Mason Rudolph

[86WARD]

I will be watching to see where the offense goes for "shot" plays. Ben took most of his big shots along the sideline or into the "hole" between the safety and the CB, again along the sideline. If Rudolph's arm is as suspect as some reports like to paint it as, then he would be better served to make his plays between the LB and Safety level over the middle of the field. I wonder if they shift the play-calls and design a bit to get Rudolph back to what he was doing in college by throwing deep down the middle or if the continue to look for big plays along the boundary?

McDonald

[Craic]

Rudolph can sling a deep shot going down the sideline. Anyone in the NFL can do that. It's the deep outs where people believe his arm strength is suspect. When throwing a deep out, You have to get the ball in there or its broken up, or worse, a pick six going the other way. Mason's accuracy isn't a issue (It's probably his greatest advantage). Can the ball get there in time before the defender can react thats the concerning thing. Mason is accurate, but his throws float like balloons.

Fichtner has to figure something out about Mason. Maybe anticipatory/timing passes to the outside perhaps, shortening the pass routes maybe.

Mason is a totally different beast from Ben. He has the same size, but has nowhere near the same physical gifts and traits. This is where I'm concerned that the Steelers' bullheaded approach that will cause this teams' demise.

Yep. That's my exact concern. Mason can probably throw the ball into a buck at 30 yards and he also seems to make up for arm strength in anticipation. Both of those are good things. The problem comes when the ball is in the air long enough for the defense to see it and then react to come get it. The only thing that stops that is getting the ball there faster than anyone else see, adjust, and then make a play.

That said, here's hoping he goes out tomorrow and lights up the score board.

[Edman]

Overall Solid job for Mason today. It was a tough out for him early for various reasons and got his "Welcome to the NFL" moment, but he showed poise and pulled it together, of course, once he was allowed to throw longer than five yards. A Conner fumble away from icing a huge win.

He got his first start out of the way. Not bad.

[BlackAndGold]

Rough start but Rudolph did well enough vs a tough 49ers defense.

[DesertSteel]

Rough start but Rudolph did well enough vs a tough 49ers defense.

I've seen Ben play worse.

I think my avatar my be like the Madden curse though...

[Fire Goodell]

Statistically his first start was a lot better than Ben's. Unfortunately we don't have the #1 defense or the Bus to pound defenses into submission 30+ times a game

Rudolph maybe can gain some confidence finally not going up against a top tier defense in the Bengals. Credit where it's due, SF probably has one of the best front sevens in the league.

[DesertSteel]

Statistically his first start was a lot better than Ben's. Unfortunately we don't have the #1 defense or the Bus to pound defenses into submission 30+ times a game

Better than Ben's first start and better than Ben's last start.

[Fire Goodell]

Looking at some old game logs, my god it seems so long ago lol. It wasn't uncommon for them to pass the ball 33% of the time. I missed that, I remember always saying "You can't let the Steelers run on you, if they have success with it they'll do it ALL game". And that they did.

The Chicago game where Bettis trucked Urlacher, Ben only passed it 20 times. Bettis with 17 rushes and Parker with 21. Kreider / Verron Haynes / Randle El chipped in for 6 more rushes. Today's offense couldn't be more opposite

[DesertSteel]

Yeah 17 for 22 passing was pretty common for wiz’s offense at that time.

[Shoes]

Tom Bradys first games. It took him 5 games to get things rolling, Mason has played one full game, he's going to be fine imo.


2000 season

Brady started the season as the fourth-string quarterback, behind starter Drew Bledsoe and backups John Friesz and Michael Bishop; by season's end, he was number two on the depth chart behind Bledsoe.^[117] During his rookie season, he was 1-for-3 passing, for six yards.^[118] Tight end Rod Rutledge caught Brady's first and only completed pass of the season in a 34–9 loss to the Detroit Lions on November 23.^[119][120]



2001 season

With Bledsoe as the starting quarterback, the Patriots opened the season with a 23–17 road loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.^[118] In their second game and home opener on September 23, the Patriots squared off against their AFC East rivals, the New York Jets. Bledsoe was again the starter; in the fourth quarter, he suffered internal bleeding after a hit from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis. Bledsoe returned for the next series, but was replaced with Brady for the Patriots' final series of the game. Brady completed five of ten passes for 46 yards, but New York held on to win, 10–3, and the Patriots fell to 0–2 on the season.^[121] Brady was named the starter for the season's third game, against the Indianapolis Colts. In his first two games as starter, Brady posted unspectacular passer ratings of 79.6 and 58.7, respectively, in a 44–13 victory over the Colts (in their last season in the AFC East) and a 30–10 loss to the Miami Dolphins.^{[122][123][124}

In the Patriots' fifth game, Brady began to find his stride. Trailing the visitingSan Diego Chargers 26–16 in the fourth quarter, he led the Patriots on two scoring drives to force overtime, and another in overtime to set up a winning field goal. Brady finished the game with 33 of 54, for 364 yards, and two touchdowns, and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career.^[125][126] The following week, Brady again played well during the rematch at Indianapolis, with a passer rating of 148.3 in a 38–17 win.^[127] The Patriots went on to win eleven of the fourteen games Brady started, and six straight to finish the regular season, winning the AFC East and entering the 2001–02 NFL playoffs with a first-round bye.^[128] In that stretch was a Week 11 34–17 victory over the New Orleans Saints where he was 19 of 26 for 258 passing yards and four touchdowns to earn his second AFC Offensive Player of the Week nod in 2001.^[129] In Week 15, against the Miami Dolphins, he recorded a 23-yard reception from Kevin Faulk on a trick play.^[130] Brady finished the 2001 season with 2,843 passing yards and 18 touchdowns and earned an invitation to the 2002 Pro Bowl.^[118][131]

[Craic]

Um, for everyone touting Rudolph's statistics, you do realize he only threw TWO receptions beyond the line of scrimmage, right? Look, like any other player, he need time to grow and understand the game at this level. But let's keep a little reality to the numbers here. Two receptions beyond the line of scrimmage and a 50 percent completion rate. Again, this was his first game as a starter and this year will be all about getting him experience so I expect mistakes.

But again, let's keep within the realm of reality here folks.

[j-d-s]

I think Rudolph played pretty good against the Niners. We probably would have won the game if Tomlin hadn't insisted on playing 1935-style football in the first half, being one-dimensional and mostly run plays or short passes. The deep ball clearly is a strength of Rudolph, but the Niners D had not to account for it for most of the game because Tomlin and Fichtner were too scared to let Rudolph air it out.

I mean, we had great field position due all that takeaways but still managed only two field goals off of these. Even if Rudolph just takes three shots to the endzone in these we have at least one TD and maybe one interception but it's still 7 points compared to 6....

[DesertSteel]

Um, for everyone touting Rudolph's statistics, you do realize he only threw TWO receptions beyond the line of scrimmage, right? Look, like any other player, he need time to grow and understand the game at this level. But let's keep a little reality to the numbers here. Two receptions beyond the line of scrimmage and a 50 percent completion rate. Again, this was his first game as a starter and this year will be all about getting him experience so I expect mistakes.

But again, let's keep within the realm of reality here folks.

I haven't seen anyone touting him. You also realize that he doesnt call the plays, right?

[Edman]

Um, for everyone touting Rudolph's statistics, you do realize he only threw TWO receptions beyond the line of scrimmage, right? Look, like any other player, he need time to grow and understand the game at this level. But let's keep a little reality to the numbers here. Two receptions beyond the line of scrimmage and a 50 percent completion rate. Again, this was his first game as a starter and this year will be all about getting him experience so I expect mistakes.

But again, let's keep within the realm of reality here folks.

No one is touting him. We’re just saying he didn’t do too bad for his first real NFL action. He gave the Steelers a chance to win, and nearly did it against a stout 49er team. That’s more than what we could’ve asked for from him for his first start. Could he have done better? Yes. But the bottom line is the Steelers had a chance to win a major upset. Conner effectively ruined everything.

Mason took the blame for the loss.

Rudy is going to be fine.

[86WARD]

Um, for everyone touting Rudolph's statistics, you do realize he only threw TWO receptions beyond the line of scrimmage, right? Look, like any other player, he need time to grow and understand the game at this level. But let's keep a little reality to the numbers here. Two receptions beyond the line of scrimmage and a 50 percent completion rate. Again, this was his first game as a starter and this year will be all about getting him experience so I expect mistakes.

But again, let's keep within the realm of reality here folks.

By design or chaeck down? I tend to think a little of both but mostly by design.

[Squeegee Thompson]

By design or chaeck down? I tend to think a little of both but mostly by design.

Or by situation as it unfolded. Both OTs were human turnstiles on Sunday. The pass rush was getting to Mason about the same time as the football was.

[SteelersNorth]

No one is touting him. We’re just saying he didn’t do too bad for his first real NFL action. He gave the Steelers a chance to win, and nearly did it against a stout 49er team. That’s more than what we could’ve asked for from him for his first start. Could he have done better? Yes. But the bottom line is the Steelers had a chance to win a major upset. Conner effectively ruined everything.

Mason took the blame for the loss.

Rudy is going to be fine.

You mean the defense gave him a chance with 5 turnovers.
Yes I know they gave 2 back that's still a plus 3 in extra possessions he did nothing with basically.
Not saying he can't improve but he has to do more

[GoSlash27]

You mean the defense gave him a chance with 5 turnovers.
Yes I know they gave 2 back that's still a plus 3 in extra possessions he did nothing with basically.
Not saying he can't improve but he has to do more

Well, he can only do what he's allowed to do. They'll open up the playbook as they gain confidence in him. He made a lot of progress in this first start, going from 3 and outs to 3rd down conversions to sustained drives. I'm sure our offense will become more productive as the season progresses, but defenses will also get more film to study.

[86WARD]

Just a thought but what if it’s just a case of the rest of the league not letting poor Rudolph win any NFL games?

[pczach]

Just a thought but what if it’s just a case of the rest of the league not letting poor Rudolph win any NFL games?

….......then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say......

[86WARD]

….......then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say......

Maybe he’d excel in a game like the fog bowl?

[DesertSteel]

Cant you just re-purpose your old Dennis Dixon jersey? Or, were you a Brian St. Pierre guy?

Strangely enough, I never got a Dixon jersey... what was I thinking??

[Craic]

Just a thought but what if it’s just a case of the rest of the league not letting poor Rudolph win any NFL games?

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

Strangely enough, I never got a Dixon jersey... what was I thinking??

I'm getting my Willie Parker jersey back out thanks to Minkah and will put masking tape over Parker. Ps. I refuse to support the NFL and buy any of their merchandise so this will work.

[43Hitman]

I'm getting my Willie Parker jersey back out thanks to Minkah and will put masking tape over Parker. Ps. I refuse to support the NFL and buy any of their merchandise so this will work.

http://www.thenamechanger.com/about.html

Just do this. I'm changing my Bell jersey to a Woodson jersey.

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

http://www.thenamechanger.com/about.html

Just do this. I'm changing my Bell jersey to a Woodson jersey.

Haha and cool and thanks for the link! Ps. Bell will never be a HOF like Woodson so good call!

[DesertSteel]

There’s so much negativity about Rudolph’s potential in these threads. I don’t think anyone on here knows who has what it takes to be a great quarterback. For that matter, there’s very few NFL HC’s or GM’s that know. Guys like Minshew and Allen are showing they have what it takes. There’s first round busts at the position every year. I’ll form my opinion on MR a little more after tonight but all these negative takes really mean nothing.

[Squeegee Thompson]

There’s so much negativity about Rudolph’s potential in these threads. I don’t think anyone on here knows who has what it takes to be a great quarterback. For that matter, there’s very few NFL HC’s or GM’s that know. Guys like Minshew and Allen are showing they have what it takes. There’s first round busts at the position every year. I’ll form my opinion on MR a little more after tonight but all these negative takes really mean nothing.

Maybe for Rudolph to be successful, he needs to start rocking a lip-worm like Gardner Fumanchu II.

[Fire Goodell]

Gardener Minshew, some 6th round QB who quickly becomes a savior... hmm, sounds familiar

[Mojouw]

Gardener Minshew, some 6th round QB who quickly becomes a savior... hmm, sounds familiar

Looking at these two scouting reports, I would actually have thought Minshew was the better prospect!

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/gardne...8-dcddea9bb1f6
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/mason-...e-28502c0847e4