Serious question If Rudolph keeps struggling, do we dare play Devlin Hodges?

[fansince'76]

Once again, Rudolph is simply not playing poorly enough to get benched. Sorry.

[tube517]

Once again, Rudolph is simply not playing poorly enough to get benched. Sorry.

Agreed.

[cubanstogie]

there are plenty of scenarios that could play out with Rudolph, my favorite is every game like last night and next year Ben is back up. Before anyone gets too excited, I realize that those were the Bengals last night and the next 4 weeks will be a huge test for this team. I did laugh when Booger said he had a big arm and could make all throws last night. Not according to Steelers Universe Booger.

[Born2Steel]

We know who does have the big arm and CAN make all the throws.

[Squeegee Thompson]

Mason did what the staff wanted him to do: Manage the game, don't make any mistakes and let the defense win it for you.

Mission accomplished. 24/28, 229 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT. Not only no turnovers, but I saw only two plays that even looked remotely risky: The back-shoulder underthrow to Vannett and the long TD to Johnson. The edge rusher very nearly got there, and would've had Vannett not redirected him at the last second (in what looked like a hold he got away with).

I think as his confidence grows, the coaches will draw up more shots, and he'll start taking more risks. Everybody seems to forget what Ben's first few years looked like: Never more that 25 attempts per game, he had the label 'game manager and nothing more' draped around him until he won the SB. Early Ben was not later Ben, there were no 35, 40+ attempts per game like these last few years. Mason can grow into that role of 'gunslinger' as well with confidence and experience.

[Mojouw]

The most impressive part about Rudolph's performance last night was the vast improvement in ball placement. He was missing high previously (INT to Moncrief and hospital ball to Vance). Last night, he was leading his receivers to open field. If they start trusting him to do that, it will really open up the offense. That is kinda what we see in offenses like what Mason ran in college. The receivers are taught to follow the ball to the open space.

The pass to Conner for the TD took him to the space down the boundary. If you watch (or at least I have convinced myself of this) the long throw to DJ - you see that DJ only had to slow and jump because he flattened out his route to the sideline. Mason, I strongly believe, was trying to lead him upfield toward the pylon. Likely, DJ, having never seen this at Toledo -- just assumed it was a bad throw!

[steel striker]

No way you play Hodges and, I think Mason will be fine. They need to take the handcuffs off of him and, let him throw the ball down the field!

[GoSlash27]

No way you play Hodges and, I think Mason will be fine. They need to take the handcuffs off of him and, let him throw the ball down the field!

They're opening it up little by little. They let him do some hurry-up this week. Maybe next week he'll get some rpo or audibles.

[DesertSteel]

The most impressive part about Rudolph's performance last night was the vast improvement in ball placement. He was missing high previously (INT to Moncrief and hospital ball to Vance). Last night, he was leading his receivers to open field. If they start trusting him to do that, it will really open up the offense. That is kinda what we see in offenses like what Mason ran in college. The receivers are taught to follow the ball to the open space.

The pass to Conner for the TD took him to the space down the boundary. If you watch (or at least I have convinced myself of this) the long throw to DJ - you see that DJ only had to slow and jump because he flattened out his route to the sideline. Mason, I strongly believe, was trying to lead him upfield toward the pylon. Likely, DJ, having never seen this at Toledo -- just assumed it was a bad throw!

I agree on the pass to DJ. It was perfect. There was no reason for him to jump. Just keep running under the ball. It reminded me of that pass from Ben to Washington last year when he jumped for no reason. I’m just glad he caught it and kept his balance to run it in.

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

I agree on the pass to DJ. It was perfect. There was no reason for him to jump. Just keep running under the ball. It reminded me of that pass from Ben to Washington last year when he jumped for no reason. I’m just glad he caught it and kept his balance to run it in.

Johnson was so wide open bet Rudolph couldn't wait to throw it and thought he was practicing against the Steelers D.

[Squeegee Thompson]

The most impressive part about Rudolph's performance last night was the vast improvement in ball placement. He was missing high previously (INT to Moncrief and hospital ball to Vance). Last night, he was leading his receivers to open field. If they start trusting him to do that, it will really open up the offense. That is kinda what we see in offenses like what Mason ran in college. The receivers are taught to follow the ball to the open space.

Mostly true. I recall one hospital ball where he led JuJu out in the left flat right into a hard-closing corner. It was the only 'rookie' looking mistake I saw him make last night. I recall that after this play, JuJu was on the sideline trying to get his life together for a little bit. I'm sure Mason's already reviewed that mistake in order to not make it again.

[DesertSteel]

Johnson was so wide open bet Rudolph couldn't wait to throw it and thought he was practicing against the Steelers D.

I'm used to seeing those plays against the Steelers' secondary.

[Mojouw]

Mostly true. I recall one hospital ball where he led JuJu out in the left flat right into a hard-closing corner. It was the only 'rookie' looking mistake I saw him make last night. I recall that after this play, JuJu was on the sideline trying to get his life together for a little bit. I'm sure Mason's already reviewed that mistake in order to not make it again.

You are right on that one. Rudolph needed to get that ball out way quicker. It should've been in Juju's facemask when he turned around.

[Edman]

Mason did what the staff wanted him to do: Manage the game, don't make any mistakes and let the defense win it for you.

Mission accomplished. 24/28, 229 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT. Not only no turnovers, but I saw only two plays that even looked remotely risky: The back-shoulder underthrow to Vannett and the long TD to Johnson. The edge rusher very nearly got there, and would've had Vannett not redirected him at the last second (in what looked like a hold he got away with).

I think as his confidence grows, the coaches will draw up more shots, and he'll start taking more risks. Everybody seems to forget what Ben's first few years looked like: Never more that 25 attempts per game, he had the label 'game manager and nothing more' draped around him until he won the SB. Early Ben was not later Ben, there were no 35, 40+ attempts per game like these last few years. Mason can grow into that role of 'gunslinger' as well with confidence and experience.

I think the Steelers are perfectly content and are better off going forward with Brady-Lite. Mason is an entirely different beast from Ben and doesnt have the raw physical talent to go gunslinger. That is totally out of his element. Mason is far more cerebral. Ben was a game manager in his earlier days because he had Cowher and a outstanding defense and running game to compliment him, not to mention a trio of solid receivers to throw to. Ben really didn't need to do too much. Ben was free to be "released" because he had the talent to do it. Pat Mahomes was unleashed early because his talent was just off the charts, and as you can see, he can get away with a lot of Quarterback no-nos (throwing off back foot, throwing into triple coverage) because he's just that good.

These Steelers have nowhere near the same level of all-around talent as the 2004/5 Steelers, which is why Mason is being asked to do a little more than 2004 Ben. Mason is not a gunslinger, and to try to turn him into one will really disservice his potential to me. Mason is an extremely hard worker, attention to detail preparation guy, which is why it seems he's so calm and confident, and why with a full week of reps, he took off Monday Night. That's how hard he works. He knows what he's doing. Compared to Ben who would just wing it week after week on his talent alone (Not completely unfounded).

Let Rudy continue to dink and dunk and do his thing. If it is getting the team wins, go for it.

[Edman]

The most impressive part about Rudolph's performance last night was the vast improvement in ball placement. He was missing high previously (INT to Moncrief and hospital ball to Vance). Last night, he was leading his receivers to open field. If they start trusting him to do that, it will really open up the offense. That is kinda what we see in offenses like what Mason ran in college. The receivers are taught to follow the ball to the open space.

The pass to Conner for the TD took him to the space down the boundary. If you watch (or at least I have convinced myself of this) the long throw to DJ - you see that DJ only had to slow and jump because he flattened out his route to the sideline. Mason, I strongly believe, was trying to lead him upfield toward the pylon. Likely, DJ, having never seen this at Toledo -- just assumed it was a bad throw!

I give more credit to Randy Fichtner for that play. That play to me shows that the Steelers Offense changed.

Diontae Johnson didn't suddenly transform into Antonio Brown overnight and beat his guy. That play was SCHEMED to get him wide open. He was the only Steelers receiver to even go remotely deep. All he had to do was run the route and the ball was going to get there. He just needed to catch it. This is the big difference in my eyes between Ben and Mason.

New England does this all the time with Chris Hogan and their guys. No Superstar receivers at all, but they always seem to be open because the routes get them open, and the quarterback has to get it there.

[Edman]

Wish granted.

[CV1]

Wish granted.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Fire Goodell]

Hodges looks good, probably a W if juju doesn't fumble

[86WARD]

But he really hasn’t “struggled”.

[stillers4me]

Hodges looks good, probably a W if juju doesn't fumble

Probably a win if the refs actually knew what roughing the passer looks like.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[Edman]

Probably a win if the Steelers had actual coaching.

[st33lersguy]

I was impressed with Hodges in the preseason as he possessed qualities that could translate well to regular season games. I was impressed with what I saw here as well

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

Yep been a Hodges supporter all preseason and he did well. So did Rudolph before the injury.

[Born2Steel]

Probably a win if the refs actually knew what roughing the passer looks like.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Probably a win if Ben were healthy too.

[pczach]

Probably a win if the Steelers had actual coaching.

I posted this in another thread, but I guess you need to hear it in this thread too:

"The team is playing with its third-string QB.

They only have a running back as an emergency QB if there is an injury to him.

The defense was dominating more and more as the game went on.

They had already intercepted 3 of Jackson's passes on the day, and held him to 19/28 for 161 yards 1 TD 3 INT with a rating of 54.9.

I understand people wanting to get the ball first, but I agreed with the call in real time while watching the game. Tomlin's logic made sense. He didn't want to put everything on his undrafted rookie quarterback and decided to lean on a defense that was controlling the game. That is completely understandable and logical.

McDonald was on the sideline banged up at the end of regulation. James Washington was ruled out for the rest of the game.

If fans can't see all of that, and want to scream into the wind, I don't know what to tell people. They are entitled to their opinion, but even when the results say the coach was exactly right in what he did....they say it was a lucky move and that he was wrong.

Once again, they try to make everything fit the narrative they have created. Mike Tomlin sucks, so his decision had to be wrong. Even though he's coaching a team with a third-string quarterback and a bunch of injuries that outplayed a division rival and a team everyone who hates Tomlin says is far better than them. Yet even knowing that, they still insist that Tomlin sucks and all his decisions are wrong.

You can't make this shit up."

[stillers4me]

I posted this in another thread, but I guess you need to hear it in this thread too:

"The team is playing with its third-string QB.

They only have a running back as an emergency QB if there is an injury to him.

The defense was dominating more and more as the game went on.

They had already intercepted 3 of Jackson's passes on the day, and held him to 19/28 for 161 yards 1 TD 3 INT with a rating of 54.9.

I understand people wanting to get the ball first, but I agreed with the call in real time while watching the game. Tomlin's logic made sense. He didn't want to put everything on his undrafted rookie quarterback and decided to lean on a defense that was controlling the game. That is completely understandable and logical.

McDonald was on the sideline banged up at the end of regulation. James Washington was ruled out for the rest of the game.

If fans can't see all of that, and want to scream into the wind, I don't know what to tell people. They are entitled to their opinion, but even when the results say the coach was exactly right in what he did....they say it was a lucky move and that he was wrong.

Once again, they try to make everything fit the narrative they have created. Mike Tomlin sucks, so his decision had to be wrong. Even though he's coaching a team with a third-string quarterback and a bunch of injuries that outplayed a division rival and a team everyone who hates Tomlin says is far better than them. Yet even knowing that, they still insist that Tomlin sucks and all his decisions are wrong.

You can't make this shit up."

Another ding ding ding!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[86WARD]

I posted this in another thread, but I guess you need to hear it in this thread too:

"The team is playing with its third-string QB.

They only have a running back as an emergency QB if there is an injury to him.

The defense was dominating more and more as the game went on.

They had already intercepted 3 of Jackson's passes on the day, and held him to 19/28 for 161 yards 1 TD 3 INT with a rating of 54.9.

I understand people wanting to get the ball first, but I agreed with the call in real time while watching the game. Tomlin's logic made sense. He didn't want to put everything on his undrafted rookie quarterback and decided to lean on a defense that was controlling the game. That is completely understandable and logical.

McDonald was on the sideline banged up at the end of regulation. James Washington was ruled out for the rest of the game.

If fans can't see all of that, and want to scream into the wind, I don't know what to tell people. They are entitled to their opinion, but even when the results say the coach was exactly right in what he did....they say it was a lucky move and that he was wrong.

Once again, they try to make everything fit the narrative they have created. Mike Tomlin sucks, so his decision had to be wrong. Even though he's coaching a team with a third-string quarterback and a bunch of injuries that outplayed a division rival and a team everyone who hates Tomlin says is far better than them. Yet even knowing that, they still insist that Tomlin sucks and all his decisions are wrong.

You can't make this shit up."

Tomlin made a brilliant coaching decision and he's a buffoon. If Belichick makes that decision, Tomlin is a buffoon because he's not Belichick.
T

[Craic]

But he really hasn’t “struggled”.

No, he hasn't. Well, I'd say he struggled a bit today when he started putting the ball downfield. But again, that's part of the progression into becoming an NFL QB. The story of today, however, is Hodges. As others have said, I don't know if he's an NFL starter, but he sure is an NFL backup.

[Six Rings]

I took a beating in this thread. I still think Hodges is better. Rudolph has a very low ability level. He plays it safe. Rookie QB's and second year QB's are better than he is.

Hodges throws down the field. He has a stronger arm. He moves better, and he's more accurate. While he might be turnover prone, the WR's will produce better with him and I think the running backs will have more room to run with him under center.

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

I took a beating in this thread. I still think Hodges is better. Rudolph has a very low ability level. He plays it safe. Rookie QB's and second year QB's are better than he is.

Hodges throws down the field. He has a stronger arm. He moves better, and he's more accurate. While he might be turnover prone, the WR's will produce better with him and I think the running backs will have more room to run with him under center.

Don't feel bad and me and a few other Hodges supporters got laughed at for two months and specially after he didn't make the 53 roster. Also their argument was who cares about a undrafted rookie that won't even be in the NFl in a month. Most of them didn't even take the time to watch him in preseason.

My argument was you can never have enough good players on the team. It's two early to tell for me who is better Rudolph or Hodges but like them both. Both could be NFL starters down the road. If Ben does comeback you maybe could get a fairly high pick for one of them. Also not a bad idea hanging on to both cause Ben isn't going to be around for long.