Mason Rudolph

I like what I saw last night in our new starting quarterback. So much so I think he should keep the job PERMANENTLY.

Who thinks Ben has lost his job and who thinks this is just a temporary gig until Ben returns next season...if he does...

been saying Mason is Ben's replacement when the Steelers drafted him and Ben knew it. if ben want to stick with the team he better become a QB Coach because the Steelers can't afford a 30 million a year back up.

Been saying Ben has lost his skills over the last two years. His accuracy is erratic and his ability to get the long ball down field has diminished. He got his passing stats up last year because the team was playing from behind in so many games he had to throw the ball to try to win and we ended up not making the play offs.

I believe if they take the leash off and let Rudolph throw he will show Steelers fans all they need to see to know that he is your future QB. Besides the O-Line we have an EXTREMELY young group of kids on offense Juju, Washington, Johnson, Connor, Samuels, Snell. They have to learn to play together and trust eachother. If Fitchner allows Rudolph to throw and sees where the kids arm can take them I think its going to shock a lot of people. The kid has a gun for an arm and he can get it to the young speeders deep down field and in stride. The Coaches need to develop that and pretty quickly.

I think it's far too soon to know. Ben's future with the team depends on Rudolph's performance this year. We haven't learned a whole lot about Rudolph from his first two starts.

I think next weeks game will be a true test for Mason. The Ravens D is good and I don't think Fitchner can use the same game plan against them.The Browns running on them was a fluke. Mason is going to have to throw the ball down the field and I think he'll rise to the occasion. As far as "crowning his ass" I think we better hold back until the season is over. If we make the playoffs he will be the man but if we are inconsistent this season Ben will at the very least compete next year.

I think it's too early to know. I remember they started Ben in a similar "game manager" way but maybe not quite to the extent of the short passing we saw last night. If Rudolph blows them away this year and proves he is the starter it's hard to think of them just letting Ben go. Obviously he isn't going to be a back up, but it just seems hard to believe he'd be replaced that way.

This season really is about getting Mason and the young offensive players developed into the players for the future. Next year's draft isn't going to bring many players the team can be built around.

Wallace108 wrote:

I think it's far too soon to know. Ben's future with the team depends on Rudolph's performance this year. We haven't learned a whole lot about Rudolph from his first two starts.

awww c'mon wally. he has thrown at least 50 passes for 400yds.....what more do you need to see ? he is the next tom brady ....

In Ben's mind he is coming back....

Quote :

Ron Cook: Ben Roethlisberger expounds on his injury, Mason Rudolph and sitting out

Mason Rudolph received the ultimate endorsement after leading the Steelers by the Cincinnati Bengals for his first win as an NFL starting quarterback.

“I thought he was awesome,” Ben Roethlisberger said. “He didn’t just manage the game. He went out and won the game.”

This was late Monday night after the Steelers trashed the Bengals, 27-3. Roethlisberger stopped on his way out of Heinz Field and made his first public comments since his elbow injury against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 15. He spoke not just about Rudolph, but about the team moving forward without him, his surgery in Los Angeles Sept. 23 and his hope to return in 2020 for his 17th NFL season.

“Absolutely, I plan on playing again,” Roethlisberger said. “That’s my absolute goal. That’s why we did the surgery. The reason we did it and did it so soon is because I want to come back. I don’t have any doubts in my head about that. If you have doubts, then you’ve already lost. It’s going to be a long road, but I’m excited for the opportunity to show I can do it.

“I want to go out on my own terms. No one wants to leave on an injury they can’t control.”

Roethlisberger wouldn’t discuss the specifics of his surgery, performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, a Mt. Pleasant native and close friend of Steelers orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jim Bradley. “That’s the one thing I don’t think I can tell you at this point.” But Roethlisberger did say he is planning on being back at 100 percent for the team’s OTAs in May, minicamp in June and the start of training camp in July. That means he didn’t have dreaded Tommy John surgery, which normally takes a year or more for full recovery.

“It’s going to be up to the doctors and how [the elbow] responds,” Roethlisberger said. “But I’m very optimistic.”

Rudolph said Roethlisberger complained of elbow pain after the Steelers’ first game against the New England Patriots* on Sept. 8. Roethlisberger shrugged and said there is going to be some discomfort when you throw the ball thousands of times as he has done during his long career. He said he noticed more pain than usual at the start of the final drive of the second quarter against the Seahawks. He grabbed his elbow after completing a 15-yard pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster to the left side of the field, then again with more emotion after an incompletion deep for Smith-Schuster to the right in the end zone. He threw two more short passes during that drive before calling it a day and, as it turned out, a season.

“The long one to JuJu, it really hurt,” Roethlisberger said. “I went to the sideline and Doc [Bradley] said, ‘I can’t let you go back out there. I’ve never seen you act like this. You usually can deal with things. I don’t know what it is so I can’t afford to let you go back out there.’ It’s a good thing he didn’t.”

Roethlisberger watched the second half of the Seattle game from the sideline and saw Rudolph throw two touchdown passes in a 28-26 loss. He was back on the sideline Monday night — his right elbow in a cast — and saw Rudolph complete 24 of 28 passes for 229 yards, two touchdowns and a 124.6 passer rating.

“He did everything they asked him to do,” Roethlisberger said of Rudolph. “He made plays. He made big plays when we needed him to. He took a check-down when we needed him to. He threw deep when we needed him to. He even lined up at wide receiver [in the wildcat formation] when we needed him to. He did a lot more than just manage the game. …

“I tried to help him. I told him before the game, ‘I’ll do as much or as little as you want. I’m here.’ We talked during the game. He grabbed me when we came into the locker room after the game and told me, ‘Thanks for your help. I appreciate you being there.’ I just told him, ‘Any way I can help.’ I don’t want to do too much if he doesn’t want me to, but I’ll do as much as he wants.”

The elbow injury was the first major injury of Roethlisberger’s Hall of Fame-caliber career. There never is a good time for a player to get hurt, but the timing for him early this season seemed especially rough. He was looking forward to showing he could help the Steelers get back to the playoffs after missing last season. He wanted to show he could help the team win without Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell.

Last few lines of the article here: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/ron-cook/2019/10/01/pittsburgh-steelers-ben-roethlisberger-injury-mason-rudolph-monday-night-football/stories/201910020054

what I like about the Steelers offense with Rudolph is how fast the ball gets out and the way their using the short passing game. using the short passing game to work the ball down field setting up the long ball. calling the long ball all the time and having Rudolph standing back there like a target no way don't want to see that.

Still haven't seen anywhere near enough from Rudolph to suggest he should be Ben's replacement from here on out. They were definitely managing him last night, they manufactured some offense by running some plays out of wildcat formations. They weren't asking a lot of Rudolph. The majority of his passes were short passes to the RBs, and his longest passes were to his TE, and one long bomb to a wide open Diontae Johnson that went for 43yds and a touchdown.

I want to see Mason surveying the field, progressing through his reads, and hitting those intermediate range throws with consistency. It was very much apparent to me in the Bengals game that he was being managed and they were giving him a lot of short easy throws and a lot of Checkdown Charlie kind of stuff. That's fine so long as it's working, but some teams are going to take that away and force Mason to have to make tougher decisions.

So I'm not ready to anoint him Ben's replacement just yet. If Ben were healthy right now, I'd want Ben under center.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Still haven't seen anywhere near enough from Rudolph to suggest he should be Ben's replacement from here on out. They were definitely managing him last night, they manufactured some offense by running some plays out of wildcat formations. They weren't asking a lot of Rudolph. The majority of his passes were short passes to the RBs, and his longest passes were to his TE, and one long bomb to a wide open Diontae Johnson that went for 43yds and a touchdown.

I want to see Mason surveying the field, progressing through his reads, and hitting those intermediate range throws with consistency. It was very much apparent to me in the Bengals game that he was being managed and they were giving him a lot of short easy throws and a lot of Checkdown Charlie kind of stuff. That's fine so long as it's working, but some teams are going to take that away and force Mason to have to make tougher decisions.

So I'm not ready to anoint him Ben's replacement just yet. If Ben were healthy right now, I'd want Ben under center.  

I agree it's too soon to anoint him as our QB of the future. I think Sunday will be his first big test where he will have to make some difficult throws. Even then he still has to prove he can do it week in and week out.
The one thing that stands out to me is his willingness to follow the game plan. Ben has had the luxury of telling his OC what the game plan should be and I'm not sure that has always worked out the best. If Fitchner designs plans that play to Mason's strengths I believe he can be our future but I for one won't get too excited just yet.
Just like what has been said about losing 3 straight to open the season and that it's not time to go into panic mode yet. I don't think we should go all SUPERBOWL over just one win. Especially when the offensive game plan was at the very best the "lite version".

I've seen enough that Ben needs replaced.

Any one here really think Ben has what it takes to come roaring back from an arm injury at 38 and lead this team to a SB? That is a really optimistic/unrealistic outlook. Bens best years are behind him not in front of him. He has taken a beating compared to guys like Brady and Breeze we all know that. I love his competitive fire but time catches up with all of us at some point.

We have to find out if MR has what it takes to lead this team into the next decade. If not now when? Lets say the kid goes 9-7 or 8-8 then what should we do? Sit Rudolph for another Season behind Ben so he can watch? What if they did that back in 04 with Ben you all know that team went 15-1 because we had the best defense to hit a field and all of his games were "managed" his numbers were reduculously low.

SteelerFreak58 wrote:

Any one here really think Ben has what it takes to come roaring back from an arm injury at 38 and lead this team to a SB? That is a really optimistic/unrealistic outlook. Bens best years are behind him not in front of him. He has taken a beating compared to guys like Brady and Breeze we all know that. I love his competitive fire but time catches up with all of us at some point.

We have to find out if MR has what it takes to lead this team into the next decade. If not now when? Lets say the kid goes 9-7 or 8-8 then what should we do? Sit Rudolph for another Season behind Ben so he can watch? What if they did that back in 04 with Ben you all know that team went 15-1 because we had the best defense to hit a field and all of his games were "managed" his numbers were reduculously low.

Honestly I put Ben's chances at a little better than Ryan Shazier. I think the FO will push him out the door just like they did with Troy.Contract or no contract. But before that can happen Mason has to prove himself and the way to do that is to LET HIM THROW THE DAMN BALL! I did that because now I can say I was screaming this back in early Oct.

solardave wrote:

SteelerFreak58 wrote:

Any one here really think Ben has what it takes to come roaring back from an arm injury at 38 and lead this team to a SB? That is a really optimistic/unrealistic outlook. Bens best years are behind him not in front of him. He has taken a beating compared to guys like Brady and Breeze we all know that. I love his competitive fire but time catches up with all of us at some point.

We have to find out if MR has what it takes to lead this team into the next decade. If not now when? Lets say the kid goes 9-7 or 8-8 then what should we do? Sit Rudolph for another Season behind Ben so he can watch? What if they did that back in 04 with Ben you all know that team went 15-1 because we had the best defense to hit a field and all of his games were "managed" his numbers were reduculously low.

Honestly I put Ben's chances at a little better than Ryan Shazier. I think the FO will push him out the door just like they did with Troy.Contract or no contract. But before that can happen Mason has to prove himself and the way to do that is to LET HIM THROW THE DAMN BALL! I did that because now I can say I was screaming this back in early Oct.

Its a good time to go gracefully into the sunset. No one would blame him for not coming back after the injury. He's given us a lot of good years.

SteelerFreak58 wrote:

Any one here really think Ben has what it takes to come roaring back from an arm injury at 38 and lead this team to a SB? That is a really optimistic/unrealistic outlook. Bens best years are behind him not in front of him. He has taken a beating compared to guys like Brady and Breeze we all know that. I love his competitive fire but time catches up with all of us at some point.

We have to find out if MR has what it takes to lead this team into the next decade. If not now when? Lets say the kid goes 9-7 or 8-8 then what should we do? Sit Rudolph for another Season behind Ben so he can watch? What if they did that back in 04 with Ben you all know that team went 15-1 because we had the best defense to hit a field and all of his games were "managed" his numbers were reduculously low.

I have to take issue with your assessment of Ben's early career. While his numbers may not have been great, he did so many things that don't show up in the stat sheet - getting first downs, extending drives. Truth is, if Ben hadn't taken over at QB that year, we never go 15-1. He was the missing link that the team needed. Forget the numbers, his play, on that team, was what got us over the top. He was young, he made mistakes, but he was the difference.

nine vegetable wrote:

solardave wrote:

SteelerFreak58 wrote:

Any one here really think Ben has what it takes to come roaring back from an arm injury at 38 and lead this team to a SB? That is a really optimistic/unrealistic outlook. Bens best years are behind him not in front of him. He has taken a beating compared to guys like Brady and Breeze we all know that. I love his competitive fire but time catches up with all of us at some point.

We have to find out if MR has what it takes to lead this team into the next decade. If not now when? Lets say the kid goes 9-7 or 8-8 then what should we do? Sit Rudolph for another Season behind Ben so he can watch? What if they did that back in 04 with Ben you all know that team went 15-1 because we had the best defense to hit a field and all of his games were "managed" his numbers were reduculously low.

Honestly I put Ben's chances at a little better than Ryan Shazier. I think the FO will push him out the door just like they did with Troy.Contract or no contract. But before that can happen Mason has to prove himself and the way to do that is to LET HIM THROW THE DAMN BALL! I did that because now I can say I was screaming this back in early Oct.

Its a good time to go gracefully into the sunset.  No one would blame him for not coming back after the injury.  He's given us a lot of good years.

I'm sure in the back of his mind he thinks he can lead us to another SB and retire like the Bus did. The big difference is Jerome didn't come back from a serious injury so the thought process is flawed for Ben. A lot can happen during his rehab and I think at some point he decides to hang them up. I don't think doing that will hurt his HOF chances but I do think coming back and possibly losing his job could.

the problem with young Ben was he like to hold on to the ball, good thing the Steelers had a top 3 defense in those years to bail out a lot of the offensive 3 and outs.

effyou515 wrote:

the problem with young Ben was he like to hold on to the ball, good thing the Steelers had a top 3 defense in those years to bail out a lot of the offensive 3 and outs.

Yeah I remember. Maybe this is why they have Mason on a chain. Sooner or later they have to let him play his style and figure out how to cater to it. I think our defense can be good enough to cover a lot of his early mistakes.Then again if he is playing his style maybe he doesn't make a lot of them.

It will be a tough pill for me to swallow when BR7 is no longer the starter because I've been watching him since high school.

That being said, I know I have a jaded view of him and wanting him to start.

But, I don't think at this point the body of work of Rudolph justifies him taking over for BR7 full time. He did a great job of managing the game this week but show me you can win against a team like the Ravens and I'll start to believe.

I know people were so starved for some positivity of this team that Rudolph looks like a savior but this is still a 1-3 team with a lot to prove.

If I'm honest I think Ben is regressed to the point that we need a successor and if I'm honest again I think Rudolph isn't the guy. I hope that I'm wrong on him, but so far I haven't seen anything that has impressed me. I know it's early to say, but the knock on him coming out of college was that he wasn't accurate on intermediate throws. So far, what has he done? Easy, short passes and long balls which is his strength. I know it's still early and I believe he has the potential to become a decent QB, but I don't see a franchise QB in him.

Stella Nation wrote:

If I'm honest I think Ben is regressed to the point that we need a successor and if I'm honest again I think Rudolph isn't the guy. I hope that I'm wrong on him, but so far I haven't seen anything that has impressed me. I know it's early to say, but the knock on him coming out of college was that he wasn't accurate on intermediate throws. So far, what has he done? Easy, short passes and long balls which is his strength. I know it's still early and I believe he has the potential to become a decent QB, but I don't see a franchise QB in him.

To soon to argue with you. I hope you're wrong because all our eggs are in this basket. I keep saying the Ravens are a good test and I hope he passes it.

I can live with easy quick short pass to the WRs TEs and RBs and a running game to wear out defensive fronts and suck up LBs and SS and CBs start sitting on routes then the deep ball wide open. I can live with that offense and so far to me Rudolph is looking better then the QBs drafted ahead of him.

A good optimistic article...

https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2019/10/3/20894339/9-reasons-for-optimism-at-the-steelers-2019-quarter-pole-afc-north-bengals-browns-ravens-news-nfl

Like Noll said about the team making it to their first SB "it's our next game". This Ravens game is not even in the same category but it is important. Stella pointed out the knock on Mason coming out of college being his accuracy in the intermediate throws and we really haven't seen many from him. What better game to work on these than against a rival like the Ravens. In an interview Fitchner said we are calling plays for intermediate throws and he has to throw them.
So is Mason not taking these shots for fear of throwing INTs? If he is and doesn't get past this he is not our future. I don't think this is the case. The one TD to Ju JU was a crossing route that he broke for the score. It was on the money and on time so what's the problem? Of course the O-line has to give him time to survey the field but ultimately he has to find his receiver. I think Fitchner called a good game last week with a few wrinkles that may not work this week. So I see this game as much on Fitchner's shoulders as I do Mason's. Bottom line is last week we beat a team not as good as us. We didn't play down to them. If we beat the Ravens on Sunday I'll feel the same way. Based on recent history with Ben at QB we weren't able to win a lot of these types of games. Maybe,just maybe it was Ben being allowed to freelance more than Fitchner's inability to calls good plays. To much freedom + diminishing skills = losses to inferior teams. Still it's going to take a string of wins against good and bad teams for me to endorse both Mason and Fitchner in the future.