The Pittsburgh Steelers started a rookie quarterback in 2004 after Tommy Maddox was injured versus the Baltimore Ravens. The hit was horrible, and it instantly inspired a queasy feeling amongst Steelers fans trying to forget the previous years 6-10 finish. The Steelers had signed Charlie Batch a competent, not spectacular NFL quarterback in case of emergency, but he was hurt so they turned to a rookie, Ben Roethlisberger from Miami of Ohio.
Ben Roethlisberger (7) drops back to pass against the Dallas Cowboys during his rookie season. Photo Credit: Steelers.com
He was perfect from the start, winning his first 15 games in sometimes spectacular fashion. He finally lost against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game, but it is a record that will stand for decades. Someday a rookie might win his first 15 starts including a playoff victory, but it is not going to be this year and Kenny Pickett is not going to be the one to do it.
Photo Credit: Brad Young / Pittsburgh Steelers
A growing faction of Steelers fans is becoming willing to toss out Pickett as a failure after three games. Let’s be clear, he has command of the offense, and he is moving the football despite being handicapped with multiple short offensive series. Pickett has made some bad throws, but he is a rookie and it is to be expected. Trent Dilfer joined the Bombastic Colin Cowherd show Tuesday afternoon and discussed his thoughts on the Pittsburgh rookie.
“We just had the conversation,” Dilfer said referring to Joe Burrow in relation to Pickett. “I like his stuff, I like his presence, I do think he plays the game at a high level for a young player. He is going to make some silly mistakes, I do agree he lacks explosive qualities, like sizzle factors.”
Dilfer was the sixth overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1994 NFL Draft. He was the second quarterback selected behind Heath Shuler and after 13 seasons in the NFL, with seven spent as the QB1 for various teams he retired with a Super Bowl ring from one of the greatest teams of the Super Bowl era. The 2000 Baltimore Ravens which he helped quarterback to the championship.
“I do think the small hands is a thing,” Dilfer continued. “People make a joke about this, but it’s a thing. It’s not a big thing but you saw the ball as moisture got in the air, the ball coming out a little funky. (He) lost a little juice, I think it affected Tua as well. He lacks these glamorous qualities that people rave about and want their quarterbacks to have.”
Photo Credit: Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Dilfer was the poster boy for what a quarterback entering the NFL is supposed to look like. At 6'4" tall and 225 pounds, he stepped off the pages of quarterback ‘R Us magazine and into the NFL. The Buccaneers thought they had drafted the next franchise quarterback and after several disappointing seasons, they gave up and traded him to Baltimore where he promptly won a championship.
Dilfer is now a successful high school coach but worked at ESPN as an analyst for a long time analyzing the NFL and professional quarterbacks. If anyone is familiar with traits not defining a quarterback, it is Dilfer. That is not a knock, he has long made peace with his ability and a Super Bowl quarterback of an all-time team does not have to apologize for his career.
“He also has these substantive qualities,” Dilfer concluded. “Qualities that win football games and I think he’s with the perfect organization that does have patience, that’s going through a tough stretch right now. They’re going to develop him, surround him with good people and manage him. Just like they managed Ben his first couple of years, and I think you’re going to find one of the greatest winners in the NFL if the Steelers maintain the course.”
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
It is well documented that the Steelers are patient with coaches and players, and it has seldom worked out poorly in the last six decades. Steelers fans of a certain age who endured the post Terry Bradshaw/Pre-Roethlisberger quarter of a century know that Hall of Fame quarterbacks or even Pro Bowl-level quarterbacks are few and far between but when you find one, you have to be patient.
Bradshaw endured five seasons of relentless abuse from Steelers fans that haunts him to this day. It was so bad he refused to attend Art Rooney’s funeral, (an action he deeply regrets) and it took two decades to draw him back to be honored by the team. His ego and pride were wounded and based on his treatment, he had and has a point about his relationship with the fan base.
Photo Credit: Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
The great thing about being a Steelers fan is that the team rarely struggles, and they compete in meaningful games in January. The bad thing about being a Steelers fan is that sometimes you have to endure a section of your supporters calling for something else because the current product isn’t working.
It does not happen often for a reason, and it has not happened for nearly two decades, but for those calling for the rookie’s head after three games, take a page out of this week’s opponent's handbook and trust the Rooney family process. Unlike the Philadelphia basketball team, it actually produced six shiny rings.
What do you think Steeler Nation? Are you hanging in with the growing pains of a rookie quarterback learning on the job? Comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
#SteelerNation
