Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH
Right about now, Ben Roethlisberger’s suspension must seem a whole lot longer to the Pittsburgh Steelers than it did when it was announced in April.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to trim Roethlisberger’s punishment from six to four games as early as this week, but the Steelers still won’t have their $102 million quarterback on the field for a game that counts until mid-October.
They must be wondering if it will take until then to find the clarity coach Mike Tomlin said he’s seeking at quarterback. So far, there’s been a lot of confusion and consternation about the quarterback play, but very little clarity.
With only a single practice remaining before the final exhibition game Thursday against Carolina, there’s not much time for Tomlin to find it.
“It’s a process. Every step we take, there’s clarity,” Tomlin said Monday, only a few hours after returning from a Sunday night loss at Denver. “We continue to push forward toward that. I like the way the men are working.”
Even if this quarterback-by-committee system isn’t working exactly the way Tomlin envisioned when training camp started exactly a month ago.
For example:
Roethlisberger started the last two preseason games, including the all-important third game in which the starters play far longer than they do in the other games. While Tomlin is sending the message then the two-time Super Bowl winner is the starting quarterback, such a rotation appears to clash with his expressed goal of using training camp and the preseason to get ready for the start of the season.
That season starts Sept. 12 against Atlanta, not Oct. 17 against Cleveland, when Roethlisberger is expected to make his regular-season debut.
It has been evident since the Steelers traded for him in April that Byron Leftwich would be the starter when Roethlisberger is out, at least as long as he stays healthy. But Leftwich didn’t complete any of his four passes while playing with second-team players in the 34-17 loss at Denver, and he was hurried out of the game when the line proved incapable of handling the Broncos’ pass rush. Leftwich threw a long TD pass to Mike Wallace against the Giants on Aug. 21, but his nine completions are the third fewest of the four quarterbacks in camp.
Third-year quarterback Dennis Dixon is expected to be used mostly in specialty packages that take advantage of his running ability, yet he got more work with the starters in Denver than any other quarterback. After looking confident and polished against backups the previous two weeks, he threw two interceptions — one for a touchdown — and did little to show he should play ahead of Leftwich once the regular season starts.
“Rest assured there was enough error to go around for all of us,” Tomlin said, refusing to single out Dixon for his mistakes.
Charlie Batch has played less than any other quarterback, yet has looked sharper than any of the four except for Roethlisberger. The Steelers’ worry is Batch’s inability to stay healthy; he’s thrown only two passes since 2007.
Tomlin could use the Carolina game to get Leftwich valuable and much-needed time with the starters, but the front-line players customarily play only a series or two to avoid the risk of injury so close to the start of the season.
“We are going to play,” Tomlin said.
“We are not going to play as much as we did last [Sunday] night, but we are going to play.”
What Tomlin isn’t ready to say is who will play.
Or for how long.
Or when he expects Roethlisberger to be back.