Ben isn't ready? Batch needs surgery and will be out 6 weeks on his wrist.

Dennis Dixon?

They never should have gotten rid of Byron Leftwich. I like Charlie Batch but he is too fragile to be a reliable back up. Deniis Dixon has some good looks in the pre-season, I guess that is who they will roll out with. Unless Jeff Garcia can get signed this week.

It will have to be Dennis Dixon.

BTW, speaking of Leftwich, I don't think the Steelers had much of a chance at keeping him. They had Batch back from injury and pretty much decided on keeping Charlie. There was no way Leftwich would have signed for minimal money and a third string spot.

Didn't know that Batch got injured.

Wildcat time.

I think Dixon comes out and plays quite well.

I know the team is in love with Batch, and he is a hell of a nice guy, but Leftwich IMO gives them a better chance of winning. He is a little bit younger, slightly more mobile, and has a stronger arm.

What is the latest on Ben. That hit he took was pretty bad and looked pretty serious. But what are the odds he misses gametime?

We'll know more about Ben tomorrow after Tomlin's weekly presser.

I'm sure they'll sign somebody so they don't have to throw Dixon in there

I think Ben will be ok, play, and Dixon will be using this week to get prepared. They are looking to sign someone this week because Batch is out so long.

If ben can't go then I think it would be dixon at qb. Why would you start lemon or garcia, or whoever they sign. Doesn't make sence to me!

Can they call up T Pryor????

Dennis Dixon hasn't run our offense since training camp, so whether it's him or Garcia who comes in, there will be a steep learning curve. I fully expect Ben to play, however.

The Steeler beat reporter for the post-gazette is reporting that Ben is fine and will play Sunday.
With that said,they still need to sign another qb. No word on that yet.


P.S. If anyone still has ties to jjhuddle,we need to get Generalzod over here. He knew all the inside info on the Steelers.

You don't need GeneralZod

Not saying I'm him...but I used "our" in my post for a reason.

eh? ^^^^^^^^

Mr. 300 wrote: Can they call up T Pryor????

The Steelers need a QB who is accurate and doesn't throw interceptions.........a good QB who isn't overrated.

So no Jimmy Clausen either?

THE4RINGZ wrote: They never should have gotten rid of Byron Leftwich. I like Charlie Batch but he is too fragile to be a reliable back up. Deniis Dixon has some good looks in the pre-season, I guess that is who they will roll out with. Unless Jeff Garcia can get signed this week.

should have never and i mean NEVER gottin rid of leftwitch..bad move :@ look like dixon well get the start.??

Word is Ben is ready to go and will start on Sunday.

Leftwich wanted a chance to be QB1 on the depth chart. That wasn't going to happen in the 'Burgh. When healthy, Batch is fine. There was no need to pay Leftwich as much as he wanted and his aspirations of being a starter weren't realistic in Pittsburgh.

If there is one advantage in having to start Dixon it is that the raven's will have to come up with a different D scheme for him. He is a lot more mobile than Ben. And we know how keeping the other team guessing which starter to prepare is an effective strategic move as evidenced by mangini this season.

killer_ewok wrote: Word is Ben is ready to go and will start on Sunday.

Leftwich wanted a chance to be QB1 on the depth chart. That wasn't going to happen in the 'Burgh. When healthy, Batch is fine. There was no need to pay Leftwich as much as he wanted and his aspirations of being a starter weren't realistic in Pittsburgh.

Agree with you on Leftwich to some degree. The style of ball Ben plays leaves him needing a soild, experienced back up who can come in on a moment's notice and take over the game. Batch used to be that guy, after two consecutive season with him hitting the IR (last season and out for six weeks this season) he has lost that ability to be an effective back up. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy, but winning football is all that matters in the NFL.

Is Leftwich a soild QB1 in the league? He certainly isn't making history in Tampa Bay this year.

One of the liabilities Ben brings to the Black and Gold is they need to make sure they have a solid #2 QB even if that means overpaying a guy for a couple of years.

My opinion as a life long Steeler's fan.

Good post and makes a lot of sense. I just remember that Leftwich had aspirations of being a starter and that wasn't going to happen in Pittsburgh and that played a part in his going elsewhere. Ben, surprisingly, has proven to be very durable over the years. A solid #2 is a big plus and Dixon could turn out to be that. If called upon and he's not....run some Wildcat. Give that a try if Ben's out and Dixon's arm isn't cutting it.

The coaching staff in Pittsburgh said they had no interest in running a wild cat type offense. That is what I read on ESPN this morning. However, Dixon is more of a threat with his feet. That was his game when he was at Oregon. Apparently he worked all summer on his arm strength and passing accuracy. I guess we might get a chance to see what he can do this Sunday night. Frightening to think your first NFL start comes against the raven's D. That will keep any Qb up at night.

All this is speculation though, we have yet to get an answer on Ben's condition. The league this year is much more conservative about letting concussed players return to the line. ( A long overdue safety measure). Seems like all we can do is keep an eye on the injury report this week.

The Ravens D is tough no doubt. It's not what it has been in past years though. Still, a tall order for a young QB's first start. I hadn't heard that about the Wildcat. Oh well.

The speculation will most likely end in a couple hours when Tomlin announces Ben's status during his weekly presser. I think we'll hear that Ben is better than what they expected following that hit and he will start on Sunday.