay focused on the team and what he is doing mentally to perform to his standards on the field. I know if that was going on with me it would be a hard task whether I was innocent or guilty. Don't know Ben, but from what I've read of the story is sounds very fishy. She does not file a criminal suit, but a civil suit, and waits for a year to do it. These athletes make their share of cash and they have a lot of people that would like to get their hands on it. Time will tell what happens with this story. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict Ben will be the starter this year. I know I'm taking a chance with that prediction, but Mike Reilly the free agent out of Central Washington is looking pretty tough.

2. Charlie Batch vs. Dennis Dixon
My first thought here is Charlie Batch has performed well for the Steelers in the time he has backed up Ben and Tommy Maddox in his time with the Steelers. Why mess with a good game. I think we've been lucky to have him as the no. 2 QB. It's been a luxury. Yes, he was a starter for the Lions, but he was a starter. When he first came to the Steelers I think he wanted to build his resume back up and get another starting job elsewhere and maybe in some region of the back of his mind maybe overcome the other challengers and become number 1 in Pittsburgh. Only he and his agent know if he had any serious offers from other clubs to compete for a starting job elsewhere, but he has decided to sign a few contracts with the Steelers and remain in Pittsburgh. There is always a thought, is he becoming too comfortable here and thinking he doesn't have to do anything but show up to keep his job. It's possible but to me he seems to be a quality hard working guy. He could have sat home last year after going on injured reserve and collected his paycheck and fumed at all the good things being said about Byron. Instead, anytime you looked on the sidelines he was there with headphones on or talking to other players or Ben or Byron. That made up my mind what kind of guy he was.

....But, there's this young gun named Dennis Dixon, there's always a young gun looking to make his mark. He probably would have been a draft pick in the first round or 2nd if he hadn't blown out his knee in his senior season at Oregon. So, the Steelers got a steal right? Well, you don't find Ben Roethlisbergers in the 5th round of the draft usually, uh, the Patriots lucked out with that Brady guy. So, Dixon still has some things to prove. He needs to prove that he is better than Charlie Batch.

Trivia: Who threw Hines his 800th reception?
In the only game he played in last year DD threw Hines his 800th catch.

That's a good start to a career. If he can beat out Charlie all he has to do is sit on the sidelines and watch Ben win. The good thing about Dennis is that he would be a good fit for the newest fad in pro football, the Wildcat. He could supplant CB as the 2nd QB some weeks if the Steelers decide that the Wildcat would be helpful. I don't even know if they have any of those plays in their playbooks. But, surely they'd put some in for the hottest fad going. We'll see in training camp how much Dennis learned in his first year.

My thought is Charlie will return to his role as backup and Dennis will make the team as no. 3. I think he's a hot enough commodity that they wouldn't put him on the practice squad, but it's a game of numbers and if they see someone who could help the team and they need a roster spot, he may be relegated.

Running Backs are next, either tonight or tomorrow.