Do you have confidence in Byron Leftwich?

[polamalubeast]

[steelpride12]

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]

All he has to do is keep the ship floating until Ben gets back. A win by 1 point is still a win.

[Bluecoat96]

I think he'll be just fine.

[steelersfanman92]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

im confident that hes the best choice we have

[Moose]

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.

[Vincent]

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]

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.

[casteeler]

This would present the perfect situation for working Dixon into the offense, can't wait to see him in action again!

[LLT]

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.

[Steelerfreak58]

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.

[BPS3akaWirels3]

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]

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]

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]

Lefty is a lean, mean slinging machine.

[salamander]

I think we'll be just fine with Lefty in the driver's seat.

[SteelerFanInStl]

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]

I think he could surprise

[Hindes204]

I think he could surprise

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

[polamalubeast]

I hope that the media just will not make a QB controversy of whether he plays well when Roethlisberger will return!

[Wallace108]

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]

I would rather see DD play, but I believe Lefty can run the show until BB comes back.

[JayC]

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]

Yes. I'm pretty excited about him coming back and leading the team in Ben's absence.