Byron Leftwich

It's early, and we still don't know how severe Ben's injury is. I know a lot of fans are in panic mode right now. Older fans, remember that Lefty isn't just a clipboard holder like Brady Quinn or Curtis Painter. He was a damn good quarterback for the Jaguars. You remember it. For the younger fans who might not remember Lefty beyond being a backup in Pittsburgh, read about him.

One of the reasons we love Ben is because of his toughness. Well, Lefty fits that mold. For those of you not familiar with the story, he played at Marshall with a broken shin. Here's a clip:



Lefty is just as tough as Ben. He's a competitor like Ben. No, he's not as good as Ben obviously, but he doesn't have to be. We can win with Lefty. He just needs to get rid of the ball and not make mistakes.

I certainly remember that. He's a good backup quarterback, but quite honestly, i'd feel better with Batch at the QB position for these next five games. Either way, we need Ben. We need him sooner than later, and we certainly don't need a rusty Ben in the playoffs. We have a chance to win games without him, granted not nearly as good as a chance, but that alone won't mean shit if we go into the playoffs without Ben, or with a Ben who's coming off of a month plus of rehabbing a shoulder.

I'm hoping and praying Ben will be fine. If he is injured, he needs to come back with a couple of games left in the season to have enough time to warm up in time for the playoffs.

bayz101 wrote:

He's a good backup quarterback

A good backup quarterback can win if he's on a good team.

Jim Plunkett started out 1980 backing up Dan Pastorini and went on to win Super Bowl XV with the Raiders.

Doug Williams only started two games in 1987 and lost them both. Joe Gibbs made him the starter for the playoffs over Jay Schroeder anyway and he won Super Bowl XXII.

Jeff Hostetler took over for Phil Simms on the 1990 Giants after an injury and started each playoff game and Super Bowl XXV.

Trent Dilfer backed up Tony Banks to start off 2000, but took over halfway through the season and rode Ray Lewis to victory in Super Bowl XXXV.[i]

http://www.quora.com

Byron Leftwich has an accurate strong arm --- when throwing 10-20 yards downfield. As Truck pointed out earlier, he's an accurate short passer on roll-outs, but considering his increasing immobility, that's not something that we can rely on. With that being said, I believe we need someone who can read the defense well and make quick, accurate passes to move the ball downfield slowly and eat up clock. For that, i'd choose Charlie Batch all day long.

Don't get me wrong...I LOVE Byron Leftwich. He's a warrior. He's tough. He's a FOOTBALL player. I just believe we need to concentrate on the dink and dunk offense with a strong running game to boot, and that's something better suited under Charlie Batch, in my opinion. He IS older, but he's still good. He can still play. I'd take Byron Leftwich over Batch in a Bruce Arians offense that likes to throw it downfield, but thankfully, that's not reality right now.

We CAN win games without backups, but I don't see us winning in the playoffs without Ben, and I don't see us winning in the playoffs WITH Ben if he isn't given enough time to develop a rhythm. If Ben's injury outlook has him coming back a couple weeks before week 17, i'll be a happy camper. I'll be even happier if he'll be back next weekend.

I stated last week in a hypothetical (at the time) argument that I'm comfortable with either Lefty or Batch running the offense. I'm not confident that Batch can do it long-term, but he's dependable when he plays. I'm sticking by that. We're going to be fine. The season isn't over.

And let's not forget Baron's dad, Charlie. He's also a viable option to start, just not this week against the ravens.

Wallace108 wrote:

I stated last week in a hypothetical (at the time) argument that I'm comfortable with either Lefty or Batch running the offense. I'm not confident that Batch can do it long-term, but he's dependable when he plays. I'm sticking by that. We're going to be fine. The season isn't over.

Having the MNF game doesn't leave much time to prepare for the Ravens with an entire healthy team, let alone the band of miscellaneously injured we have currently, but we all know the Steeler's develop depth for that "just in case" moment.

That being said...Wally, what have we learned about "hypothetical" arguments? :lol!: This week let's all hypothetically argue about Flacco's replacement ;)

jgm820 wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

I stated last week in a hypothetical (at the time) argument that I'm comfortable with either Lefty or Batch running the offense. I'm not confident that Batch can do it long-term, but he's dependable when he plays. I'm sticking by that. We're going to be fine. The season isn't over.

Having the MNF game doesn't leave much time to prepare for the Ravens with an entire healthy team, let alone the band of miscellaneously injured we have currently, but we all know the Steeler's develop depth for that "just in case" moment.

That being said...Wally, what have we learned about "hypothetical" arguments? :lol!: This week let's all hypothetically argue about Flacco's replacement ;)

Wait, who is Flacco's backup?

The answer according to the ratbirds website

Tyrod Taylor

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/depth-chart-2012.html

jgm820 wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

I stated last week in a hypothetical (at the time) argument that I'm comfortable with either Lefty or Batch running the offense. I'm not confident that Batch can do it long-term, but he's dependable when he plays. I'm sticking by that. We're going to be fine. The season isn't over.

Having the MNF game doesn't leave much time to prepare for the Ravens with an entire healthy team, let alone the band of miscellaneously injured we have currently, but we all know the Steeler's develop depth for that "just in case" moment.

That being said...Wally, what have we learned about "hypothetical" arguments? :lol!: This week let's all hypothetically argue about Flacco's replacement ;)

I feel like this is all my fault. I jinxed us with the Ben vs. Clark MVP debate last week. The debate was which one is more important to the team's chances of winning? Now they're both injured and could miss the Ravens game.

Wallace108 wrote:

jgm820 wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

I stated last week in a hypothetical (at the time) argument that I'm comfortable with either Lefty or Batch running the offense. I'm not confident that Batch can do it long-term, but he's dependable when he plays. I'm sticking by that. We're going to be fine. The season isn't over.

Having the MNF game doesn't leave much time to prepare for the Ravens with an entire healthy team, let alone the band of miscellaneously injured we have currently, but we all know the Steeler's develop depth for that "just in case" moment.

That being said...Wally, what have we learned about "hypothetical" arguments? :lol!: This week let's all hypothetically argue about Flacco's replacement ;)

I feel like this is all my fault. I jinxed us with the Ben vs. Clark MVP debate last week. The debate was which one is more important to the team's chances of winning? Now they're both injured and could miss the Ravens game.

Shame on you, bad, bad, Wally

I'm not getting my hopes to high for the ratbird game. If they play like they did against the chiefs their going to get blown out.

stlrtruck wrote:

The answer according to the ratbirds website

Tyrod Taylor

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/depth-chart-2012.html

Tyrod Taylor has thrown 5 passes in the NFL for 13 yards. If Flacco went down right now, I could understand Ravens fans thinking the season is over. You can't expect a QB who was, is, and never will be anything more than a backup quarterback to step in and lead your team into the playoffs and beyond.

The point I'm trying to make is that Lefty isn't just a backup like Tyrod Taylor, Curtis Painter, or Brady Quinn, . He was a starter in this league for a long time. He was successful. We watched him do quite well against the Steelers defense on more than one occasion with the Jags. He's not just a clipboard holder. And neither is Batch. There's a reason why we went 4-1 during Ben's suspension. We can win with Lefty and Batch.

bayz101 wrote:

Byron Leftwich has an accurate strong arm --- when throwing 10-20 yards downfield. As Truck pointed out earlier, he's an accurate short passer on roll-outs, but considering his increasing immobility, that's not something that we can rely on. With that being said, I believe we need someone who can read the defense well and make quick, accurate passes to move the ball downfield slowly and eat up clock. For that, i'd choose Charlie Batch all day long.

Don't get me wrong...I LOVE Byron Leftwich. He's a warrior. He's tough. He's a FOOTBALL player. I just believe we need to concentrate on the dink and dunk offense with a strong running game to boot, and that's something better suited under Charlie Batch, in my opinion. He IS older, but he's still good. He can still play. I'd take Byron Leftwich over Batch in a Bruce Arians offense that likes to throw it downfield, but thankfully, that's not reality right now.

We CAN win games without backups, but I don't see us winning in the playoffs without Ben, and I don't see us winning in the playoffs WITH Ben if he isn't given enough time to develop a rhythm. If Ben's injury outlook has him coming back a couple weeks before week 17, i'll be a happy camper. I'll be even happier if he'll be back next weekend.

Pretty much agree. One thing about Lefty though. He throws an ugly ball. Much too hard. He doesn't have the "touch" on his throws that either Ben or Batch does. His quick screen throws last night were ugly. His windup on a pass which is the flip of the wrist were telegraphed and late. Not a good trend. They kept mentioning last night how long it has been since he last played a down...can't remember if it's 27 months or 37 months. Whatever, it's a long time. There has to be some rust which most likely is seen in the progressions he has to deal with.

Bottom line is whether it's Byron or Charlie, it ain't Ben. Having 3 division games in a row, 2 of them against the Raturds, the timing couldn't be worse.

Wallace108 wrote:

jgm820 wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

I stated last week in a hypothetical (at the time) argument that I'm comfortable with either Lefty or Batch running the offense. I'm not confident that Batch can do it long-term, but he's dependable when he plays. I'm sticking by that. We're going to be fine. The season isn't over.

Having the MNF game doesn't leave much time to prepare for the Ravens with an entire healthy team, let alone the band of miscellaneously injured we have currently, but we all know the Steeler's develop depth for that "just in case" moment.

That being said...Wally, what have we learned about "hypothetical" arguments? :lol!: This week let's all hypothetically argue about Flacco's replacement ;)

I feel like this is all my fault. I jinxed us with the Ben vs. Clark MVP debate last week. The debate was which one is more important to the team's chances of winning? Now they're both injured and could miss the Ravens game.

For this you must sleep in Buddha's room for the next 2 weeks. We will let you out for Thanksgiving but you must report back by 4am Friday morning (don't want you getting any of the Black Friday perks).

"Feel like". This IS your fault.

Chances are, Ben would have missed next weeks game anyway, so not much of a departure from the regular plans and expectations. I'm perfectly comfortable with Byron or Charlie filling in for a game, obviously. I'd rather see a warmed up and ready Leftwich out their torching defenses for 30-40 yards a throw than Charlie Batch, but if Ben we're out for an extended period, i'd be torn between the two.

Wallace108 wrote:

bayz101 wrote:

He's a good backup quarterback

A good backup quarterback can win if he's on a good team.

Jim Plunkett started out 1980 backing up Dan Pastorini and went on to win Super Bowl XV with the Raiders.

Doug Williams only started two games in 1987 and lost them both. Joe Gibbs made him the starter for the playoffs over Jay Schroeder anyway and he won Super Bowl XXII.

Jeff Hostetler took over for Phil Simms on the 1990 Giants after an injury and started each playoff game and Super Bowl XXV.

Trent Dilfer backed up Tony Banks to start off 2000, but took over halfway through the season and rode Ray Lewis to victory in Super Bowl XXXV.[i]

http://www.quora.com

rode Ray Lewis So you're saying Lewis is a murderer AND HE'S GAY. I didn't know he was Gay!!1

stlrtruck wrote:

The answer according to the ratbirds website

Tyrod Taylor

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/depth-chart-2012.html

you went there?

Quote :

I feel like this is all my fault. I jinxed us with the Ben vs. Clark MVP debate last week.

No Wally, I need to take the blame. I said (in a fit of rage) that I hoped the Steelers had a bad season when they released Hines. I was the one that angered the football gods (even though I later did penance kneeling on my terrible towel). I will kneel longer and light even more candles if they make my Steelers healthy and lead us to the playoffs.

vasteeler wrote:

stlrtruck wrote:

The answer according to the ratbirds website

Tyrod Taylor

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/depth-chart-2012.html

you went there?

Only for that information, and I quickly closed it down and got a solid cleansing before returning to any Steelers sites.

Gingerchip wrote:

Quote :

I feel like this is all my fault. I jinxed us with the Ben vs. Clark MVP debate last week.

No Wally, I need to take the blame. I said (in a fit of rage) that I hoped the Steelers had a bad season when they released Hines. I was the one that angered the football gods (even though I later did penance kneeling on my terrible towel). I will kneel longer and light even more candles if they make my Steelers healthy and lead us to the playoffs.

OK, it's all your fault.

Wallace108 wrote:

Gingerchip wrote:

Quote :

I feel like this is all my fault. I jinxed us with the Ben vs. Clark MVP debate last week.

No Wally, I need to take the blame. I said (in a fit of rage) that I hoped the Steelers had a bad season when they released Hines. I was the one that angered the football gods (even though I later did penance kneeling on my terrible towel). I will kneel longer and light even more candles if they make my Steelers healthy and lead us to the playoffs.

OK, it's all your fault.

Letting a woman take the blame!!!

Just received a text message that Byron will be starting this Sunday night against the ratbirds

stlrtruck wrote:

Just received a text message that Byron will be starting this Sunday night against the ratbirds

Good luck to Byron - at least he will have more preparation for this week then he did on Monday night!

Quote :

Mark Kaboly ‏@MarkKaboly_Trib

Steelers fans should be quite happy to have Byron Leftwich to turn to instead of complaining about him. You could be the Bears

Quote :

Mark Kaboly ‏@MarkKaboly_Trib

@DavidMTodd Trying to make the point that Leftwich isn't the bad of a QB and has played well for the Steelers when he got a shot

I admire Byron both as a person, and a football player. He has the slowest wind-up of all-time, and his mobility is bad, but I expect the Steelers and Haley to find a way to get him involved.