Rudolph the bright armed QB

There is hope folks!

I have been saying for a couple of years Ben has not been that good and his ability to throw the deep ball has diminished, his accuracy has been very sporadic the last few years as well.

I think Rudolph is going to surprise a lot of people. He has the capabilty to lead this team to wins if he is allowed to. The question is will they allow him to win games or manage him and stifle his growth? The kid will make mistakes but he had a year to learn the system.

https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/9/17/20870153/mason-rudolph-ben-roethlisberger-pittsburgh-steelers-injury

SteelerFreak58 wrote:

The question is will they allow him to win games or manage him and stifle his growth?

Based on his first half of play, I think they're comfortable with him dropping back and throwing the ball. And a lot of the throws were downfield, not simple screens and dump-offs. So I'll be surprised if they handcuff him.

I think Rudolph is going to be the least of our worries. As long as they play Washington along side him we will see some dare I say (Ben to AB type plays). We'll get a better look on Sunday.

Steelers will gain a lot of Oklahoma State fans wanting to see more Rudolph to Washington touchdown passes.

anyway Ben got more interested in padding his passing stats then running the offense right.

if he can pull off 8 wins this year , i will call it a successful season.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

if he can pull off 8 wins this year , i will call it a successful season.

Is it too soon to start a Fire Rudolph thread?

This season is going to be an adventure now and I'm excited for it in a way I'm not used to.

Usually I'm expecting greatness from the Steelers.

This season, I don't know what to expect.

However, I do like how on his first play last week, he winked at the defense. He showed me nothing last week that says we need to handle him with kid gloves (Moncrief is already wearing them)

Wallace108 wrote:

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

if he can pull off 8 wins this year , i will call it a successful season.

Is it too soon to start a Fire Rudolph thread? [smiley]https://2img.net/u/3315/14/51/45/smiles/2087824411.gif[/smiley]

No, in fact it's getting kinda last for that thread!

I was able to catch some of his high school games and have been a fan ever since. His Rock Hill SC team came up to Charlotte to play against our Catholic High School team and Rudolph looked really good then. He had total command of his offense and made throws you don't see in high school football. Here's how good he was in high school: when he was on college, us coaches in the Charlotte Catholic system would hurry home after our Saturday middleschool games to watch that Rudolph kid at Oklahoma State.

These blowhards talking about the Steelers crazy confidence in Rudolph should watch a few games before sounding off. The Steelers know what they have.

kirklandrules wrote:

I was able to catch some of his high school games and have been a fan ever since. His Rock Hill SC team came up to Charlotte to play against our Catholic High School team and Rudolph looked really good then. He had total command of his offense and made throws you don't see in high school football.  Here's how good he was in high school: when he was on college,  us coaches in the Charlotte Catholic system would hurry home after our Saturday middleschool games to watch that Rudolph kid at Oklahoma State.

These blowhards talking about the Steelers crazy confidence in Rudolph should watch a few games before sounding off. The Steelers know what they have.

I watched his highlights throwing to Washington on YouTube right after we drafted them. I feel good about him being our starter and I think having both of them on the field together is a no-brainer.

That's why I can't watch ESPN. Everyone saying the trade for Fitzpatrick is crazy because of how good that pick will be.

This trade told me the front office believes in Rudolph and this team.

kirklandrules wrote:

I was able to catch some of his high school games and have been a fan ever since. His Rock Hill SC team came up to Charlotte to play against our Catholic High School team and Rudolph looked really good then. He had total command of his offense and made throws you don't see in high school football.  Here's how good he was in high school: when he was on college,  us coaches in the Charlotte Catholic system would hurry home after our Saturday middleschool games to watch that Rudolph kid at Oklahoma State.

These blowhards talking about the Steelers crazy confidence in Rudolph should watch a few games before sounding off. The Steelers know what they have.

my suspicion with rudolf is, why did he last until the 3rd round ? i know teams have a habit of over looking players , but they also get a few right. by those i mean players projected high that teams pass over a few times. if the steelers REALLY thought Rudy was a franchice QB , then why did they pass him over twice ? the answer is they thought he was too risky in the first two rounds. QB is probably the hardest position to predict right. i'd say only 1 out of every 50 drafted turns out to really be worth a shit. andrew luck was supposedly a cant miss QB. he was just ok. not a bust, serviceable ,but not a dan marino, joe montana , or peyton manning.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

kirklandrules wrote:

I was able to catch some of his high school games and have been a fan ever since. His Rock Hill SC team came up to Charlotte to play against our Catholic High School team and Rudolph looked really good then. He had total command of his offense and made throws you don't see in high school football.  Here's how good he was in high school: when he was on college,  us coaches in the Charlotte Catholic system would hurry home after our Saturday middleschool games to watch that Rudolph kid at Oklahoma State.

These blowhards talking about the Steelers crazy confidence in Rudolph should watch a few games before sounding off. The Steelers know what they have.

my suspicion with rudolf is, why did he last until the 3rd round ? i know teams have a habit of over looking players , but they also get a few right. by those i mean players projected high that teams pass over a few times. if the steelers REALLY thought Rudy was a franchice QB , then why did they pass him over twice ? the answer is they thought he was too risky in the first two rounds. QB is probably the hardest position to predict right. i'd say only 1 out of every 50 drafted turns out to really be worth a shit. andrew luck was supposedly a cant miss QB. he was just ok. not a bust, serviceable ,but not a dan marino, joe montana , or peyton manning.

All valid questions. Here's my take. Rudolph went in the 3rd because that's where the Steelers, who didn't need a QB, got him. They took Edmunds with their first that year because: he was good, it was their biggest need, they had a franchise QB, they just drafted a backup QB the year before, and they were trying to put together a team that would win immediately. They took Washington in the 2nd for pretty much the same reasons as above. So far, I'd say they were drafting correctly to that point knowing what they knew at that time.

The Steelers said they had a 1st round grade on him. I don't know why other teams did not have a 1st round grade on him, but he's like any player in the draft that's not taken in the top 10 ... some teams grade them high, others lower. Also, once the teams who were drafting for a starting QB got their's in the 1st round, demand went down. Obviously the Steelers thought highly of him because they moved up in the 3rd to get him when he was still sitting there. At the time, they were probably figuring Ben had 3 - 5 more years.

As for Luck, I think he was worth the pick the Colts spent on him. Probably not fair to compare him to the greatest QBs ever to play. Also, he had a few years where his defense was near the bottom of the league, his O-line was terrible, his coaching staff was a mess. And the injury bug got him good.

Why did every team in the NFL pass on Brady for 6 rounds? Hell, even the Patriots* didn't think highly of him.

I'm not saying Rudolph will be a HOFer. He may fall on his face. You don't really know until he proves himself. What I am saying is he has shown, even at a young age, a certain greatness in his play. Also, the Steelers didn't run out and get a veteran to take over the starting QB role. So they believe he's a starter. He looked pretty good for half the game against the Seahawks. I can't wait to see what he does this week. The talking head only think those names Mel Kiper spews out pre-draft are the true talents, I say bullshit.

Brady (whatever we think of him) was under valued when he came out. Who knew? No one. Will Rudolph end up as our future franchise QB. Who knows. I know I like what I've seen so far. I was around when Bradshaw hung em' up and I don't believe we'll see poor play from Rudolph. I also believe this injury/surgery will spell the end for Ben. I hate it because he has done a great job and thrilled us with his play for years but time catches up to all of us.
I'd love to see Rudolph have a year like Ben's rookie year. I'd love to see him lead us to the playoffs.I'm excited to see what he brings. At 0-2 we really don't have much to lose and everything to gain. I also hope everyone writing us off is the fuel turns this team around on both sides. We now have a DB (Fitzpatrick) who can catch and tackle. Nelson and Hayden are great outside and if we can limit plays in the middle of the field which IMHO is one of our biggest weaknesses on D we might just win some games.

in December is where I predict that Rudolph is really gonna shine...

If you watch Rudolph's college tape, combined with what little we've seen in the NFL thus far, it's pretty apparent this kid can make all the throws. He was extremely prolific at Oklahoma State and arguably should've been more strongly considered for the Heisman Trophy over the likes of Bryce Love, and Lamar Jackson. He finished 7th in Heisman Voting in 2017 despite having more passing yardage than Baker Mayfield (though he had less TDs, and more INTs) and far superior stats to Lamar Jackson who basically got voted as high as he did because he had won the Heisman the previous season.

Rudolph's arm talent reminds me a lot of Patrick Mahomes. Now I'm not saying he's Mahomes, not by a long shot. I don't think he has quite the same arm strength that Mahomes has, but Rudolph throws the ball very well and can make all of the throws you expect from an NFL quarterback.

I'm hoping Rudolph has a breakout season. He's got the intangibles, the talent, and the attitude. Now he just needs to show that he can hang with the big boys as a starter.

I think he has a stronger arm than Ben and being much younger he has fresh legs. I am not knocking Ben and wish him a speedy recovery. Having said that I feel like even if Ben were healthy I honestly believe Mason gives us a better chance to win now.At Ben's age the decline (if you are not afforded the extra protection in the form of the officials like Brady does) is steep. The 49ers pass rush is pretty good and fast. Let's see how the O-line protects him and how he does under pressure. I'm in.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

kirklandrules wrote:

I was able to catch some of his high school games and have been a fan ever since. His Rock Hill SC team came up to Charlotte to play against our Catholic High School team and Rudolph looked really good then. He had total command of his offense and made throws you don't see in high school football.  Here's how good he was in high school: when he was on college,  us coaches in the Charlotte Catholic system would hurry home after our Saturday middleschool games to watch that Rudolph kid at Oklahoma State.

These blowhards talking about the Steelers crazy confidence in Rudolph should watch a few games before sounding off. The Steelers know what they have.

my suspicion with rudolf is, why did he last until the 3rd round ? i know teams have a habit of over looking players , but they also get a few right. by those i mean players projected high that teams pass over a few times. if the steelers REALLY thought Rudy was a franchice QB , then why did they pass him over twice ? the answer is  they thought he was too risky in the first two rounds. QB is probably the hardest position to predict right. i'd say only 1 out of every 50 drafted turns out to really be worth a shit. andrew luck was supposedly a cant miss QB. he was just ok. not a bust, serviceable ,but not a dan marino, joe montana , or peyton manning.

Rudolph played in a system at Oklahoma State, a lot of people thought the Chiefs were reaching when they drafted Mahomes because he played in the QB friendly system at Texas Tech. QBs that come out of those pass happy, shotgun systems tend to put up a lot of stats and generally they struggle in the NFL more often than not. I think that's why the Steelers were hesitant on taking him earlier, but when they saw he was available in the 3rd they grabbed him.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

kirklandrules wrote:

I was able to catch some of his high school games and have been a fan ever since. His Rock Hill SC team came up to Charlotte to play against our Catholic High School team and Rudolph looked really good then. He had total command of his offense and made throws you don't see in high school football.  Here's how good he was in high school: when he was on college,  us coaches in the Charlotte Catholic system would hurry home after our Saturday middleschool games to watch that Rudolph kid at Oklahoma State.

These blowhards talking about the Steelers crazy confidence in Rudolph should watch a few games before sounding off. The Steelers know what they have.

my suspicion with rudolf is, why did he last until the 3rd round ? i know teams have a habit of over looking players , but they also get a few right. by those i mean players projected high that teams pass over a few times. if the steelers REALLY thought Rudy was a franchice QB , then why did they pass him over twice ? the answer is  they thought he was too risky in the first two rounds. QB is probably the hardest position to predict right. i'd say only 1 out of every 50 drafted turns out to really be worth a shit. andrew luck was supposedly a cant miss QB. he was just ok. not a bust, serviceable ,but not a dan marino, joe montana , or peyton manning.

Rudolph played in a system at Oklahoma State, a lot of people thought the Chiefs were reaching when they drafted Mahomes because he played in the QB friendly system at Texas Tech. QBs that come out of those pass happy, shotgun systems tend to put up a lot of stats and generally they struggle in the NFL more often than not. I think that's why the Steelers were hesitant on taking him earlier, but when they saw he was available in the 3rd they grabbed him.

Randy Fichtner has a QB friendly system;

He earned the position of wide receivers coach and recruiting director at Purdue in 1994, serving for two years before moving to Arkansas State to become the offensive coordinator from 1997–2001. Under Fichtner's tutelage, former CFL quarterback Cleo Lemon flourished, setting numerous school records for passing and total offense. Fichtner returned to Memphis in 2001 to serve as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, instituting a new, highly effective spread offense that set school records for total offense. The new system allowed the teams to amass prolific offensive statistics, totalling over 5,000 yards in both 2003 and 2004 to rank in the top ten for both yardage and scoring, as well as supporting the development of quarterback Danny Wimprine and running back DeAngelo Williams.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Fichtner

One more reason its Rudolphs time to shine and take command as the new QB for the Steelers. Ben has been done for the last few years. Here is to hoping the kid makes the most of his shot to take control and not look back.

Ben fatigue some true words from this guy... were we really going anywhere with 7 in his waining years?

https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2019/9/21/20876649/steelers-podcast-the-hope-is-mason-rudolph-plays-ben-roethlisberger-into-retirement-nfl-news

Wallace108 wrote:

SteelerFreak58 wrote:

The question is will they allow him to win games or manage him and stifle his growth?

Based on his first half of play, I think they're comfortable with him dropping back and throwing the ball. And a lot of the throws were downfield, not simple screens and dump-offs. So I'll be surprised if they handcuff him.

I stand corrected. They handcuffed him.

I understand their thinking (kind of) ... give him some easy throws to build his confidence and get in a flow. But it was bad thinking. What they did is constantly put him in 3rd and longs, which makes his job even harder.

After they took off the handcuffs in the second half ...

Mason Rudolph threw 6 passes more than 10 yards past the LOS against #49ers.

2 were completed for TDs and one other, while incomplete, drew a PI call. #Steelers

— Steelers Depot (@Steelersdepot) September 23, 2019

In the words of Strother Martin talking about Tomlin.

https://youtu.be/452XjnaHr1A

Now that we're 0-3 we need to let Mason go out there and play HIS game. In order for him to do that the line needs to actually block someone. We need a RB who can make people miss. You know like Connor started out last year.
We need 2 new TEs. Grimble is nothing more than a #3 and McDonald is an injury waiting to happen. He can't catch a thing in the blue tent.
I like what Minkah brings to the table but nothing has changed yet in that we're still getting toasted in the middle. Everyone we play knows short passes to the slot or TE are money against us. First half we knocked Garoppolo around like a pinball. Second half we couldn't find him with a drug sniffing dog if he had a pound of cocaine in his pocket.
All the talent we have and our coaching staff can't figure out a game plan to maximize talent while minimizing mistakes.
Next week Cincinnati. Always a tough game and they're defensive front is playing good. If the line doesn't get their heads out of their asses we'll be 0-4 after that game. I understand having a bad game but this is 3 in a row. Sarret is not getting the job done. I'd like to see what Samuels can do because Conner looks like a backup. The great RBs can pickup tough yards regardless of how their line is playing without fumbling at the worst possible time.
Mason only made one bad mistake on the int trying to force a ball just like Ben does. The rest of his subpar play falls on the game plan and the line playing like a bunch of scrubs IMHO. When he had time to get set he completed passes. I think he'll be fine if they open the playbook.
Let's look at the bright side. If we win our next 13 games we will probably make the playoffs. In order to do that we will have to "unleash hell" and remember that "the standard is the standard".
I'll be honest. If I were Art II I would tell Tomlin that there better be changes or I'll handle the next press conference and we'll be talking about you. I'd be calling Antonio Gates and offering him the starting TE job. He's probably up to 325 right now but even at 47 yrs old he'd be an upgrade.
Bottom line: You just played a team that gave up 5 turnovers. 5 turnovers and you still said NO THANK YOU! Calling this team pathetic would be gracious.