The Pittsburgh Steelers season is probably over. No, it’s not just because Ben Roethlisberger is out of the season. It’s because Mason Rudolph isn’t the long term answer for the Steelers. In fact, I would go as far as to say that the Steelers were conned into ever thinking Rudolph could be their quarterback of the future. It’s going to get ugly fast before it gets pretty again in the Steel City.
It took one start for me to realize that Rudolph ain’t it. Yes, Rudolph beat the Bengals. Yes, Rudolph completed 24 of 28 attempts. The problem is, if you actually watch the games, you would know Rudolph is nothing more than a career backup.
Rudolph was a check down machine. That tells me the Steelers don’t trust him. This was a very winnable game against the Bengals. A team with a historically bad defense just a year ago. If Pittsburgh didn’t trust him to air it out against Cincinnati, that tells you that the coaching staff thinks this guy stinks.
How long will this last ^ highest percentage of yards after the catch? If Rudolph can’t throw the ball down the field, this team is SCREWED.
This isn’t anything different that I’ve been saying since Rudolph was drafted. He looks like a Bryce Petty clone to me. Never thought Rudolph was going to be a franchise quarterback. Thus far, he looks like the furthest thing from one. Pittsburgh has a rude awakening coming if they think Rudolph can take over for Big Ben past this season.
That’s where the issue arises. Why are you giving up first round picks after an 0-2 start where you lose your starting quarterback? I love Minkah Fitzpatrick but I hated that the Steelers were the team that pulled the trigger. If Rudolph keeps playing like this, season over. The only reason I’m not totally ruling them out is because the AFC North is without argument the worst division in football this year. When Roethlisberger retires, Rudolph can’t be the guy that takes over. End of story.
