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View Full Version : Do you have confidence in Byron Leftwich?



polamalubeast
05-30-2010, 08:19 AM
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0811/nfl.week9.surprise.performers/images/byron-leftwich.jpg

:tea:

steelpride12
05-30-2010, 08:22 AM
Of course. He has been the better QB in the early going OTA's and has had most or all his reps with the first string offense. It doesn't matter what he did in Tampa Bay because when he played for the Steelers when Ben went down he played a hell of a game and got rid of the ball on time.

stillers4me
05-30-2010, 08:25 AM
All he has to do is keep the ship floating until Ben gets back. A win by 1 point is still a win.

Bluecoat96
05-30-2010, 08:30 AM
I think he'll be just fine.

steelersfanman92
05-30-2010, 08:30 AM
I think that in the time that he is needed he will play well, but of course he is not a long term solution. He stepped up in the past when Ben got injured and played a few strong games, most notably to me was against the Redskins. And what it comes down to is you have to trust the coachs and their evaluations of who they think gives them the best chance of winning.

Nadroj 20
05-30-2010, 08:31 AM
When he was with us I had confindence in him....then he left and look what happened....so as of right now its not hard to see why people could be a little ify about Lefty.

I have made it known that I think DD should get the job, but if lefty wins it then obviously hes the right one for the job and i'll back him all the way.

steelpride12
05-30-2010, 08:33 AM
When he was with us I had confindence in him....then he left and look what happened....so as of right now its not hard to see why people could be a little ify about Lefty.

I have made it known that I think DD should get the job, but if lefty wins it then obviously hes the right one for the job and i'll back him all the way.

He will earn his starting position at camp and prove that he was the right choice. We don't need to to blow teams out or look like Peyton Manning out there getting a W is the key ugly or not.

Nadroj 20
05-30-2010, 08:41 AM
He will earn his starting position at camp and prove that he was the right choice. We don't need to to blow teams out or look like Peyton Manning out there getting a W is the key ugly or not.

Yea thats kinda what im saying, If he goes into camp and earns the starting job, obviously he should be the one starting....all in all i think we will be fine

solardave
05-30-2010, 09:06 AM
I wouldn't be confident in him as a fulltime starter. He's pretty much proved that he's not a starter. I for one would like to see what Dixon can do.

WindyCitySteelerFan
05-30-2010, 09:06 AM
Not worried ... with Dixon and Batch, I think secretly we have the best backups in the league. Its amazing how unnoticed that has gotten in the media.

vasteeler
05-30-2010, 09:13 AM
im confident that hes the best choice we have

BPS3akaWirels3
05-30-2010, 09:22 AM
Yeah I do but would rather give Dixon the start and see how he does and if Leftwich needs to come in and clean up he can.. I saw a lot in Dixon during the Raven game.

TMC
05-30-2010, 09:38 AM
In some of the early OTA reports, Leftwich and Dixon have separated themselves from Batch. I think that when Ben is cleared to return, one of two things happen, we either release Batch or we trade Leftwich. It all depends on where things are at that point.

I do have confidence in Leftwich. His season with the Bucs was bad, but no where near as bad as the other two quarterbacks that replaced him. Leftwich threw three interceptions last season. Two of those interceptions were thrown as he was getting hit. The first one, a guy was around his legs and he was falling back and tried to hit the runningback off to the right. He over threw it a little and it was picked by Donte Whitner and taken for a score. The other, he was getting hit and tried to go long, it was intercepted down the field. That was the Giant game. The final interception was also in the Bills game. He threw it, the WR went down to catch it and was rolling, the ball gets through his hands and pops up into the air off his leg. The safety coming in caught it as it came off his body.

Leftwich also threw a good number of passes that went into tight windows last season. He hit his WRs in stride. He has that big arm. The Bucs play the Power-I a lot meaning they had 2 wide receivers on the field and you can see plays where he sits and waits because no one is open. I think the Arians offense, with 3 wide receivers fits Leftwich a little better because someone will get open quicker, he makes those quick reads, and gets rid of the ball. I think we surprise a little with Leftwich.

Shoes
05-30-2010, 09:46 AM
I do.....and even more so since he lost a lot of weight after his last tour here. More importantly tho, he is confident in himself and has a great relationship with his teammates and coaches. He will do well.

Killer
05-30-2010, 09:57 AM
Lefty is a lean, mean slinging machine.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/201005/freed_steelers051810_2_330.jpg

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/201005/20100519steelers3_500.jpg

salamander
05-30-2010, 10:20 AM
I think we'll be just fine with Lefty in the driver's seat.

SteelerFanInStl
05-30-2010, 11:45 AM
Yes I do, as a short term solution. I think he'll do just fine. We need to establish the run in those early games though. I don't want to see Lefty (or Dixon) throwing the ball 40 times.

Psycho Ward 86
05-30-2010, 11:49 AM
I think he could surprise

polamalubeast
05-30-2010, 11:54 AM
I hope that the media just will not make a QB controversy of whether he plays well when Roethlisberger will return!

Hindes204
05-30-2010, 11:54 AM
I think he could surprise

I couldn't agree more....I think he will be better than most people fear.

Wallace108
05-30-2010, 12:16 PM
I hope that the media just will not make a QB controversy of whether he plays well when Roethlisberger will return!

Too late ... I've already heard some in the media debating whether Lefty should stay in if the Steelers start off 4-0. I find it silly, but they get paid to be silly.

autzenoise
05-30-2010, 01:40 PM
I would rather see DD play, but I believe Lefty can run the show until BB comes back.

Moose
05-30-2010, 06:51 PM
He's pretty much veteran and knows our play book. I think he has decent talent in reading the defense and he's fast to react. He did a good job for us the last time we needed him. As was stated in an earlier post, all he has to do is keep our head above water until Ben comes back. But, if we are 4 - 0 when Ben comes back it might make things interesting.

JayC
05-30-2010, 06:58 PM
to answer the question, yes i have confidence in leftwich. if he plays bad though, i have just as much confidence as batch and dixon.

BlastFurnace
05-30-2010, 07:04 PM
Yes. I'm pretty excited about him coming back and leading the team in Ben's absence.

steelpride12
05-30-2010, 07:17 PM
Im confident with all three of our QB's in line after Ben. Lefty is the veteran who know's our playbook and proved he can win games, Dixon is young, but showed us plenty of excitement and beams of hope he can be a QB in the NFL. He can score on the run, but his accuracy is a problem, but comes with reps. Finally of course Batch who has been here for years now and knows the Steelers passing plays better than most and can do a quick clean up job if needed only his injuries are a problem due to age.

kmsteelerwr15
05-30-2010, 07:35 PM
I have confidence in whoever we put behind center

Psycho Ward 86
05-30-2010, 08:26 PM
I have confidence in whoever we put behind center

Week 1: Byron has hemmoraging in his testicles, goes on IR
Week 2: Dixon re injures knee reminiscent of his college injury, goes on IR
Week 3: Batch lifts up a cup of gatorade and breaks his wrist, goes on IR

Tyler Palko anyone? :)

SteelCityMan786
05-30-2010, 08:30 PM
Byron has shown time and time again that he is more then capable of running this offense when he was part of this team in 2008. I think he is capable of doing that again in 2010. If he can get this team out to a 3-1 or even a 4-0 start, I think Ben will be able to pick up right where he left off and get the team into the postseason.

Devilsdancefloor
05-30-2010, 08:36 PM
yes, i am glad he is back i still cant believe teh jags dumped him, then he left us for the bucs and they basically dumped him.

steel9guy
05-30-2010, 08:39 PM
I like Dixon better but I think Byron will be fine. Although I don't feel like hearing the media talk about playing him over a 2 time Superbowl winning qb.

The media is full of idiots.

steelerdude15
05-30-2010, 09:50 PM
Yes, I do have confidence in him and I think he'll do fine for the first few games until Ben comes back.

ChosenOne
05-30-2010, 09:51 PM
Yes. As long as our defense plays up to the expectations than Leftwich will just need to control the game and not try to do anything extraordinary.

Vincent
05-30-2010, 09:54 PM
Yep. He has the experience to get these guys through the first ? weeks. He gets rid of the ball. The early press is that he is clicking with the receivers. But I'd be comfortable with Dennis too.

tube517
05-30-2010, 09:55 PM
He will be fine as long as he doesn't hold the ball too long, which he does not do. I think he'll do pretty well with new WR's and a new RB to back up Mendenhall. Plus Heath, Hines, MW17, and MeMo and he's got plenty of targets.

zulater
05-30-2010, 10:26 PM
Leftwich has most of the tools to be an elite quarterback, his arm is as good as any in the league. He had a couple pretty good seasons with the Jags with an underwhelming receiving core. He also is disciplined enough to defer to the ground game when it's going best without getting his ego out of joint. In the short term he might actually make the offense look better than it was with Ben at anytime last season. Now keep in mind I said short term. In the long term Ben is the only quarterback on the roster capable of taking this team deep into the playoffs.

So to answer the question yes I believe Leftwich is capable of keeping the season afloat until Ben comes back. 2-2 at worst, buit I'm guessing we'll be 3-1 going into the bye.

What comes next might prove to be the biggest challenge of Tomlin's career. He's got to transistion the team back to Ben and much of the fanbase and even some of the team is probably going to resent that greatly. Especially if Leftwich really looks sharp in the opening month. But staying with Leftwich would prove to be a great mistake no matter how well he performs early. Over a 16 game season the league will catch up and the offense wont sustain it's early success.

So in the end it comes to this.
Leftwich = elite back-up capable of taking a good team to the -playoffs.

Ben = elite starter capable of taking a team to the Super Bowl and winning it.

SteelGhost
05-30-2010, 10:53 PM
I voted yes, but I will take my own confidence in BL with a grain of salt though. :chuckle: I would like to see what can DD bring to the table.

casteeler
05-30-2010, 11:24 PM
This would present the perfect situation for working Dixon into the offense, can't wait to see him in action again!

Galax Steeler
05-31-2010, 03:29 AM
I don't think he will have a problem a handling it. We should be able to take some of the heat off of him with the running game. With the addition of Dwyer we should have a much better running game along with Mendenhall.

HometownGal
05-31-2010, 10:11 AM
Yes - I have complete confidence in Lefty. He's an experienced vet, has a great rapport with the team and knows the system. :clap2:

stillers4me
05-31-2010, 10:16 AM
The upside of this is that the team will get plenty of time with Lefty so if/when Ben goes down in the future, he can step right in and we should be fine.

steelpride12
05-31-2010, 11:00 AM
The upside of this is that the team will get plenty of time with Lefty so if/when Ben goes down in the future, he can step right in and we should be fine.

I remember when he came in for Ben in the Redskin's game, cleaned up shop, scored important touchdowns and most importantly got the W, and I have faith he will and can do this again barring a BB injury.

vasteeler
05-31-2010, 12:15 PM
The upside of this is that the team will get plenty of time with Lefty so if/when Ben goes down in the future, he can step right in and we should be fine.

if ben were to go down for a couple of weeks , sure lefty would be the alright.if we lost ben for the season he would struggle

pepsyman1
05-31-2010, 01:08 PM
Yes - I have complete confidence in Lefty. He's an experienced vet, has a great rapport with the team and knows the system. :clap2:

I'm with HTG. On top of all of that, Lefty mentioned that he liked Arians system and remembered most of it because he liked it so much. Being comfortable within the system goes a long way toward a QB performing well. There are so many mental games that a QB has to deal with, if Lefty is enjoying himself within the system he'll do fine.

Burghfan58
05-31-2010, 02:10 PM
:nod:I beleive he will be fine considering he will get alot of reps in camp and preseason. The o-line and the running game should be improved which will help. If the D stays healthy they don't miss a beat.

tyler289
05-31-2010, 04:42 PM
I believe in Byron or Dixon. There is enough talent around either QB to put up decent numbers, and if the defense can play up to their full potential, they won't need to score more than 21-28 points a game.

86WARD
05-31-2010, 08:12 PM
No. I have more confidence in Dennis Dixon.

zulater
06-01-2010, 06:40 AM
No. I have more confidence in Dennis Dixon.

It doesn't seem as if the coaching staff does though.

HometownGal
06-01-2010, 07:15 AM
I'm with HTG. On top of all of that, Lefty mentioned that he liked Arians system and remembered most of it because he liked it so much. Being comfortable within the system goes a long way toward a QB performing well. There are so many mental games that a QB has to deal with, if Lefty is enjoying himself within the system he'll do fine.

Oh shit. Poor Lefty. That will get him the beat down with the BA haters brigade.

Texasteel
06-01-2010, 07:22 AM
From what I've read, Lefty is zipping the ball around pretty well, and starting to gel with the WRs. I am very happy we have him back.

LLT
06-01-2010, 07:44 AM
I do....I dont think anyone would consider Byron a franchise QB but I think he is an above average field technician. Dont put the game solely in his hands, and he will do enough to help win the game for us and not LOSE the game for us.

steelpride12
06-01-2010, 09:19 AM
Byron will be fine as someone who is just filling in for a short period of time. His roll is to get the W anyway possible whether it's pretty or not, and his veteran presence will only be a plus for this offense.

MULLDOG24
06-01-2010, 09:27 AM
I think Lefty will be fine. I am not worried about what Lefty did in Tampa cause he just didn't have anything to work with down there. When he filled in here he was good so I think he is good enough to get us through 4 to 6 games until Ben gets back.

Indo
06-01-2010, 09:31 AM
I agree with most of the posts here---He will get the job done. Perhaps not in spectacular fashion....But a W is a W

klick81
06-01-2010, 10:20 AM
All I know is that I'm 3-2 while using him on Madden 2010 (ok, I restarted one of those games) :tongue1:.

He should be fine; the game plan will obviously play a pivotal role.

Steelerfreak58
06-01-2010, 11:10 AM
As long as they play the running game and they run to throw I think it will work out great. Wallace and him just need to work on hooking up long and deep and it will be a good combo if the running game is drawing in the secondary.

stlrtruck
06-01-2010, 01:53 PM
I think Lefty can carry the torch for 4 games. But I think Dixon would do just as well.

Steelerfreak58
06-01-2010, 03:03 PM
I think Lefty can carry the torch for 4 games. But I think Dixon would do just as well.

I think Dixon really should have been given the shot at running the show. Lefty has a strong arm but he didn't get much done in Jacksonville and was beaten by Gerrard for the spot. As long at they can go 4,5,or 6-0 I don't care who is running the show. ;)

KeiselPower99
06-01-2010, 06:25 PM
More faith in him then Batch.

SteelMember
06-01-2010, 07:51 PM
Over Batch... no question.

Over Dixon... I'll need some convincing. not necessarily wins, but good performances.

He's had his share of low points. I just hope his good luck in the burgh continues. :hope:

TatarMongol
06-01-2010, 08:22 PM
heck yeah. i'm about 2 buy Leftwich's McFarlane figure & ask Allstar 2 change his uni into the Steelers away jersey.

deweybeachde
06-01-2010, 08:49 PM
I think Leftwich will get us through the first month and a half. If not Dixon can step up.
Ben should be sufficiently motivated by then and realize that you can't take anything for granted

Canadian Steeler Nation
06-01-2010, 08:56 PM
Byron still has some left to give, but anyone of the backups is gonna have to lean on a good running game to be successful.