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QB shuffle: Will it be Batch or Leftwich?
By: Mike Bires
Beaver County Times
[url="http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sports_details/article/1501/2010/september/21/qb-shuffle-will-it-be-batch-or-leftwich.html"]http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sport ... twich.html[/url]
Tuesday September 21, 2010 11:41 PM
Times photo by LUCY SCHALY Steelers QB's Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon confer with an assistant coach during the season opening win over Atlanta.
PITTSBURGH — The good news regarding the Steelers’ bizarre quarterback dilemma is that Ben Roethlisberger will ride into town on a white horse in two weeks and come to the rescue. The bad news is that Hines Ward is only another injury or two away from taking snaps at QB.
“Hines threw for 400 yards in the Peach Bowl one year,” coach Mike Tomlin said, making light of a what could become a dire situation.
With everything that’s happened to Steelers quarterbacks this year, it wouldn’t be surprising if a wide receiver winds up lining up behind center in the next two weeks. Ward, Antwaan Randle El and Arnaz Battle all played quarterback for most or parts of their college careers.
Tomlin just joking about a wide receiver playing quarterback just shows how wacky the situation is right now.
Ben Roethlisberger is half-way through a four-game suspension.
Byron Leftwich, signed in April to replace Roethlisberger, missed the first two games with a sprained knee.
Dennis Dixon, who did start the first two games, will have surgery today to repair torn meniscus cartilage in his knee.
That means that Charlie Batch, seemingly the odd man out during the preseason, will likely be the starter Sunday when the 2-0 Steelers take on the 2-0 Buccaneers in steamy Tampa, Fla.
“You got to say that Charlie is in pole position because he’s got a clean bill of health,” Tomlin said.
Before Sunday, Batch hadn’t played in a regular-season game since breaking his wrist last November in an overtime loss in Kansas City.
Before that, Batch hadn’t played since starting the regular-season finale in 2007. Roethlisberger sat out that game in Baltimore with a few other starters because the Steelers had already clinched the AFC North title. Batch’s last start before that was the ‘06 opener when Roethlisberger sat out after an appendectomy.
“I always want to throw my hat in the ring,” Batch said after Sunday’s game when he completed just 5 of 11 passes for 25 yards. “It’s just a matter of if the opportunity presents itself. If it does, I’ll be ready.”
There is a slight chance Leftwich could start Sunday. But he hasn’t played since the fourth and final preseason game on Sept. 2. He hasn’t even suited up for either of the Steelers’ first two games.
Batch took 39 snaps in Sunday’s 19-11 win at Tennessee after Dixon was hurt early in the second quarter. Dixon was injured while taking off on a 21-yard scramble.
“We don’t anticipate (Byron’s knee) being an issue,” Tomlin said. “But you at least have to acknowledge that could be a factor in terms of how the reps get sorted out and who ultimately plays.
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“He’s been able to comfortably get through some workouts. Workouts of course are different than practices and games, particularly the unanticipated movement that comes with playing football. So we’re going to proceed through the week to see how this thing sorts out.”
The Steelers did work out three QBs Tuesday — Levi Brown, Jarrett Brown and John David Booty. But it’s unlikely any of them will be signed unless Leftwich suffers a setback this week at practice.
As far as Dixon’s fate for the rest of the year, it’s too early to say if he’s a candidate for the season-ending injured reserve list.
“I don’t know how long he’ll be out,” Tomlin said. “It’s really going to be determined by what we see after they go in and perform the surgery. With injuries of that sort, you can acknowledge and identify damage. You usually don’t know the extent of the damage until you go in.
“We’ll have other information as we proceed from there. So we’re going to wait and see what it looks like before we proceed with the length of time he can potentially be out. Rest assured he’s not going to play this week.”
In case of an emergency ...
Antwaan Randle El’s most famous pass was his 43-yard touchdown to Hines Ward on a double reverse to help the Steelers win Super Bowl XL.
The team may need his arm again this week.
Should Byron Leftwich’s bum knee and Charlie Batch’s fragility catch up with them, the Steelers could turn to the former Indiana All-American quarterback behind center.
But Randle El isn’t the only emergency QB on this roster. Arnaz Battle (Notre Dame, 2000) and Ward (Georgia, 1994) were also starting QBs in college, and all three have thrown passes in the NFL.
But Randle El is the most intriguing. He threw for nearly 7,500 yards at Indiana and finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2001. He was never tabbed as an NFL quarterback — particularly because he’s only 5-foot-10 — but, as then-coach Bill Cowher put in on draft day in 2002: “He’s come in as a receiver, but we certainly are aware of the other things that he brings.”
Used on mostly gadget plays in his nine NFL seasons, Randle El has an impressive 153.1 rating with four touchdowns.
But any of the three at QB would be less-than-ideal for the Steelers. None have played QB in 10 years, with Ward last lining up there in the 1995 Peach Bowl (he did throw for more than 400 yards in that game), although he did take a direct snap in 2001. Predictably, it was a rush.
In other words, the Steelers hope these three wideouts don’t quit their day jobs.
By: Mike Bires
Beaver County Times
[url="http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sports_details/article/1501/2010/september/21/qb-shuffle-will-it-be-batch-or-leftwich.html"]http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sport ... twich.html[/url]
Tuesday September 21, 2010 11:41 PM
Times photo by LUCY SCHALY Steelers QB's Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon confer with an assistant coach during the season opening win over Atlanta.
PITTSBURGH — The good news regarding the Steelers’ bizarre quarterback dilemma is that Ben Roethlisberger will ride into town on a white horse in two weeks and come to the rescue. The bad news is that Hines Ward is only another injury or two away from taking snaps at QB.
“Hines threw for 400 yards in the Peach Bowl one year,” coach Mike Tomlin said, making light of a what could become a dire situation.
With everything that’s happened to Steelers quarterbacks this year, it wouldn’t be surprising if a wide receiver winds up lining up behind center in the next two weeks. Ward, Antwaan Randle El and Arnaz Battle all played quarterback for most or parts of their college careers.
Tomlin just joking about a wide receiver playing quarterback just shows how wacky the situation is right now.
Ben Roethlisberger is half-way through a four-game suspension.
Byron Leftwich, signed in April to replace Roethlisberger, missed the first two games with a sprained knee.
Dennis Dixon, who did start the first two games, will have surgery today to repair torn meniscus cartilage in his knee.
That means that Charlie Batch, seemingly the odd man out during the preseason, will likely be the starter Sunday when the 2-0 Steelers take on the 2-0 Buccaneers in steamy Tampa, Fla.
“You got to say that Charlie is in pole position because he’s got a clean bill of health,” Tomlin said.
Before Sunday, Batch hadn’t played in a regular-season game since breaking his wrist last November in an overtime loss in Kansas City.
Before that, Batch hadn’t played since starting the regular-season finale in 2007. Roethlisberger sat out that game in Baltimore with a few other starters because the Steelers had already clinched the AFC North title. Batch’s last start before that was the ‘06 opener when Roethlisberger sat out after an appendectomy.
“I always want to throw my hat in the ring,” Batch said after Sunday’s game when he completed just 5 of 11 passes for 25 yards. “It’s just a matter of if the opportunity presents itself. If it does, I’ll be ready.”
There is a slight chance Leftwich could start Sunday. But he hasn’t played since the fourth and final preseason game on Sept. 2. He hasn’t even suited up for either of the Steelers’ first two games.
Batch took 39 snaps in Sunday’s 19-11 win at Tennessee after Dixon was hurt early in the second quarter. Dixon was injured while taking off on a 21-yard scramble.
“We don’t anticipate (Byron’s knee) being an issue,” Tomlin said. “But you at least have to acknowledge that could be a factor in terms of how the reps get sorted out and who ultimately plays.
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“He’s been able to comfortably get through some workouts. Workouts of course are different than practices and games, particularly the unanticipated movement that comes with playing football. So we’re going to proceed through the week to see how this thing sorts out.”
The Steelers did work out three QBs Tuesday — Levi Brown, Jarrett Brown and John David Booty. But it’s unlikely any of them will be signed unless Leftwich suffers a setback this week at practice.
As far as Dixon’s fate for the rest of the year, it’s too early to say if he’s a candidate for the season-ending injured reserve list.
“I don’t know how long he’ll be out,” Tomlin said. “It’s really going to be determined by what we see after they go in and perform the surgery. With injuries of that sort, you can acknowledge and identify damage. You usually don’t know the extent of the damage until you go in.
“We’ll have other information as we proceed from there. So we’re going to wait and see what it looks like before we proceed with the length of time he can potentially be out. Rest assured he’s not going to play this week.”
In case of an emergency ...
Antwaan Randle El’s most famous pass was his 43-yard touchdown to Hines Ward on a double reverse to help the Steelers win Super Bowl XL.
The team may need his arm again this week.
Should Byron Leftwich’s bum knee and Charlie Batch’s fragility catch up with them, the Steelers could turn to the former Indiana All-American quarterback behind center.
But Randle El isn’t the only emergency QB on this roster. Arnaz Battle (Notre Dame, 2000) and Ward (Georgia, 1994) were also starting QBs in college, and all three have thrown passes in the NFL.
But Randle El is the most intriguing. He threw for nearly 7,500 yards at Indiana and finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2001. He was never tabbed as an NFL quarterback — particularly because he’s only 5-foot-10 — but, as then-coach Bill Cowher put in on draft day in 2002: “He’s come in as a receiver, but we certainly are aware of the other things that he brings.”
Used on mostly gadget plays in his nine NFL seasons, Randle El has an impressive 153.1 rating with four touchdowns.
But any of the three at QB would be less-than-ideal for the Steelers. None have played QB in 10 years, with Ward last lining up there in the 1995 Peach Bowl (he did throw for more than 400 yards in that game), although he did take a direct snap in 2001. Predictably, it was a rush.
In other words, the Steelers hope these three wideouts don’t quit their day jobs.
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