The Pittsburgh Steelers 2010 quarterback room is well represented in the most recent Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast. Charlie Batch joined Ben Roethlisberger and his co-host Spencer T’eo in a marathon podcast watch party during the Steelers recent visit to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday Night Football. Batch also works on the Steelers pregame show for KDKA and has been in and around the organization for a couple of decades.
MIAMI - JANUARY 03: Quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger #7, Charlie Batch #16 and Dennis Dixon #2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers talk on the sidelines while taking on the Miami Dolphins at Land Shark Stadium on January 3, 2010 in Miami, Florida. The Steelers defeated the Dolphins 30-24. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)
Watching the podcast, you can feel the genuine affection that Roethlsiberger and Batch have for each other as men and former teammates. Batch was the Steelers union player rep for an extended period, and even as a backup quarterback was a true leader on the Pittsburgh football team. The two quarterbacks took to reminiscing about the 2010 quarterback room:
“Our quarterback room, I was telling Spence, was me, you, Byron Leftwich and Dennis Dixon was our fourth,” Roethlisberger said. “I remember telling people like between our quarterbacks, we’ve got like over 40 years of experience or something silly like that. I don’t think you can get a room like that again. We had two number ones and a number two and we kept that together for three or four years. It was a good room.”
Byron Leftwich was a first-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars after one of the gutsiest college football performances you will ever see. He broke his leg in the first quarter against the Akron Zips while playing for the Marshall Thundering Herd. In the fourth quarter, he returned to the field, and his offensive linemen were literally carrying him down the field after every play. Marshall ultimately was too far behind to rally, but on one leg, he threw for 300 yards in less than two quarters and became an NCAA legend.
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He was ultimately run out of Jacksonville by Jack Del Rio and a fan base who never forgave him for being Mark Brunell’s replacement. Leftwich had two stints in Pittsburgh and replaced Batch as the number two quarterback. While they were few, he had some extremely effective games in a Steelers uniform:
“It was like having three coaches,” Roethlisberger continued. “That was the key to having a good room. When I came off the field, I didn’t want to talk to the coach. I want to talk to my guys that had experience, Charlie and Byron. I knew coming off the field that Chuck had already talked to BA [Bruce Arians] or Randy [Fichtner] and in the time to get the paper printouts and the coach coming over, we’d be like, we already talked about it and we’re on to the next series.”
PITTSBURGH - DECEMBER 8: Offensive linemen Max Starks #78 and Ramon Foster #73 of the Pittsburgh Steelers and referee Ed Hochuli #85 look at quarterback Ben Roethlisberger #7 after he injured his left ankle when he was sacked by Scott Paxson of the Cleveland Browns during a game at Heinz Field on December 8, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Browns 14-3. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
The future Steelers Hall of Fame quarterback was famous for improvising and seemed to endlessly call plays at the line of scrimmage. The trust and support he was getting from his second and third string quarterbacks on the sidelines early in his career, may have been the reason he was able to improvise so effortlessly. Roethlisberger doesn’t shy away from crediting his quarterback room with his success and reaching a third Super Bowl in 2010:
“I knew they [Batch and Leftwich] were onboard,” Roethlisberger shared. “So, it wasn’t like, 'Hey Byron, Charlie, what’d you see? Well let’s go look at the picture.' They knew. They were both well this is what I saw. I’m not saying we would blow the coach off, that’s not what we’re talking about. Byron and you were both older than me and got to see something, I know what I got out of it, and I can’t imagine what Dennis [Dixon] got out of it with the three of us ahead of him.”
Dennis Dixon never quite lived up to his massive potential when he was drafted in the fifth round by the Steelers in the 2008 NFL Draft. He was never a serious contender for more than a backup role. He played for the black and gold for three seasons, and after the 2010 season and three career starts, his active NFL career was over. He lost 2011 to injury and left Pittsburgh in 2012. However, he did remain on practice squads for two more seasons with various teams. In a 2018 interview, he looked back on his time with the Steelers:
“I still talk to him frequently to this day,” Dixon replied when asked if he had a mentor. “Charlie Batch was from Pittsburgh, so he was able to show me the ins and outs. He was a veteran and an NFLPA rep. He showed me how to be a professional on and off the field. I will be forever grateful to him and for all the help he gave me. As a competitor, you always want to get on the field and contribute. Early on, it was frustrating, but Batch showed me the way to be a professional and take care of the things I could control.”
PITTSBURGH - AUGUST 8: Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on from the sideline during a preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Heinz Field on August 8, 2008 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Eagles 16-10. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
Roethlisberger and Batch recalled a specific incident with the newest member of the quarterback room and some of the unique challenges that the Steelers had using the, at the time, relatively new helmet communication technology. They recalled a practice where Bruce Arians, who also struggled initially adapting to the technology, and Dixon had an entertaining incident with the equipment:
“Dennis Dixon, I don’t know if you’ll remember this is a true story,” Roethlisberger reminisced with Batch. “So, Dixon is the big-time quarterback from Oregon and so we were at training camp and whenever the first practice with the headsets, the coach will hit the button and he can talk to you. So, he is sending a practice signal like if you want to practice the way it goes. We’re stretching and doing the calisthenic line and you’d hear BA like, 'Ben, you got me? You got to raise your hand, got me? Charlie, you got me?' So we all raise our hand because there is no microphone.'Double D you got me?' We are all together and again, 'Double D, you got me?' We’re like, 'Dennis, what are you doing?' We look back and Dennis is like, 'I got you coach, coach I gotcha, coach gotcha.' And we’re like, 'Dennis, you can’t talk back to him, there’s no microphone.' So, he’s talking into it for three or four hours and the equipment guys are going nuts, thinking his battery is dead not realizing he’s trying to talk back to the coach. They finally are like, 'We need to fix your helmet,' and then we spoke up and told them it’s fine, he’s just talking back to him.”
The veterans had a good laugh at the rookie’s expense and while they all liked playing for Arians, they were happy to get one over on the coach as well, who had not mastered the technology himself. They drew the line only when the equipment guys were freaking out that maybe they hadn’t done their job. The 2010 quarterback room’s veteran presence of Leftwich and Batch supporting Roethlisberger with seemingly no ego, seems like a bygone era of fun and professionalism. It is hard to believe it was just over a decade ago.
Leftwich has gone on to a successful coaching career as an offensive coordinator under Arians and is often mentioned as a head coaching candidate. Batch’s work broadcasting and with the NFLPA as a leader and mentor, makes one wonder with the current state of the Steelers offense, if they should be approaching him about fixing the broken offense. He could hardly do any worse than Matt Canada and based on the universal respect from players that Batch has generated in the NFL, he would probably excel in the position.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Would you like to see a bigger role for Charlie Batch in the Steelers organization? Please comment below, or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
