#Steelers get to work tonight & I have some thoughts. Well, OK, I have a thought (singular).
The Packers are taking flack for selecting a kid who probably won't play for 2-3 years. The Steelers have a QB 2 years older, w/1 year less on his deal recovering from arm surgery. (1/?)
The Packers are taking flack for selecting a kid who probably won't play for 2-3 years. The Steelers have a QB 2 years older, w/1 year less on his deal recovering from arm surgery. (1/?)
and the team has said repeatedly that it firmly believes Ben will go back to being Ben. And he has certainly earned the benefit of the doubt. But ... at what point do you have to make a legitimate attempt to find a successor. That's not a dig at Duck or Mason.
Good dudes. Good QBs? The jury is still out. People will point to going 8-8 without Ben as proof Steelers are close. I look at 8-8 and see 3 wins by 7 or less that included defensive/special team touchdowns that provided the margin of victory.
So how "close" are they even if Ben looks like he hasn't missed a beat since 2018? I don't know. Maybe a playmaker or two will get them back into 10-6, 11-5. Whether that's good enough to pass KC and Baltimore? That's ... that's tough.
But I think it's fair to ask either way ... what is the plan? Ben is a HOFer. He's not going to play forever. Is there anyone in the next 2 draft classes besides Lawrence that looks like a surefire thing? And if Ben gets them to playoffs, they won't be in prime draft position.
Then again, the list of QBs the Steelers have developed over the last (checks watch) 50 years is basically ... 2. So maybe, as one of the other beat writers pointed out, they figure "hey, let somebody else develop, we'll sign as FA when we have the cap space."
and that's not a bad idea (actually, I should throw O'Donnell in there with Terry and Ben since he took team to SB). But - and maybe this is just me - there is a very real "we are afraid of the drama if we actually go and get somebody" thing when it comes to finding a successor.
I'm not advocating to take Hurts or Fromm or whatever tonight. Don't make a move unless you feel REALLY good about it (like they did in '04). But it seems there's a bit of a reluctance to face reality. The plan for now seems ... hope 7's got 2 GREAT years left and after that??
And for the short-term, that's probably the smartest play. But I think the window for this defense is 3ish years before guys get old and/or too expensive. After that, the offense needs to be ready and well, who knows?
