Let's See....the last two times...

[Dee Dub]

....Byron Leftwich has started in the NFL he has failed miserably. Now dont get me wrong, I love having Byron on the Steelers, but only as a legitimate back up.....not as the starting QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I think the Steelers would be making a huge mistake naming Leftwich as the starter in Ben's absence. The best interests of this team is to play Dennis Dixon. He has what will probably be 4 games to show his worth. When Dixon was forced into his one and only start of his career, having only preseason action as his only activity for two years, and having only a week to prepare for this start, he showed he has some ability. In a QB driven league if Dixon continues to show this ability he will prove to be a very valuable commodity for the Steelers. And as a result...the types of offers the Steelers get next off season could be substantial. And face it.....the league has already seen what Byron Leftwich brings to the table.

Do not start Byron Leftwich!!

[ikestops85]

....Byron Leftwich has started in the NFL he has failed miserably. Now dont get me wrong, I love having Byron on the Steelers, but only as a legitimate back up.....not as the starting QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I think the Steelers would be making a huge mistake naming Leftwich as the starter in Ben's absence. The best interests of this team is to play Dennis Dixon. He has what will probably be 4 games to show his worth. When Dixon was forced into his one and only start of his career, having only preseason action as his only activity for two years, and having only a week to prepare for this start, he showed he has some ability. In a QB driven league if Dixon continues to show this ability he will prove to be a very valuable commodity for the Steelers. And as a result...the types of offers the Steelers get next off season could be substantial. And face it.....the league has already seen what Byron Leftwich brings to the table.

Do not start Byron Leftwich!!

I agree. I would like to see us find out what we have in Dixon. Now that doesn't mean I want him to start if he blows. If he really looks bad then obviously start Lefty until Ben is ready. Lefty should fit in great in the Charlie Batch role. Batch WAS the best backup in the league but his time has passed. I think Lefty will fill that role quite nice.

Now if Dixon gets a chance to start and turns us into an offensive juggernaut then a little competition for Ben is not a bad thing and his trade value would skyrocket.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

....Byron Leftwich has started in the NFL he has failed miserably. Now dont get me wrong, I love having Byron on the Steelers, but only as a legitimate back up.....not as the starting QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I think the Steelers would be making a huge mistake naming Leftwich as the starter in Ben's absence. The best interests of this team is to play Dennis Dixon. He has what will probably be 4 games to show his worth. When Dixon was forced into his one and only start of his career, having only preseason action as his only activity for two years, and having only a week to prepare for this start, he showed he has some ability. In a QB driven league if Dixon continues to show this ability he will prove to be a very valuable commodity for the Steelers. And as a result...the types of offers the Steelers get next off season could be substantial. And face it.....the league has already seen what Byron Leftwich brings to the table.

Do not start Byron Leftwich!!

I agree. I would like to see us find out what we have in Dixon. Now that doesn't mean I want him to start if he blows. If he really looks bad then obviously start Lefty until Ben is ready. Lefty should fit in great in the Charlie Batch role. Batch WAS the best backup in the league but his time has passed. I think Lefty will fill that role quite nice.

Now if Dixon gets a chance to start and turns us into an offensive juggernaut then a little competition for Ben is not a bad thing and his trade value would skyrocket.

I agree ENTIRELY with these two posts. I have always had trepidation re: Lefty's ability to be our QB. I would cringe every time he was a backup, and bless our lucky stars when he did as well as he did.

I'd feel a lot better if I could see ONE clip of him throwing a soft pass to someone in the flat. Scorching fastballs all the time make me nervous.

[feltdizz]

I wasn't big on Lefty due to his time in Tampa as a starter but someone made a great point. The talent surrounding Lefty on the Steelers is much better then the talent in Tampa.

He really did look bad in Tampa but I think learning a new offense was part of the problem. He is comfortable here and he looked decent. Hell, most of our average QB's were wining 8 games a year...

Dixon isn't ready. It makes no sense to experiment with him...

[aggiebones]

We need the best QB in there to at least get us a split in the first 4 and pray the suspension stops there.
I don't care who it is, but if Dixon isn't ready to be a real NFL QB then he sits.

[SteelAbility]

I'm a little torn on this one and I can see arguments going both ways. I believe Dixon can have a lot of success in the short run if we are willing to have him run the ball. We didn't run him much in last year's game at BAL because we were down to Charlie Batch. But now we would have Lefty then Batch so the risk of running Dixon is much more worth it.

Plus another argument not to start Lefty is that if he goes 4-0 then Ben will become the backup. And all of us "Ben homers" just couldn't live with that. :wink:

[ikestops85]

We need the best QB in there to at least get us a split in the first 4 and pray the suspension stops there.
I don't care who it is, but if Dixon isn't ready to be a real NFL QB then he sits.

I agree we need the best QB playing but if Dixon is playing as well as Lefty lets give the edge to Dixon. As I have been saying we need to find out what we have in this guy ... a keeper, trade bait, or a St. Pierre.

[RuthlessBurgher]

....Byron Leftwich has started in the NFL he has failed miserably. Now dont get me wrong, I love having Byron on the Steelers, but only as a legitimate back up.....not as the starting QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I think the Steelers would be making a huge mistake naming Leftwich as the starter in Ben's absence. The best interests of this team is to play Dennis Dixon. He has what will probably be 4 games to show his worth. When Dixon was forced into his one and only start of his career, having only preseason action as his only activity for two years, and having only a week to prepare for this start, he showed he has some ability. In a QB driven league if Dixon continues to show this ability he will prove to be a very valuable commodity for the Steelers. And as a result...the types of offers the Steelers get next off season could be substantial. And face it.....the league has already seen what Byron Leftwich brings to the table.

Do not start Byron Leftwich!!

He didn't even have a week to prepare. It wasn't until Saturday, the day before the game, that everyone found out the surprising news that Ben would not be available to play against Baltimore.

[RuthlessBurgher]

I'm a little torn on this one and I can see arguments going both ways. I believe Dixon can have a lot of success in the short run if we are willing to have him run the ball. We didn't run him much in last year's game at BAL because we were down to Charlie Batch. But now we would have Lefty then Batch so the risk of running Dixon is much more worth it.

Plus another argument not to start Lefty is that if he goes 4-0 then Ben will become the backup. And all of us "Ben homers" just couldn't live with that. :wink:

Batch wasn't available (if he was, then Charlie would have played in that Baltimore game, not Dennis). Batch was already injured, and Ben was not available, so the only guy behind Dixon was...Tyler Palko.

[cruzer8]

So far the OTA reports are indicating that Leftwich is outplaying Dixon.

[Shawn]

I disagree. For me this is an easy decision. Leftwich knows how to take a team on his back and win games. He is a savy vet with a big arm. Letfwich likes the system and has played at an extremely high level in this system. I don't care what he did or didn't do in Tampa. The guy can still play. He had something like an absurd 140 passer rating for the Steelers. It's his job to lose IMO.

[StarSpangledSteeler]

I disagree. For me this is an easy decision. Leftwich knows how to take a team on his back and win games. He is a savy vet with a big arm. Letfwich likes the system and has played at an extremely high level in this system. I don't care what he did or didn't do in Tampa. The guy can still play. He had something like an absurd 140 passer rating for the Steelers. It's his job to lose IMO.

Agreed. This is about winning games. That encompasses a lot more than athletic ability. Leftwich's experience and recognition is far superior at this stage.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Assuming Lefty wins the shoot out leading up to, and through, training camp, I'll be pulling for him. But I'll breathe a whole lot better when Ben bets back. And, I will be pulling for Dixon to show enough that the coaches think he's the guy instead. Of the two, he is the one who could possibly be part of our medium- to long-term future. It'd sure be nice if he started showing it now!

[steelblood]

So far Leftwich has outplayed Dixon (who hasn't gotten much of a chance with the starters). However, in the games, Dixon will be allowed to scramble and will have some designed runs.

I agree with Tomlin that you can't have a 3 way QB competition and get Ben reps once training camp starts. However, I do think you could have a short two man competition between Lefty and Dixon (let's face it Batch is cooked) and then figure out who is the starter after the second preseason game. That would give the starter all of the important reps for 3 weeks before the first game. That seems like enough.

[BURGH86STEEL]

I'd like to see what Dixon can do. I understand why he might not win the job. I believe the Steelers are still a contender as they are constructed. I think the coaches prefer that a guy with experience take over the team until Ben returns. Leftwich is not Ben but I believe he is a QB that can help the team win games.

Everything will be fine ss long as they put the best QB out there to help win games.

[HeHateMe]

You guys are right Leftwich is NOT Ben. He is smarter, a better pure passer and can read defenses faster. Ben has more intangibles. More elusive, stronger, more touch on the ball and more mobile. Leftwich is an anticipatory passer, Ben makes the receiver "show" open before he fires. Dixon is an unknows right now. WHY anyone would want to start an unknown is beyond me. You don't start potential unless the season is lost. I think guys realize how good the offense looked under Leftwich in 08 and he scares some people. At the end of the day if Leftwich helps us win who cares if it is Ben, Dixon or Leftwich? Thats how Steeler fans think anyway. However, Ben fans are different.

[HeHateMe]

Yes Leftwich lookes bad in Tampa but so did Steve Young. Put him on a good team and he is a Hall of Famer. Does anyone think Ben looks good in Tampa? I dont. The guy had 50 sacks on the STEELERS. That would be 75-80 or out for the season on the Bucs. Common sense.

[Dee Dub]

Bump........ :tt2

Dennis Dixon gives the Steelers a better chance to win and they also will bring back a huge return if Dennis Dixon is successful.

[proudpittsburgher]

Im still withholding judgement until the end of the preseason. As it was on Saturday, Dixon outplayed Leftwich. But Dixon was doing it against second teamers. Lefty was playing against the first team defense. Either way, Dixon was the better QB on Saturday night, and it at the very least, starting to swing closer to 50/50 in my eyes in the battle with Leftwich. I'm still not interested in growing Dixon to be a better QB as long as Lefty is on the roster . . . it is about winning ballgames until ben gets back, and I still believe, at this point knowing what I do, that Leftwich gives us the best chance to do that.

[Shawn]

Let me tell you what the Steelers might be thinking. Dixon is a RFA next season. They do not want to develop him and then be outbid for their own player or worse yet pay starter money for a back up. If Dixon comes in and shows he can be a legit starter in the NFL that will make negotiations alot tougher.

[NJ-STEELER]

You guys are right Leftwich is NOT Ben. He is smarter, a better pure passer and can read defenses faster. Ben has more intangibles. More elusive, stronger, more touch on the ball and more mobile. Leftwich is an anticipatory passer, Ben makes the receiver "show" open before he fires. Dixon is an unknows right now. WHY anyone would want to start an unknown is beyond me. You don't start potential unless the season is lost. I think guys realize how good the offense looked under Leftwich in 08 and he scares some people. At the end of the day if Leftwich helps us win who cares if it is Ben, Dixon or Leftwich? Thats how Steeler fans think anyway. However, Ben fans are different.

oh my

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:g6WNrqB4qM4HvM:http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu330/cthulhu19887/forum/facepalm/facepalm-face-palm-facepalm-demotiv.jpg&t=1