Scott Merryfield
Senior HTF Member
Originally Posted by Malcolm R
As a Pittsburgh fan, I've long maintained that Roethlisberger can be as much of a curse as a blessing at times. I've never bought into this idea that the whole team, and its success, rests on his shoulders. Batch & Dixon have usually proven to be very good when called upon, so I'm not overly surprised at the team's success behind them and without Roethlisberger.
It's my dream that they'd consider letting Batch start even after Ben's suspension is over, but I suppose they pay Ben too much money to be a back-up. But like Andy Reid in Philly, the team should select whatever combination of players gives them the best chance to win, not just who's "expected" to start. I would rather see the Steelers continue behind Batch/Dixon, who have proven they can drive the team to a win with its current roster, than have the team switch back to Roethlisberger, who in all likelihood will be kind of rusty after four weeks away from the team.
I'm a big Steelers fan, too. I wouldn't go that far regarding Big Ben, though. He clearly gives them the best chance of winning of their QB's. After all, the guy is one of only two active quarterbacks to have won multiple Super Bowls. While it's amazing that Pittsburgh is 3-0 playing with their backup QB's -- including 4th stringer Charlie Batch -- they still need Roethlisberger if they want to make a serious run the another Super Bowl. I loved seeing Batch -- a former Lion and Eastern Michigan player, and a really good guy -- perform well yesterday, but I certainly do not expect him to be able to lead a team to the playoffs.