Where do we go from here?

[83-Steelers-43]

Originally Posted by Ambridge

The only other names I can think of:

Vinny Testaverde
Tim Couch
Quincy Carter

Eeeek......lol, alrighty then. Collins it may be if Ben is not ready.

[steelerfan12]

Originally Posted by 83-Steelers-43

My feelings are the total opposite. Mentally, the kid is tough. His physical injuries (knees in particular) are what concern me.

ya but today the doctor said there was NO knee injurys at all just a broken jaw and nose!

[Ambridge]

Originally Posted by steelreserve

No, no, no, no! Anyone but him! I had to watch that bum play all season out here in the Bay Area, and he was enough to singlehandedly screw up the Raiders' entire offense. He's the Tommy Maddox of the West Coast, only maybe a little less mobile. People were booing him all year.

All of which was fine, as long as he was playing for the frigg'n Raiders. But I don't want to see that guy anywhere NEAR a team I actually like.

You could have probably put Ben, Manning, Brady and the rest of the elite NFL QB's in Oakland last season and they would have looked equally bad.
The Raiders have downgraded themselves even further at Quarterback by getting Aaron Brooks for the 06 season.

[Ambridge]

Originally Posted by steelreserve

No way the Raiders' offense would have been that bad with a legitimate quarterback taking the snaps. It's just not that Collins was bad -- the WAY he was bad really reminded me of Maddox. A LOT.

Poor mobility, wide-open guys overthrown or underthrown by ridiculous margins, easy to bring down, and he absolutely panicks under pressure. I mean completely loses his s**t. That sound familiar? And to top it off, I'm not even sure if he's so great at learning a new system... The Raiders kept trying to change theirs because Collins couldn't make the existing one work. The Steelers would be better off just playing with NO quarterback.

I hear what your saying, but with Norv Turner who was the "Assistant Head Coach" under Al Davis and with a very underachieving offensive line and a pretty poor defense Collins was in a no win situation.
At least Collins can still throw the ball, Maddox's arm turned into Jello last year.

[Suitanim]

I sincerely doubt the Steelers even consider signing another QB. All indications are that Ben will be back at some point this year, maybe even as soon as the opener. They are carrying 4 QB's (Provided Rutherford is still on the roster), and any FA signing is going to cost them at least a million bucks for a guy is just going to get cut anyway.

I'll take this opportunity to affirm my faith in Batch as back-up, too. Sure, he had some rough times in Detroit, but that was not a prticularly good football team he was playing on, and he also had some flashes of greatness. To assert that Maddox would be a better back-up doesn't work either, since Batch quickly surpassed him on the depth chart last year, and the Steelers (who know a thing or two about evaluating players talent, ESPECIALLY players on the decline) released Maddox, not Batch. If we have to play Batch for a few games, while it's a significant drop-off in talent, he still can be effective enough on a very talented Steelers team to win.