Could the Steelers Make the Playoffs With Dennis Dixon?

[hawaiiansteel]

Could the Pittsburgh Steelers Make the Playoffs With Dennis Dixon?


“Do you think that if Ben Roethlisberger gets a suspension from the NFL Dennis Dixon will be able to step in and keep the team in playoff contention?”

Let me preface this by saying that I don’t believe that Roethlisberger is going to receive a suspension from the NFL as no charges have yet been filed and even if they are it’s highly doubtful that they are substantiated. The only thing the quarterback is guilty of, in my eyes, is putting himself in questionable situations.

But, onto the question.

I won’t lie, no one wants to see Dennis Dixon in the game. And that’s not to discredit Dixon, he’s a phenomenal athlete. But he simply can’t put up the numbers on a consistent basis like Roethlisberger. If he has to start more than two or three games, this team is more than likely packing it in and playing for next season.

As Steelers fans, we’ve really only had one glimpse at Dixon, that of course was the game against the Baltimore Ravens where he not only threw a touchdown but also ran for one before throwing the game-ending interception in overtime.

Though, to be completely fair to Dixon, I chalk that up to the coaching staff not utilizing his abilities to the put him in the best position possible.

So, I suppose that, depending on the amount of games that Dixon is asked to win, he could possibly get us in, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

If the team puts him behind center in, let’s say, games one to four, then I don’t see them getting off to the start the fans want. Because like it or not, Roethlisberger is going to get the majority of the snaps in training camp and offseason drills.

If, however, he’s asked to come in for the last few games, I’d hope that we were well in the playoff hunt and it wouldn’t hurt the position to get him some snaps. When his abilities are used right he can be a game-changing player.

If it were up to me, we’d use him in a Joshua Cribbs type role with the offense—put both him and Roethlisberger on the field and let them make plays. Or if it’s just Dixon in the game, then play him the way he’s used to.

That means playing him in a spread offense, like the one he played in at Oregon. Let him use his speed and agility to win the battle. Don’t force him to throw it deep every chance that he has, let him get comfortable with the short patterns and, most importantly, get him out of the pocket. Let’s see what he’s really got when the game's on the line.

So Steve, if Roethlisberger is suspended for any substantial amount of time, no I don’t foresee Dixon being able to lead the Steelers to the promised land. If he comes in and plays for an injured Roethlisberger, then yes. I think he can get it done in that sort of situation.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/3767 ... with-dixon (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/376724-sj-mailbag-could-the-pittsburgh-steelers-make-the-playoffs-with-dixon)

http://blog.oregonlive.com/nfl/2009/03/medium_DixonSteelers.jpg

[Shawn]

I couldn't agree more with this article. First, if Dixon is in we must spread the D not only for Dixon's familiarity but to give him running lanes. You must roll him out and let him use his legs. But I will disagree with the thought that if he starts 4 games for us we are hosed. I think he can win games. I think he could easily go 2-2 and keep us in an ok position.

[Oviedo]

Key with Dixon is you can't allow him to take the physical punishment that Ben does. No way he would last if he did. Ben has 30lbs more "meat" on him than Dixon does. One thing I think that we would see with Dixon is a QB who makes quick reads and gets rid of the ball quickly. That would be a nice change.

[BURGH86STEEL]

I think the Steelers can make the playoffs with Dixon playing QB.

[steelblood]

Key with Dixon is you can't allow him to take the physical punishment that Ben does. No way he would last if he did. Ben has 30lbs more "meat" on him than Dixon does. One thing I think that we would see with Dixon is a QB who makes quick reads and gets rid of the ball quickly. That would be a nice change.

I'd say Ben is 50 lbs heavier. But, I totally agree. We need to spread things out a bit too and allow Dixon to get in space and make a few (5-10) run/pass reads per game.

[Oviedo]

I think the Steelers can make the playoffs with Dixon playing QB.

I do too as long as we aren't asking him to throw the ball 30 times a game. Will need to rely on the run game to do more.

[SteelAbility]

Key with Dixon is you can't allow him to take the physical punishment that Ben does. No way he would last if he did. Ben has 30lbs more "meat" on him than Dixon does. One thing I think that we would see with Dixon is a QB who makes quick reads and gets rid of the ball quickly. That would be a nice change.

I'd say Ben is 50 lbs heavier. But, I totally agree. We need to spread things out a bit too and allow Dixon to get in space and make a few (5-10) run/pass reads per game.

Precisely. 30 pounds more meat. 20 pounds more fat. ;)

[SteelAbility]

Is it just me or didn't Dixon go into Baltimore cold and get us a 4thQ lead on the road with a Troy-less defense and d*mn near win the game if not for a 3rd and 20 defensive brain-fart that gave up 18 yards, giving the Ravens a manageable 4th down?

Give him more reps and with the average opponent being weaker than Baltimore, he could take us to 10-6 with a decent chance of making the playoffs. It's winning the SB that's the problem.

[fezziwig]

No !

[proudpittsburgher]

Is it just me or didn't Dixon go into Baltimore cold and get us a 4thQ lead on the road with a Troy-less defense and d*mn near win the game if not for a 3rd and 20 defensive brain-fart that gave up 18 yards, giving the Ravens a manageable 4th down?

Give him more reps and with the average opponent being weaker than Baltimore, he could take us to 10-6 with a decent chance of making the playoffs. It's winning the SB that's the problem.

Yes, very true, but how many passes did he throw during that game? 8-10 going off memory. No chance in hell do we make the playoffs with Dennis Dixon as QB right now.

[JTP53609]

also, one thing that everyone seems to forget, yea he played OK in that game at batiwhore, but we and the rats found out ben was not going to play on saturday, so they gameplaned all week thinking ben was playing then found out dixon was playing on saturday, minimal gameplan and tape and that is why we almost won...

[SteelAbility]

Is it just me or didn't Dixon go into Baltimore cold and get us a 4thQ lead on the road with a Troy-less defense and d*mn near win the game if not for a 3rd and 20 defensive brain-fart that gave up 18 yards, giving the Ravens a manageable 4th down?

Give him more reps and with the average opponent being weaker than Baltimore, he could take us to 10-6 with a decent chance of making the playoffs. It's winning the SB that's the problem.

Yes, very true, but how many passes did he throw during that game? 8-10 going off memory. No chance in hell do we make the playoffs with Dennis Dixon as QB right now.

My point is that with virtually zero game reps and no Troy on D, Dixon put us in a better than 50-50 position to win a game on the road against a better than average team. It's not much of a stretch to say that with more experience and against average teams (by this mean the opponents' collective records, because on average, you play average teams unless you are the 08 Steelers) we can do better than 50-50 (8-8 record). 10-6 is not that far off from 8-8 and will put you into the playoffs in most years.

The 8-10 passes argument actually works FOR Dixon.

1. It was done with knowledge that this would only be for one game and that we were super thin at QB FOR THAT GAME (i.e. not typical).

2. With all that predictability he still nearly won.

[Steel Life]

If Ben, Joe Flacco & Matt Ryan can take their teams to the playoffs as rookies then Dixon certainly can with some familiarity of both the offense & personnel. He's got the tools, all he needs is experience...

[AngryAsian]

If Ben, Joe Flacco & Matt Ryan can take their teams to the playoffs as rookies then Dixon certainly can with some familiarity of both the offense & personnel. He's got the tools, all he needs is experience...


Agreed, 100%!

[RuthlessBurgher]

Is it just me or didn't Dixon go into Baltimore cold and get us a 4thQ lead on the road with a Troy-less defense and d*mn near win the game if not for a 3rd and 20 defensive brain-fart that gave up 18 yards, giving the Ravens a manageable 4th down?

Give him more reps and with the average opponent being weaker than Baltimore, he could take us to 10-6 with a decent chance of making the playoffs. It's winning the SB that's the problem.

Yes, very true, but how many passes did he throw during that game? 8-10 going off memory. No chance in hell do we make the playoffs with Dennis Dixon as QB right now.

Dixon was 12 for 26 in that game against Baltimore for 145 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception. He also ran the ball 3 times for 27 yards and 1 rushing TD.

[ANPSTEEL]

Key with Dixon is you can't allow him to take the physical punishment that Ben does. No way he would last if he did. Ben has 30lbs more "meat" on him than Dixon does. One thing I think that we would see with Dixon is a QB who makes quick reads and gets rid of the ball quickly. That would be a nice change.

I just made this exact point on another board.

I'm a big Dixon fan- but he'd get smooshed if he took the beating Ben takes.

Fortunately, he'd probably get rid of the ball, more quickly than BR- and he is definitely faster.

All the same- I'd want a better interior line- if I were to put all my marbles on Dixon taking the team to the playoffs.

[NW Steeler]

We made the playoffs with Bubby Brister & Kordell Stewart. We can do it with Dixon too. But I don't know why we are talking about it, Ben will be playing a majority if not all of the season anyway, unless he gets injured.

[frankthetank1]

if we improve the running game i dont see why dixon couldnt lead the steelers to the playoffs. dixon has a pretty quick release so he wouldnt take the beating ben does. i was really impressed with dixon's arm strength. does anyone else remember dixon being a lot more mobile and faster at Oregon? im sure a lot of it is due to his knee injury his senior year but he doesnt seem half as fast as he use to be, but he is still more athletic than the majority of qb's in the nfl

[Dee Dub]

If the Pittsburgh Steelers return to the dominant defense in the NFL.............I think......Yes they could.

I also think Tim Tebow would give this team a greater chance of that. Under the same circumstances. Dominant defense..return to a power house running game..add a little wild cat...

[ikestops85]

If Ben, Joe Flacco & Matt Ryan can take their teams to the playoffs as rookies then Dixon certainly can with some familiarity of both the offense & personnel. He's got the tools, all he needs is experience...

and what did those 3 have in common? An excellent running game. If our line shows significant improvement then Dixon can certainly lead us into the playoffs. Much like Brister, O'Donnel, Stewart, and Maddox we won't go any further with Dixon. I would have to see a lot more Dixon playing against NFL competition to tell whether he could get us back to the big dance.

[aggiebones]

Let's remember that Ben went undefeated for like 15 games his rookie season. Early in that season, he was throwing only 10-12 passes a game. Maybe up to 15 late in the season.
Our defense and running game carried us.

Dixon is no rookie, but he's not far above one since he hasn't played many meaningful games. I think they could loosen up the play calling after 4-5 games. But do I think the defense and running game could carry the difference to get us to the playoff?
It would be close. Comparing those supporting casts to these is interesting.
The defense dropped off last year, but I expect it to be back up this year. Mendenhall should be a big step up this year too. I think we could have a similar run, but again, no championship.

[hawaiiansteel]

We made the playoffs with Bubby Brister & Kordell Stewart. We can do it with Dixon too. But I don't know why we are talking about it, Ben will be playing a majority if not all of the season anyway, unless he gets injured.



PLAYOFFS? PLAYOFFS??

http://msp73.photobucket.com/albums/i201/aykis16/playoffs.jpg

[feltdizz]

I think the Steelers can make the playoffs with Dixon playing QB.

One thing that stood out was the amount of sacks Dixon took in the bmore game. I think it was zero.

I still think Ben takes sacks he could avoid because he has a "get it back the next play" mentality and doesn't mind a 3rd and long.

[feltdizz]

Let's remember that Ben went undefeated for like 15 games his rookie season. Early in that season, he was throwing only 10-12 passes a game. Maybe up to 15 late in the season.
Our defense and running game carried us.

Dixon is no rookie, but he's not far above one since he hasn't played many meaningful games. I think they could loosen up the play calling after 4-5 games. But do I think the defense and running game could carry the difference to get us to the playoff?
It would be close. Comparing those supporting casts to these is interesting.
The defense dropped off last year, but I expect it to be back up this year. Mendenhall should be a big step up this year too. I think we could have a similar run, but again, no championship.

Ben was making the most of those 10 to 15 passes though... he was breaking the pocket and moving the chains. Dixon could make the playoffs but I think we would see a similar ending like we did with Kordell once there.

[fezziwig]

Why do people always feel we have some hidden talent on the bench that is always ready to be unleashed ?
Bens a number one pick for the obvious football reasons and results. Dixon is and only will be what he is now, a guy that is more athlete than QB. His talents are running and not throwing and for him to step in and take this team to a playoff game is just over the top. The defense or running game might fill the order but to rely on Dixon, don't count on it.

If our team is hitting on all cylinders I can see us making it to the playoffs with Dixon but, when it comes down to the quarterbacks taking over the game or leading the team Dixon just won't have it.

No Ben, no Super Bowl.

[Sugar]

The answer is NO. Not in this division with Cincy and Baltimore on the rise. He might have some good games until the D-coordinators get some film on him.

[NW Steeler]

Why do people always feel we have some hidden talent on the bench that is always ready to be unleashed ?
Bens a number one pick for the obvious football reasons and results. Dixon is and only will be what he is now, a guy that is more athlete than QB. His talents are running and not throwing and for him to step in and take this team to a playoff game is just over the top. The defense or running game might fill the order but to rely on Dixon, don't count on it.

If our team is hitting on all cylinders I can see us making it to the playoffs with Dixon but, when it comes down to the quarterbacks taking over the game or leading the team Dixon just won't have it.

No Ben, no Super Bowl.


Exactly. We were competitive, made it to the cusp several times with that list of "other" QB's, but it took a player of Ben's caliber to win us 2 more Super Bowls. Ben will NOT be traded unless the Rooney's are dead set on it and they are offered a king's ransom in return.

[hawaiiansteel]

so now that the Steelers have re-acquired Byron Leftwich, who starts on Opening Day?

Dixon or Leftwich?



per Adam_Schefter

Filed to ESPN: Pittsburgh just traded a seventh-round pick for former Buccaneers QB Byron Leftwich.

[SteelHead]

Let's remember that Ben went undefeated for like 15 games his rookie season. Early in that season, he was throwing only 10-12 passes a game. Maybe up to 15 late in the season.

FYI , Ben averaged 22 pass attempts per game his rookie year. His first 6 games were all over 20 pass attempts and only had 5 games under 20 attempts as a whole.

[hawaiiansteel]

Leftwich could have a chance to start

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on April 21, 2010


In Byron Leftwch, the Steelers acquired a veteran quarterback that can hit the ground running. He knows the team's system, he knows the locker room.

They also got an option to open the season as a starter. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that the Week One starter is likely to be Leftwich or Dixon, not 35-year-old Charlie Batch.

"I have no clue right now," Dixon said Tuesday when asked about possibly starting.

We suspect the Steelers will give Dixon every chance to develop and earn the gig, but Leftwich gives the team a strong option if Dixon struggles.

"I'm happy to be back," Leftwich said Tuesday. "I have a big ol' smile on my face."

We're expected to find out Wednesday how long the Steelers will need a starting quarterback to replace Ben Roethlisberger.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... -to-start/ (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/04/21/leftwich-could-have-a-chance-to-start/)

[Oviedo]

Leftwich could have a chance to start

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on April 21, 2010


In Byron Leftwch, the Steelers acquired a veteran quarterback that can hit the ground running. He knows the team's system, he knows the locker room.

They also got an option to open the season as a starter. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that the Week One starter is likely to be Leftwich or Dixon, not 35-year-old Charlie Batch.

"I have no clue right now," Dixon said Tuesday when asked about possibly starting.

We suspect the Steelers will give Dixon every chance to develop and earn the gig, but Leftwich gives the team a strong option if Dixon struggles.

"I'm happy to be back," Leftwich said Tuesday. "I have a big ol' smile on my face."

We're expected to find out Wednesday how long the Steelers will need a starting quarterback to replace Ben Roethlisberger.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... -to-start/ (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/04/21/leftwich-could-have-a-chance-to-start/)

I'd feel better with Leftwich and his experience getting us the early season wins that we would need with Ben out.