Ben Roethlisberger suffered a sprained shoulder and a dislocated rib in Monday night's win over the Kansas City Chiefs. He was replaced by backup Byron Leftwich, who played all but one series in the second half and managed the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 16-13 overtime victory. He completed 7 of 14 passes for 73 yards Monday night and was hit nearly every time he dropped back. If he starts for the Steelers Sunday night, it will be his first start since week 3 of the 2009 season when he was with the Buccaneers.
That brings this question to mind: Who is the best choice to replace Big Ben at quarterback? Leftwich or Batch. Yes, Batch is 37 and slightly more durable than Byron. But he's also done well in replacement duty during his 10 years with the Steelers. Charlie went 2-1 in 2010 while Roethlisberger served a four-game suspension. The 1 loss was because the defense allowed the Baltimore Ravens to score on a late fourth quarter drive.
Back in 2005, Batch started twice for Roethlisberger and went 2-0 with wins over the Packers and Browns.Over all, Batch is 5-2 and more than that, his style is a better fit for this new-look Steelers offense under Todd Haley. When you compare Batch to Leftwich, several things stick out. For starters, Batch has better touch on the now-favored short and intermediate routes. And although he doesn't possess Leftwich's cannon, he can air it out when he has to.
Maybe most importantly, Batch doesn't look like he's wearing cement moon boots when he drops back to pass. Leftwich redefines what it means to be a pocket passer mostly because of his immobility. It's exacerbated by a windup that has him bringing the ball below his waist before he gets around to throwing it. since the Jaguars cut Leftwich in 2006, he's made five starts and he's 0-5.With
Haley's "dink-and-dunk" offense Batch seems like a no-brainer. The Steelers won with Batch before, and they can win with him again!
1 comment:
Charlie Batch has shown that he's a winner.
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