It's official. Steelers have signed Brian Hoyer for QB and Plaxico Burress for WR.

[FrancoLambert]

All things considered two good moves.
You lose Cotchery a very solid 4th WR and replace him with Plax.
It may not be much of a drop off especially situationally.
As for Hoyer, he was coached by Belichick and played with Brady....gotta be something good from that.

[SoCalFan]

Originally Posted by FrancoLambert

All things considered two good moves.
You lose Cotchery a very solid 4th WR and replace him with Plax.
It may not be much of a drop off especially situationally.
As for Hoyer, he was coached by Belichick and played with Brady....gotta be something good from that.

Yea, he might be able to film the rats practices for us!!!

[lardlad]

Lets hope he doesn't spike a live ball again!!

Ha, had to bring that up. Anyone have a video of that?

I was not sad AT ALL to see him go but now, I don't know… kinda good to see him back.

[lardlad]

Originally Posted by Fire Arians

not always. brees was drafted in rd. 2 and wilson in rd. 3

contrary to what people say, o'donnell was actually a really good qb for us, and he was a 3rd rounder also i believe. we would have won another super bowl if he didn't jump ship to the jets and we kept kordell in his 'slash' position

o'donnell was a way better QB than he is given credit for. SB 30 memories cloud his career here.

[jiminpa]

Originally Posted by lardlad

o'donnell was a way better QB than he is given credit for. SB 30 memories cloud his career here.

I loved to watch him actually go hit someone on the end-arounds, and the first blitzer to him was going down. Yeah, he was way better than he is given credit for in the Burgh. Woulda, coulda, shoulda.

[austinfrench76]

I loved O'Donnell simply because I couldn't stand Mark Malone and then Bubby! I was just ready for an NFL caliber QB! I know Bubby had a couple of decent years )Malone actually went 11-5 once!!!) but O'Donnell was a helluva Qb, left due more to the crap he took for his 2 picks in SB 30 than anything.

[Ricco Suavez]

I actually liked Hoyer more than Kafka, BTW some web sites had him the number one available unsigned QB. Upside is he has been in the league 3+ years and had the opportunity to learn behind Brady and run the Patriot system which includes a lot of dump offs and passes to your TEs. We run an offense similar but have proven to be able to run more effective (at least lately). He is a big strong arm QB and at 27 years old should be more durable than Batch or Leftwich. Down side is he is not accurate or has much playing exp. For his brief playing time his stats are 27-43 for 286 yds and 1-1 td to int ratio.He could be a face we see in camp next year as well depending on how he fares.

[Hawaii 5-0]

Brian Hoyer Could Help Steelers With Quarterback Depth In Short & Long Terms

Nov 21st, 2012 by Dominic Di Tolla



While the Plaxico Burress signing has garnered most of the headlines around “Steeler Nation” over the last day and a half, Pittsburgh’s Front Office also added another player to their roster on Tuesday afternoon. Due to the team’s immense and dire need of depth at the Quarterback position, the Steelers signed former New England Patriot Brian Hoyer to their roster. Although the pick-up of Burress will be a more meaningful move as far as the 2012 season goes, I personally feel like the signing of Hoyer could be yet another solid move made by G.M. Kevin Colbert & The Front Office. In fact, I believe that Pittsburgh is actually an ideal setting for a Quarterback like Hoyer, and both parties should be able to benefit from the deal.

Hoyer’s Career (2009-2011)

So who exactly is Brian Hoyer, and where did he come from? Well for those of you readers unsure or unaware, Hoyer held the clipboard as Tom Brady’s top understudy in New England, and beat out three veteran Quarterbacks as an Undrafted Free Agent to make the team in 2009. Over his three seasons in New England, Brian saw only a small amount of game-time (27 for 43, 286 Yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 80.2 QB Rating, 1 Rush TD), but was nevertheless able to work in one of the best environment’s for a young Quarterback. It is not often that UDFA’s are exposed to the teachings and work-ethic of people like his Quarterbacks Coach/Offensive Coordinator Bill O’Brien and Ugg Spokesman and a Three-time Super Bowl winner like Brady.

Unfortunately for Hoyer, his time in New England ended prematurely and probably had everything to do with the rest of the then-Quarterback-needy teams passing on Ryan Mallett in the 2011 N.F.L. Draft. Mallett, a guy I believed was the best pure-passer and possessed the best potential N.F.L. skill-set (arm-strength and knowledge of passing game) in that Draft Class lasted until the end of the 3rd Round that season due to some character concerns. To their credit, the Patriots jumped at the chance to take a 1st-Round talent like Mallett so late in the Draft process, and used the luxury they had with Hoyer and Brady in front of him and allow their 3rd Round selection to develop. This season however, New England felt like Mallett was their Quarterback of the future. As the #3 Quarterback and set to make $1.9 million dollars (RFA Tender), Hoyer who became the odd-man-out this past August, and was cut.

How the Steelers & Hoyer Can Benefit

With Hoyer on the roster now, the Steelers can properly gauge how well the 4th year pro picks up the Offense and whether or not he can compete for a roster spot next season with six regular season games and an entire offseason under his belt. Remember, both Batch (38 years old in 2013) and Leftwich (33 years old in 2013) will be potential Unrestricted Free Agents next season, and I have a hard time believing that the Steelers would bring both if either of them back unless Hoyer is a complete and total flop. Plus, the former Spartan will have the chance to learn under Coordinator Todd Haley, Quarterbacks Coach Randy Fichtner, as well as Roethlisberger and maybe even one of the elder statesmen over the coming seasons as he continues his development. If Hoyer eventually succeeds and earns a backup spot with the team, he could definitely help to shore up Pittsburgh’s backup Quarterback position and entrench himself as “The Guy..Behind The Guy” (“Swingers” reference I know) as the #2 Quarterback on Pittsburgh’s Depth Chart.

Final Thoughts

Pittsburgh needed to find some way to bolster their depth at Quarterback in the present and in the future, and I believe this move to sign Hoyer can accomplish both goals. I simply want the Steelers to have some sort of capable, younger (sorry Charlie), and non-injury prone option to turn to if Roethlisberger ever goes down for a significant period of time in the future. Although the 6’2″ 215 lb. Hoyer is not an elite athlete, he has learned from some of the best Teachers and Students at the craft (O’Brien & Brady), and has displayed enough of a skill-set to establish himself as a legitimate #2 on an N.F.L. roster.

Whether it is Hoyer or somebody else, the Steelers need to have a non-injury prone/non-elderly backup option behind Big Ben sooner as opposed to later. This will be especially the case when Big Ben enters his mid-30′s and a decade-plus of hits and injuries begin to really take their toll. If this situation eventually happens and Roethlisberger goes down again, I earnestly hope that Hoyer, another Free Agent, or another Draft Pick can fill in and play adequately.

Hoyer has a golden opportunity to learn and continue to develop behind and under some of the N.F.L.’s best in Pittsburgh. With the uncertainty behind Big Ben, Hoyer will likely be given every chance to wrestle the #2 spot away from Batch and Leftwich between now and the beginning of the 2013 season as well. I am crossing my fingers that this deal works out well for both parties.

http://nicepickcowher.com/2012/11/21...rt-long-terms/

[SteelersCanada]

Plaxico Burres and Brian Hoyer Interviews with Local Pittsburgh Media

Plaxico Burres

http://www.steelers.com/video-and-au...7-6419f3748a6b

It looks like he's honestly excited and anxious to get back. He seems and was acting professional and looks like he wants to get back to work. Honestly, the more I hear him talk and give interviews, the more excited I am to have him back on this team. He looks like a guy that wants to help his team under any circumstance and wants to bring this team to a championship. He "crammed the playbook" and got to work right away, making sure he was as up to date as possible. Welcome back, Plax.

Brian Hoyer

http://www.steelers.com/video-and-au...d-fb5813e18c2c

Hoyer just looked giddy to be back and playing football. I'm sure he also appreciates throwing to our guys rather than his father and father in-law. I hope the Steelers keep him around long-term as their younger option. I'm sure it'll also help his ability - how many guys get to back up Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger in their career? Welcome, Brian.

[tarasovic2]

I assume Plaxico is mostly for Red Zone situations.
He's a headcase but we need the firepower