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10 August 2008

Batch Is Injured, Who Backs Up Ben? Byron Leftwich!

So, early into this great preseason, Charlie Batch gets seriously injured.

"With Mewelde Moore in the backfield with Batch, there seemed to be a miscommunication on a running play. Instead of handing the ball off, Batch kept it and ran over the left side of the line for a 6-yard gain where he was tackled by Eagles safety Sean Considine." -Steelers.com

Batch ended up breaking his collarbone. This could put him out 6-8 weeks or longer depending on how fast he heals. I would hate to see him come back too early and re injure it. I know our third and fourth stringer are not ready to be backup, considering they are both rookies. So, that leaves us with only Dennis Dixon and Mike Potts behind Batch on the depth chart. The Steelers, as always, are seeking their 6th Championship in the club's history and can't risk playing the season with two rookies if Ben would get injured for any reason. So, the management decided to go after some veteran quarterbacks in Byron Leftwich and Daunte Culpepper. Which one gets the backup position? We will soon find out. There are several articles covering these new acquisitions:

MVN

KDKA

The Sporting News

Pro Football Talk

NFL Fanhouse

So, who do I want in that position?
I like Leftwich's attitude about the whole thing along with his age (28). His mechanics are to long and slow for the Steelers front line to protect him long enough to throw the ball. However, Leftwich knows he would be coming to Pittsburgh to be a backup and he accepts this. He is still young, but injury prone. Maybe he is not built to start. Maybe he can use this as a stepping stone for his future. Maybe we can use him as our primary backup and trade him for picks next year when Batch comes back. Who knows?

I like Culpepper's experience, resume, and the way his mechanics would work with the offense. I don't, however, like Culpepper's attitude. He want to be a starter. I think he may distract if he doesn't get that starting position. He is confident and I like that, but he is not our starter.

All in all, I think it will be interesting who we keep. I prefer Leftwich unless Culpepper's attitude changes. It hopefully will not matter at all.

UPDATE:
It looks like we made our pick...Byron Leftwich.
"The reason the Steelers picked Leftwich over Culpepper is because Leftwich felt more comfortable with the role the Steelers were offering. Ben Roethlisberger is the starter and Batch is expected to be the backup when he gets healthy again. Culpepper was hoping for a chance to compete for a starting job." -By John Clayton
ESPN.com


It looks like we signed some competition for the replacement for Sepulveda this season in Mitch Berger. Berger is competing with Paul Ernster for the starting job.

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