Byron Leftwich Is a Great Security Blanket

There was a time when the Steelers struggled mightily to have one quality quarterback. They shuffled through the Mark Malone's, Bubby Bristers and Kent Grahams. In 1996, Pittsburgh tried to defend a Super Bowl appearance with Mike Tomczak and an inexperienced Kordell Stewart. And they paid the price in the playoffs as Tomczak went 16-for-29 for 110 yards and Stewart was an awful 0-for-10.

Admittedly there aren't a whole lot of guys whose name doesn't end in Rooney who are still around from those days, but the Steelers have learned their lesson. From the day Tommy Maddox earned the backup job, the Steelers have generally had a very solid No. 2 quarterback. Charlie Batch showed in recent years that he can win games, and when he went down, the Steelers immediately went out and looked for another veteran--choosing Byron Leftwich over Daunte Culpepper.

When Ben Roethlisberger went down with a shoulder injury Monday, we saw what a wise choice that was by the Steelers. Leftwich ensured that the Steelers picked up a key win against the Redskins on a night that he was much better than Ben Roethlisberger. That doesn't in any way mean that Roethlisberger isn't still the quarterback as soon as he's healthy, but it sure makes us Steelers fans breathe easier to know that Leftwich is ready if Roethlisberger's bum shoulder sidelines him for a week or two.

And how much do the Cowboys wish they had gone out and found a solid backup during the offseason?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

11-04-2008 @ 8:01PM

steeler4life said...

i am a big ben fan and didnt much care for him getting injured ,but thats fate,i have always liked the way leftwich QBed in jacksonville,and was pleasantly comforted to see that byron hasnt lost his touch,so here is the dilemma ,if ben cant jump start the offense then it byrons job to keep until further notice,but maybe the entire team stepped up to play better ,cause they know that their general just went down,and ben better be careful cause byron looked pretty comfortable in the pocket and running the offense,but it has to be an entire team effort, to win

11-04-2008 @ 6:39PM

Thatsabsurd said...

First real offense Pittsburgh has shown all season. Not that fluke and hope crap Rothlesberger does. I hate to wish bad on someone but I sure hope Ben's injury is a season ender.

11-04-2008 @ 8:11PM

The team stepped up? Maybe they were able to play better being under a poised and confident QB. The defense was ble to take a breath and rest knowing they had just turned possession over to a capable and competent QB. The offense loosened their load knowing all heir efforts were not in vain as some knucklehead QB wasn't in the back field holding the ball foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr trying to be a hero an make he big plays.

Big plays are great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! About once every three games Its sucks to see your QB try to make them on88% of the plays only to be sacked or throw to a defensive back. .

I really hope Tomlin follows the leadership being displayed throughout the league and sits ben on his a$$ to watch a good QB lead our team to victory.

11-05-2008 @ 5:57AM

Rick said...

That's cogent analysis. Let's hope Ben is out for the year leaving them with a journeyman in Leftwich and an untested rookie in Dixon. You're not really a thinking man are you? I'll let you slide on the "boys at the bustop" comment. I'll consider the source and laugh it off but can I get cheese on that #2?

11-05-2008 @ 7:23AM

I think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That if Ben were out for the year (we can only hope) that the team would bring in another "tested" QB wouldn't that be sound practice? What do you "think" Rick I would like your thoughts, since you have just displayed that you are the one that can't "think" ahead and only are capable of thinking for the moment.

Similar to bringing in a replacement long Snappe,r think ahead lad, think ahead.

11-05-2008 @ 2:53PM

marc said...

observations:
1. ben needs to learn from byron a bit here. manage the game. make your read, make a decision, get rid of the ball. ben does not go thru the progression like he should.

2. kemeautu (sp?) got stood up very often against the skins.

3. arians still sucks.

4. i was very surprised to see timmons run down portis like that. we all knew the defense was tough and hit hard. but they're faster than i thought.

5. parker is still hurt. he made some decent moves, but limped off the field more than once.

6. steelers o-line still sucks. the replays from the endzone showing how the redskins's stunts were confusing the lineman was sickening. it's not that hard guys. maintian your gap, communicate, don't let anyone past you.

7. santonio took another game off. or maybe he was high. not sure, but he missed balls a top flight receiver should catch.

8. do you think arians knows what a screen pass is?

9. finally, i like tomlin. i think he's the real deal. i also like the surprise onside kick call. but not to start the game and on the road for that matter. that should be a halftime call based on the score and momentum.

11-05-2008 @ 2:23PM

A.J. said...

Some guys are just like this, you know? They're killer coming off the bench, but run into some kind of mental block when a coach asks them to start a 16-game season. Kyle Boller comes to mind. This won't last long, though. Leftwich will still get hit a lot. And I'm not saying that Byron Leftwich isn't durable, but...it takes about one fourth as many hits to knock Leftwich out of a game than it takes to knock Big Ben out of a game.

11-05-2008 @ 4:40PM

Think ahead lad???? I thought ahead 35 years ago so I wouldn't have to work at Burger King with kids like you. Now shut up and put some more burgers on the conveyor before your break.

11-05-2008 @ 5:36PM

That explains it.............a while back you tried to think and make a decision and failed and have repeatedly failed in all your cognizance since. Soooooooooooo now you want to try and throw out longevity. as if that gives you credibility. But trust me there are many small brained reptiles that live long lives, (they just live stupid lives) similar to your pathetic life.

Trust me "little boy" Rick you eed many mor years to try nd "think" or learn to think before you can attempt to get my goat.

Your age doesn't mean crap no mater how proud you are of your 35 years. People around you realize how stupid youcome across due o your inability "think" beyond the moment. When you atempt to communicate yor absurd stupidity reveals itself.

I "THINK" if I throw more burgers on the gril they will not sell and will only be waste..........just like you. Now thats thinking ahead.; not for the moment

Try again little lad.

LMAO at you young lad!

11-05-2008 @ 5:54PM

You're one intimidating dude.

11-05-2008 @ 6:11PM

New England Suckies?????? Yeah, I saw that priceless post. Come on burger boy, you can do better than that. Sheeesh, I'm arguing with a child. My apologies to everyone else.

11-05-2008 @ 6:57PM

Young lad Rick,

...... you're ignorant and narcissistic...............and I believe in the ethics of reciprocation, so I'm treating you as you treat others..

You on a pedestal thinking your better than those who are etching out a living by working at a fast food restaurant. Yet your so vain you don't even relize everyone recognizes you as an A$$.

You most likely are a middle management paper pusher, with no decision making responsibilities. You think your king pin in your place of employment yet your known as "oh, that guy, yeah he is a blundering idiot.

Middle class maybe uper middle class, every thing you own is financed and you'll work until retirement age jus tomake ends meet. When you pass away no one will really care and your pbituary wil only be read by a few.

Looking in the mirror you see your fvorite superhero or moie str. People see you as an average or below average joe. Again your arrogance won't let you progress past this imuturity and your life seems to o nowwhere.

And yes, I'm a child at heart thanks for noticing.

11-07-2008 @ 12:17AM

Nate said...

Rick is the one that can't think ahead? Give me a break. You're calling for Byron Leftwich to start, and Rick can't think ahead? You're calling for the QB that could never get Jacksonville to the playoffs and was benched for David Garrard, then couldn't play well enough in ATLANTA last year to hold onto the starting job. Yeah, you're thinking way ahead instead of just, I dunno, making the biggest possible decision for the future of the Steelers on one game.

The Steelers are 6-2. They lead their division. Leftwich hasn't started a single game. I think Ben is doing fine.

11-07-2008 @ 6:50AM

Well Nate I respect your opinion but I don't agree with you.

Ben isn't moving this offense partly because Arians is an idiot and Ben himself is not a "good" QB

Ben isn't going to take Pittsburgh to any superbowl either. His performance for the last year and half has really sucked.

The entire team is struggling because of one player and you want to keep playing him. Any other team without the espirt de corp and discipline of Pittsburgfh would be screaming for Bens head by now, here the players silently wish it but keep it to them selves.

This is Tomlin's faul----t with his poor judgment and leadership with the his choice of coaches. A good QB mentor would have had ben improving last year. Instead we have developed extremely bad play and management capability with Ben.

So in my opinion if you want to see enough solid wins accumulate from this team play Leftwich, not Big Ben

11-07-2008 @ 9:59AM

"His performance for the last year and half has really sucked."

Thatsabsurd,
I completely agree that his performance this year is below average. He has shown glimpses of good play, but on the whole it has not been acceptable. I liken his performance to a baseball player trying to hit a homerun every time up to bat.

However, his performance last year was excellent. Forget QB rating, since it is a questionable statistic anyway. His TD-to-INT ratio was outstanding. His completion % was very good. His Yards-per-attempt was excellent. And, in my opinion, the o-line played worse last year than so far this year. Subjectively, i believe he managed the games better last year and took what the defense gave them. I find it hard for anyone to say his performance last year sucked.

With that said, he has the skills and mindset to perform at a high level. He just needs to calm down, go thru his progression and hit the first open receiver he sees instead of trying to "create" a big play. It's ben's job to execute, but it's the coach's job to guide him. Unfortunately, arians sucks.

11-07-2008 @ 12:41PM

Ben Roethlisberger is a good QB. I'd go as far as to say that behind Manning and Brady, he's the league's BEST QB. This year has been below average for him, and yet even still he remains better than a good chunk of NFL QBs right now.

Peyton Manning is having a bad year as well...if you were a Colts fan, would you advocate benching him and bringing in Joey Harrington or someone similar? Don't say the comparison isn't valid, because Manning is having a worse year than Big Ben, and in many regards Harrington is a better QB than Leftwich.

Benching Roethlisberger hurts the team's chances of winning this year. Not only that, it hurts Roethlisberger's future development. Leftwich is not staying next year...his goal from the start has been to play a few snaps and do something impressive enough to leverage himself into a starting role on another team. Big Ben is here for quite a while, and for good reason.

Also, you can't blame the team's "poor" performance (and only a Steelers fan would call a 6-2 season poor) on Roethlisberger and Roethlisberger alone. The Steelers have played games this year with as many as 10 starters injured. We're a banged up team. We're missing a lot of key players in all three phases of the game...and yet we're STILL 6-2. Leftwich hasn't started a single game for us.

11-07-2008 @ 5:03PM

Rothlesberger has shown no improvement on his performance and or his mistakes----------he doesn't get better. That is not the sign of a good QB. He progressively gets worse in is management and decision making. Then his confidence and poise tumble and his performance becomes a direct reflection of his inadequacies.

Rothlesberger is a "luck" QB and doesn't play well when the heat gets turned up. He really is an overrated QB and more and more are noticing.

Brady Manning go without saying and Ben doesn't rate to be compared wit them You want to talk about a Great QB (The best in the AFC North look at Palmer.
Ben needs a growing leson, herefuse to improve sit him down. Leftwich is capable of moving this ofense, Ben is more likely to take it into a retrograde.

Its a team thing no mater how much we all love Big Ben. Perform and do you job (al of your job) or watch the game from the sidelines.

11-07-2008 @ 5:05PM

11-08-2008 @ 8:18AM

metalmanjwp said...

Leftwich is soooo under rated. He should be starting with Ben injured.

11-08-2008 @ 2:02PM

Ok, I'm looking at Palmer. I'm looking at his one good year. I'm looking at his league-leading 20 INTs last year. I'm looking at his 4 INTs and 3 TDs this year. I'm looking at how in his career, his team has only had one winning record with him as the starter. I'm looking at how his team hasn't won a single game this year despite having unquestionably better receiver depth and a better offensive line than the Steelers.

I'm comparing the two QBs, and seeing that Carson Palmer isn't the owner of ANY NFL records, while Roethlisberger pretty much owns the rookie record book and even has a few records beyond that.

I'm looking at how last year Roethlisberger had an outstanding season, and yet you say he doesn't get better. I'm also looking at how Leftwich hasn't accomplished any of the things Ben Roethlisberger has in his career aside from being a first-round pick.

I'm looking at how you never even touched my question about whether the Colts should bench Peyton Manning. He's having an awful year, man, I don't know if you noticed that. What do you think? Should the Colts "give him a growing lesson" and make him "watch the game from the sidelines?" The Colts are 4-4, in a much more desperate situation that the Steelers. They should act now and show Manning the pine, right?