Andrew's Steelers Training Camp Primer: Quarterbacks
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - Steelers players will report to Latrobe for training camp two weeks from today, so it's the perfect time to take a closer look at some of the battles and what to expect from the Black and Gold in the August heat.
In a series of 937TheFan.com Exclusive Web Primers, Andrew Fillipponi takes a closer look at each position. Today, the focus is on quarterbacks.
According to some in the national media, Ben Roethlisberger may have fallen off the list of best signal callers in the league. Andrew believes that Ben is not second-tier just yet, but there is no denying that his salary now falls in that area.
Matt Stafford of the Lions is the latest to get a big payday. Ben is a relative bargain but he must improve. Mike Wallace has moved on to Miami, but there are no excuses in the second season working with offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Ben will hopefully be working behind a line full of high draft picks.
Charlie Batch kept the Steelers competitive in most of the games he was called on but he and Byron Leftwich are gone now. There is no guarantee that offseason acquisition Bruce Gradkowski will be an improvement or even serviceable.
Draft pick Landry Jones has not done well with the spotlight on him leading Andrew to say, "I don't have a lot of high hopes for Jones." The numbers that Jones put up at Oklahoma may have been a result of the system he was in.
Still, it all comes back to the starter and the Steelers will go as far as Ben can take them.
