Happy 12-12-12

What are the Steelers Thinking

Did you see who is starting for the Steelers at quarterback today.  Ben Roethlisberger will be the starting quarterback today.  What are the Steelers thinking?  Byron Leftwich played so well until he was injured on the Steelers first touchdown drive in the first Baltimore game.  Charlie Batch was a field general in the second game against the Ravens.  He brought the Steelers back and brought a win against the Ravens in Baltimore, a feat that nearly noone thought could be done with the 3rd string quarterback.  But that was the good.  The bad is that he lost to the Browns in Cleveland.  Even with his interceptions he probably played well enough to bring home a win in that game, but to add to his interceptions, none of the running backs could hold onto the ball.  The result of the game was predictable.  8 turnovers 99.99999999% of the time results in a loss.  The funny thing is the Steelers could have easily won that game.  So, Batch is entirely capable of winning as the starting quarterback in a game against the hapless Chargers on Hines Field.  On the other side you have the longtime Steelers quarterback that holds most of the Steelers passing records.  The only problem with Big Ben is that he was injured 4 weeks ago and had an injury that reportedly could have been life threatening. 

So, the quandary Coach Tomlin faced this week was whether to start Big Ben or not.  The first question he faced is, is he healthy enough to play.  Ben has been practicing and on Wednesday went through a full practice session.  Then how would he feel after a full day of practice?  Supposedly he was feeling fine and ready to go.  So, Coach, your franchise quarterback has a "life threatening" injury four weeks ago.  Do you start him today against a team that Charlie Batch should be able to dispose of fairly easily.  Of course NOT.

Well, that life threatening injury apparently is not so life threatening anymore, otherwise this would be a no brainer.  The difference between Ben and Charlie is that Ben will bring an A game performance every week, give or take a questionable interception here and there.  As we saw against the Browns and the Ravens you are not sure what you're going to get with Charlie.  Make no mistake, I am a big CB fan.  He will not give you the same play as Ben though.  Ben is younger, stronger, and a proven winner in big games.  Charlie is a reliable backup that has proven he will come through in big games here and there.  There is no doubt about his toughness. If you have any doubt see the two hits he took in the fourth quarter against the Ravens and that doubt will be instantly erased.  Ben is the easy choice.  He has been cleared by the doctors to play and the decision has been made.  He will be the starter this week.  What were the Steelers thinking?  They were thinking they had an MVP calibre quarterback that was ready to go.  We will see if he is in shape or not.  If he looks like he did against San Francisco last year, it might not be a bad idea to take him out and put in that old guy that seemed to shake off the rust of inactivity in the Cleveland game and perform like an ageless vet in the Baltimore game.  We will see.

I'm guessing Ben will be ready for the Chargers. 
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