A hypothetical question for NFL fans.

[Cobra X]

Okay, let's say you're an NFL Coach named Bill C. (to protect the anonymity of the parties involved). You coach a team who is being hailed as one of the top Super Bowl contenders. Last year, you had the #1 rushing game in the league, coupled with the number 1 defense in the league. Unfortunately, your passing game was ranked 21st (out of 31 teams), and only stepped up once your top running back went down with an injury in the second half of the season.

It's now the preseason, and you've got 3 QBs who have split the fans' attention. Anyone of these guys could lead your team back into the playoffs, most likely. Which want do you choose?

#1) Kordell S - definately the most athletic QB on your team, and capable of running when necessary. However, his accuracy is a bit suspect, and he also needs a very simplified offense to compensate for the fact that he can't read defenses. Has also been known to choke in the clutch, and crack under pressure when you need him the most.

#2) Tommy M - an early draft pick years ago by Denver who was hailed as the heir apparent to John Elway. Ended up being a bust, but spent some time in Arena league, and then went on to become the first and only MVP of a short lived "Xtra" league. Has been the most consistent guy in practice & during the preseason.

#3) Charlie B - Played QB on a very lame team for a few years, but despite poor receivers and a terrible offensive line, managed to rack up fairly decent stats. Appears to be somewhat injury prone, but that could be because of said terrible offensive line in his prior place of employment. Also has looked very good in preseason, playing with the starting team.

[Lycia]

That's a hard one, because I think TB could still sling a few TDs!

But I went with Charlie Batch. Kordell has suffered his first concussion, and look what happened to Troy Aikman, Joe Montana, Steve Young, and Chris Chandler, although he's still trying to play.

In looking at Yahoo Sports stats for both QBs, it shows they have similar QB ratings with Stewart's QB rating improving since 1999. Batch on the other hand started ok in 99, dropped in 00, and went up a bit in 01.

The determinging factor for me is the concussion. Once you get 'em players seem to attract them..


My money's on Charlie Batch with Tommy Maddux as back up and Stewart as a reciever/returner/3rd QB. And if he doesn't like it, trade him.

[blink]

maddox due to experience,then batch.with stewart's bell rung
he'll need time to heal and get some more practice.

[kato2274]

Being a big steeler fan and from the pittsburgh area, I feel pretty good about the quaterback situation here. I'm not sure if Kordell can repeat the type of season he had last year, and it's comforting to know that you have two capable quaterbacks behind him.

Maddox gets the start on saturday against the lions, and that's really good because as well as he's played the criticism for the past two years is that he does it against 2nd and 3rd string players in the preseason. So we will see how he does working a half or so against starters.

Charlie batch looked great last week, and I'd be comfortable with him at the helm over a significant stretch.

The worry right now is the running game. The word on talk radio and in the paper is that bettis might be washed up, which I don't quite buy, because no one has run the ball for sh*t this preseason, not fu, not amos Z. seems to be the o line a little out of sync run blocking. I think russ grim will eventually get that straightened out though. As far as bettis, who know? I'm certainly not as comfortable with the RBs as the quarterbacks. FU has never shown the ability to run rampant over 1st string defenses in the starts he's gotten, and though amos zeroue has shown flashes, he's still not a feature nfl back yet (could be in time though)

On a positive note, Randle El will be a star in this league and the defense looks as though it hasn't missed a beat.

[Budd]

i don't think to much of Maddox or Batch, but i agree that Kordel needs to get moved to rb/wr/kr or whatever. let him be slash again, i don't think hes been the same since he became full time QB. but then again what do i know? i don't have time to worry about the Steelers as i have to worry about my beloved Seahawks. Dilfer is out for 4 to 8 and hassleback is the starter again the o-line is beat and banged up with rookies and 2nd year players starting, Walter Jones is holding out, we cut Levon Kirkland, we didn't pick up another decent vet reciever in the offseason and to top it all off we're in the NFC West now and have to play the Rams and 49ers twice a year. our only bright spot is Shaun Alexander and the running game. but thats not enough to salvage the year. well, you know the Seahawk moto, "theres always next year"

[Cobra X]

I'm torn between Maddox & Batch myself. Both have looked great so far in practice & in preseason. Maddox has proven himself in other leagues, and picked up a not of helpful traits that Arena league QBs tend to learn by playing at the faster pace of Arena. Plus he's shown he can rise to the occassion & lead his team to a championship in the XFL - something that Kordell has proven incapable of twice with the Steelers

Batch has also looked pretty good with a terrible Lions team. Although I was at the Redskins game Sunday - he seemed to fit in perfectly with the starting offense. Unfortunately, he only got 9 throughs off (8 completions) before he got knocked out with by a late hit & Tee Martin came on to stink up the field for the rest of the game.

The thing is, Kordell at QB scares the hell out of me. He looked pretty good last season, for the most part. But then if you go back & look over the games, you'll see he began a terrible backslide against Cincinatti of all teams, throwing 4 picks. Then he threw 2 against the Browns, only playing for 1 quarter. 1 pick against Balti in the playoffs, followed by 3 against the Pats, 2 of which were in the final minutes, and could have tied up the game. My problems with him are that he can't lead the team when down, and that even after 5 years as a starting QB, he still hasn't learned to read a defense. Granted, Malaurkey's offensive system doesn't require any reading, but it didn't take long for division rival Ds to figure that out & start playing to neuatralize it.

I think Kordell's a great athlete, but an average at best QB.

Originally posted by kato2274
The worry right now is the running game. The word on talk radio and in the paper is that bettis might be washed up, which I don't quite buy, because no one has run the ball for sh*t this preseason, not fu, not amos Z. seems to be the o line a little out of sync run blocking. I think russ grim will eventually get that straightened out though. As far as bettis, who know? I'm certainly not as comfortable with the RBs as the quarterbacks. FU has never shown the ability to run rampant over 1st string defenses in the starts he's gotten, and though amos zeroue has shown flashes, he's still not a feature nfl back yet (could be in time though)

Well, the thing you've got to remember with the Bus, is that he gets most of his yardage starting in the second half. Unless he's playing against a terrible run defense, his 1st quarter runs are usually stopped short, but serve the purpose of wearing down an opposing defense. As they get tired, they start to give up more and more yardage. But that's not to say that age & injuries haven't made Bettis lose a step.

Zeroeue had a rough off-season. First he thought he had cancer, but it just ended up being a parasite. Still, he lost around 15-20 pounds of muscle mass, and has had a hard time picking up the pace & getting back into form since.

Fu...well, how can you not love Fu. He's got a heart as big as his name, and it's solid black & gold. He busts his *** for every inch he gets, but he's been inconsistent, and has had problems with injuries in the past. With the right conditioning, he could be another Bus though.

Oh, and Kato, I agree with you 100% about Antwaan Randle El. He was definately a smart draft pick. If Marlaurkey works him into the offense well enough, we could have NFL rookie of the year on our hands.

[Major Kong]

Stay with Slash. Bide your time for about 4-5 years (the Steeler's will be good) and draft Mike Vick's younger more exciting brother, Marcus, when he comes out of Virginia Tech! Then you will be set for years. Tee Martin???!!! You mean he's not in Knoxville anymore !

[WebHead]

Hmm,.. tough pick. Kordell is ok,.. I liked him best when they had him switching from running to throwing a few years back. Now that he's been a full-time QB, he hasn't really impressed me all that much. Charlie Batch has alot of heart, and tries his hardest,.. but I think he gets frustrated too easily. Then he gets all bummed when things aren't going well. I'd say that the mental aspect of the game makes up about 99% of performance. And that other guy,.. Hmm,.. I don't know much about him. I'd say lose all three of them and pick up Drew Bledsoe instead somehow.

[Cobra X]

Screw Bledsoe. IMO, he's overrated, and age is starting to catch up with him. Plus, look at the huge cap hit the Patriots took when he left, and what Buffalo had to pay to get him. No way the Steelers could pick up someone with that kind of salary - at least not with being able to keep the guys who they renewed this off-season - Jason Gildon, Joey Porter, Aaron Smith, Amos Zeroeue, etc. I'd rather have the current team in tact till at least 2004, as they do now that give up several key starters on defense especially just to get one QB. Unless it was a Bret Favre or a Kurt Warner. But Bledsoe not that good.

On the bright side, Tommy Toenails looked pretty damn good today, aside from getting stripped on that first snap he took. He went on to through 9-13, 150 yards and 2 TDs. Batch didn't look quite as good only going 7-14 with 113 yards, but then again, he was playing entirely with 2nd stringers, and for some insane reason kept trying to throw to Troy Edwards, who can't catch a cold.

On a down note, WR Hines Ward had to have an emergency appendectomy this morning, and might miss the first game of the season against the Patriots. But, between Plaxico Burress, Terrence Mathis, and my new favorite Steeler, Antwaan Randle El, I think we got the receiver position covered.

[WebHead]

Well maybe. I still think Blesoe kicks azz and would be well worth the money spent. Or at least we'll see about that this year I guess.

[Lycia]

weren't you one of the ones calling him Plexiglass????

[Cobra X]

I admit, I was down on Plax his rookie season & he seemed like another burned first round draft pick a la Troy Edwards. But once he came alive in game five against the Titans on Monday night last year, he's proven to be a big part of the Steelers offense, and he's become fun to watch. Best thing about him, is Kordell can toss a lame duck in the air over a DBs head, and Plax can outjump just about anyone for it. If it came down to the clutch, I think I'd still rather have Hines Ward being the guy thrown to, just cuz he seems to be able to nab anything, but I'd say Plax could be pro-bowler this year, regardless of who's throwing to him.

And I have never called him Plexiglass. AFAIK, it was Shannon Sharpe who came up with that nickname, long after Plax started turning in gamebreaking performances. I don't see how it could be an insult - like Sonny Jugenson said on the local NFL analysis - "They can call him Plexiglass all they want - the kid's proven that he's shatterproof."

[WebHead]

Originally posted by Lycia
...Plexiglass????

Be sure to check out the funky NFL names thread for more info.

[imaeditedbysowulo]

Bledsoe has a lot of natural ability, and he understands how the game works. The bad thing is, he doesn't seem able to be 'part of the team'. Had he not been injured for most of last year, the Patriots wouldn't have won the superbowl.

They became a team in part because the team respected Tom Brady after they saw what he was all about. After that, they played their butts off for/with him, I can all but guarantee that would never have happened with Bledsoe at QB, past or future...

Throw in the fact that Buffalo seems to be missing a running back, they'll be lucky to win 6 games this year.

Kordell on the other hand has a great running back or 3, a couple of pretty decent receivers, and one of the best defenses in the league. It's been a frustrating 5 or 6 years with him at QB, I've wanted him gone many times in the last few years, but honestly he's getting better every year and he's gotten much better about not throwing INT's.

All in all he ain't bad for being a gay QB.

[WebHead]

Originally posted by imaeditedbysowulo
Bledsoe has a lot of natural ability, and he understands how the game works. The bad thing is, he doesn't seem able to be 'part of the team'. Had he not been injured for most of last year, the Patriots wouldn't have won the superbowl.

You know,.. I kinda agree with you there. As much as I think he's a great technical QB,.. he's kinda like an Elvis Grbac or something. These are the QB's who have excellent tecnical ability, but don't have the heart and soul to win the crucial games. They're kinda like human-robot QB's. The ones that end up great are guy's like Joe Montana, Steve Young, Jeff Garcia (hopefully someday,.. but off to a good start), Tom Brady, Trent Dilfer (highly underrated imo), Rich Gannon (he's almost there,.. as much as I hate the Raiders, I have much respect for Gannon), Terry Bradshaw,.. and the list goes on. Then there's the other side of the coin. Guy's like Dan Marino. He was great statistically, but of course we all know he never got the superbowl win. I think what it boils down to is you got the "street smart" QB's and the "book smart" QB's. It's always tough to predict who will be the next great QB though.