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If You're The Pittsburgh GM, Who Would You Rather Have As Steelers QB? - Rudolph or Rodgers? (8 Viewers)
- Thread starter Joe Bryant
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Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
In the other ARod topic, no, not that one, the other one. No, the other, other one. Yeah, that one… I posted O/Us.
I set W’s at 9.5. So you’d take the over on that?
Todem
Footballguy
Not necessarily. But they would win more games with him than Rudolph imo. How many? Probably right on that number 9
-10 max.
So that’s a tough bet to call.
Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
I try to be vegas-like with my line-setting.
irish eyes
Footballguy
I don't want Rodgers anywhere near the Steelers. I would rather they implode with Rudolph. It's become pretty embarrassing.
Todem
Footballguy
As a Steelers fan I get that.
I want the Dolphins to completely implode this season that will get Grier, McDaniel and Tua all gone.
It’s time to move on.
All the Steelers need is a great draft pick to grab a QB, everything else as far as culture and front office and yes coaching is in place.
What is embarrassing?
Todem
Footballguy
Rudolph is terrible……so the Steelers will be bad either way.
Rodgers….if protected can still throw the ball. Remember it was the Jets……keep that in mind. That OL was wretched.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
He'd still beat the Ravens at least once
cdclopper
Footballguy
I went to 2 games where Rudolph started against the Bengals and he torched them both times.
Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
lol how dare you besmirch the great Nathan Pederson.
(j/k)
Before the Raiders made the trade, I thought PIT might be a nice landing spot for Geno. That offense seems like a nice fit for his strengths.
I wish I knew the behind the scenes in PIT to know what avenues they pursued - we keep talking about this in terms of plan A & plan B, but it seems fair to wonder whether ARod was even plan A, or if they’re already at plans C, D, or E at this point.
irish eyes
Footballguy
The fact that this is still going on. Every single day we have to hear about this clown & what he he may or may not do.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
I don't particularly find the current news cycle on football to have much value. There's not a lot of player movement (free agent signings have mostly ground to a halt, there aren't many trades going to happen right now, and most draft picks haven't signed). That leaves us with OTA reports of guys essentially playing flag football and a guy making a nice catch against a practice squad DB, reports that PLAYER X is in the best shape of his life, and projections on when injured guys will make it back onto the field. The other stories we get are conjecture on why PLAYER Y isn't participating in team activities (is he hurt? is he holding out? is he on the trading block? is there something else going on?) Basically, lots of fluff pieces and not a lot of hard news. The Rogers saga is just another cog in a slow news cycle. Not a ton going on right now.
wgoldsph
Footballguy
I wonder if they're going to go full Arthur Smith (that's the OC right?) and run the ball 99% of the plays.lol how dare you besmirch the great Nathan Pederson.
(j/k)
Before the Raiders made the trade, I thought PIT might be a nice landing spot for Geno. That offense seems like a nice fit for his strengths.
I wish I knew the behind the scenes in PIT to know what avenues they pursued - we keep talking about this in terms of plan A & plan B, but it seems fair to wonder whether ARod was even plan A, or if they’re already at plans C, D, or E at this point.
There has to be some strong belief in NFL circles that Rodgers still has "it" or a team like the Steelers wouldn't have been interested in the first place. They're a perennial one and done, if they're going to bring in an old QB they need to believe he'll get them over the hump /now/. Otherwise they would go with who they have and/or sign a bunch of fa rookie QBs to see if they can find gold in crap. There's no reason to continue to entertain the Rodgers media unless he's always been the target, or was the plan B if they couldn't draft the QB they wanted.
Also, I've done a full 180 on Peterson. He was so bad he threw 5 ints in a half during his first start - I had to look that up, I originally thought it was only 4... Yet somehow he managed to make more starts before spending the past however many years making millions a season.
Imagine that in any other field. Doing so poorly and still have years to get rich. He's like a politician, and I'm voting for him.
Yes. That's a lot of it. It's a slower time for news typically.
renesauz
IBL Representative
Not sure I agree with this take. It's VERY unusual for high profile top FAs to be unsigned at this point. And a new QB should be working with his team-mates. Rodgers is waffling, and they're hanging on waiting for him.
Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
Especially considering the timeline.
Jets cut ARod on March 12th.
FA started on March 16th.
So there were theoretically 4+ days when ARod could have been speaking to teams. He was perfectly positioned for FA, and then… a whole lot of nada.
Then FA opens up and 1 by 1 all the FA QBs sign.
Except for ARod.
I agree that it’s a little weird. I’ve said before, I can’t remember a team being in this position before, seemingly without a plan B.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
NE was extremely laissez-faire after Tom Brady signed with TB. They had Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer to pick from (if they wanted to). They pretty much waited for every other QB to sign and then signed Cam Newton on July 8th. Newton had no place else to go, so they got him to sign for peanuts (made $4M that season). The Pats didn't have a Plan A or Plan B for life after Brady. Jimmy G. was probably the succession plan years earlier, but Brady outlasted what Bill thought to be his expected shelf life. Really surprising that for someone said to be one of the greatest football minds ever to end up with close to nothing at QB.
Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
Solid point. This is definitely similar, except like, without all the Super Bowl rings to show for it.
Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
The Steelers need to show some pride and tell Rodgers thanks but no thanks and move on to other options
Would they really be that much worse with Kirk Cousins? Maybe the Steelers are better than the Falcons and won't fall apart
Pittsburgh has other options and they should not beg Aaron to be their QB plus the guy looks like an idiot on social media during the off season
Get themselves ready for the '26 Draft where teams future directions and arcs will change permanently for some.
Would they really be that much worse with Kirk Cousins? Maybe the Steelers are better than the Falcons and won't fall apart
Pittsburgh has other options and they should not beg Aaron to be their QB plus the guy looks like an idiot on social media during the off season
Get themselves ready for the '26 Draft where teams future directions and arcs will change permanently for some.
steelerfan1
Footballguy
This is what I hope happens. Both sides need a fresh start IMO. I’d be okay with some bad years as I’d at least feel we were trying to turn things around. I don’t get that feeling now. It just feels we are good with what they got.
5-ish Finkle
Footballguy
Zero chance Art II ever does this, certainly not after just extending him, and not at this point in the league calendar. The Steelers don't pay even cheap, horrible, assistant coaches to sit on their couch very often (I can only think of maybe twice. Canada for sure. They may have cut bait on Walton a year early too way back. No one else coming to mind). Couldn't see them ever doing it to a guy with a bag the size they gave to Mike, even if they were unhappy with him (and Art isn't).
Tomlin will be gone when Tomlin decides to be gone (or perhaps when Art II isn't "the Rooney In Charge" anymore, I guess). Tomlin pretty much has carte blanche/all the power there at this point.
-OZ-
Footballguy
This.
I want no part of Rodgers, didn’t when the Jets took him and don’t now.
Crazy thought - I’d rather have Winston than either but I have no idea what the giants will do.
Yeah, I'd probably call that a crazy thought. Winston is the worst decision maker in the NFL. He's going into year 11, and he's never gotten better. He's fun for fantasy I guess, but I honestly think they'd win more games with Rudolph than Winston.
Wow. That's an interesting question. I'd have a hard time imagining them firing Tomlin if they roll out Rudolph. Seems unfair to fire the coach when you put a roster out there for tanking.
I'll choose Mason.
I don't in anyway think either is the path to success. I think Mason is super easy to move on from.
I envision "this ain't working. We need to..." and I don't know how that sentence concludes but that really might be best for them.
Is it the rookie QB? Forced to make a trade?
I don't in anyway think either is the path to success. I think Mason is super easy to move on from.
I envision "this ain't working. We need to..." and I don't know how that sentence concludes but that really might be best for them.
Is it the rookie QB? Forced to make a trade?
The Longtime Lurker
Footballguy
I want to see what Rodgers has left. I can't get a read on him after the Jets stint. Dumpster fire situation all around and I would be happy to see him get a fresh start. Is he the old Rodgers, no he's not. Is he better than Mason Rudolph, yes he is.
If, and this is a big if, he can accept the role of game manager and let Tomlin be the final word i can see some success with the Steelers. The man works hard and knows how to play quarterback and i think he can show he's more than the god gifted arm talent if he let's the ego take a back seat. Will he? Shoot, can he? That's the biggest issue in my mind. Nothing in his past actions really show he could, but perhaps the possibility of going out on a winning note supercedes that.
Full disclosure, as a packer fan i hold a soft spot for him and want to see him succeed. I don't think I've missed a snap of his NFL career. Also from a pure entertainment purpose him and Tomlin trying to co-exist could be gold if things started to go sideways so i fully get a steelers fan's apprehension.
All that said if I'm in the steelers boat at QB give me Rodgers all day everyday over Rudolph.
If, and this is a big if, he can accept the role of game manager and let Tomlin be the final word i can see some success with the Steelers. The man works hard and knows how to play quarterback and i think he can show he's more than the god gifted arm talent if he let's the ego take a back seat. Will he? Shoot, can he? That's the biggest issue in my mind. Nothing in his past actions really show he could, but perhaps the possibility of going out on a winning note supercedes that.
Full disclosure, as a packer fan i hold a soft spot for him and want to see him succeed. I don't think I've missed a snap of his NFL career. Also from a pure entertainment purpose him and Tomlin trying to co-exist could be gold if things started to go sideways so i fully get a steelers fan's apprehension.
All that said if I'm in the steelers boat at QB give me Rodgers all day everyday over Rudolph.
This is just me speculating so take it for what it's worth, but he strikes me, (as a lot of the long time vets do) as someone who puts a ton of weight on track record. I've known people like that in other vocations who put an inordinate amount of value on having done the thing and proven themselves. He might have a different personality than Tomlin, but I think, and again it's just a guess, that he'd have a much different relationship and would respect him tons more than he would a less experienced coach. I think that may have been some of it with Saleh.
All that armchair pscyhology to say I think there's a good shot he could work with Tomlin. And Smith too.
But we'll see if it happens.
Donnybrook
Footballguy
ESPN had the Jets ranked as the 15th best team in Aug of 2024 according to the power rankings. That is not 1 guy that was based on "Our power panel of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities". This year they have Pittsburgh ranked 17th so far - obviously without Aaron Rodgers. So there are similar expectations going into the season.
Did the Jets turn into a dumpster fire - only because they didn't live up to per-season expectations. Most of those expectations were based on Rodgers. I probably want Rodgers to get the Pittsburgh job just so I can listen to the TV personalities make excuses for him if he does not flourish. If Pittsburgh fans wants to get rid of Tomlin, it is better to sign Rodgers IMO.
Did the Jets turn into a dumpster fire - only because they didn't live up to per-season expectations. Most of those expectations were based on Rodgers. I probably want Rodgers to get the Pittsburgh job just so I can listen to the TV personalities make excuses for him if he does not flourish. If Pittsburgh fans wants to get rid of Tomlin, it is better to sign Rodgers IMO.
Deamon
Footballguy
Skyler if they really wanna tank. Rudolph probably good enough to get them close to a .500 season.
Do you think that will happen though?
It seems he's pretty universally disliked.
I see it being a field day for folks if he goes out and plays just average.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
And I think that's why the Jets cut bait with Rodgers after bringing in a new HC/regime. Not that I think Aaron Glenn is a shrinking violet rookie HC (I wouldn't mess with that man for any amount of money), but I get what he's trying to do there in instilling a new culture.
Who knows? Maybe Rodgers and Tomlin will be a match made in heaven.
Donnybrook
Footballguy
I just feel they will be saying that Tomlin is going to run a conservative offense. Running the ball in situations where Monday morning QBs will want him to pass etc. Not giving Rodgers free reign etc.
In all honesty, this is my biggest concern with bringing in Aaron. If you bring him in, you have to unleash him. Trying to fit him into a system built around "Dino ball overly conservative play-calling, leaning too hard on the run, and failing to exploit the modern NFL’s pass-friendly rule would be a recipe for disaster.
Rodgers thrives on control, creativity, and pushing the ball downfield. If the Steelers try to force-feed the ground game in situations where the pass is the clear advantage, I could see this marriage crumbling fast. The media spin will be something else, but at the end of the day, it'll come down to whether Tomlin is willing to adapt and let Rodgers be Rodgers.
jumper
Footballguy
"Control, creativity, and pushing the ball downfield" sounds like Russ last year and that experiment went nowhere. ARod and his talents at this stage of his career, combined with the inconsistent route running of DK Metcalf seems like a team that will struggle to play .500 ball and will get boatraced in the later part of the season. I could easily see the Steelers losing every game from Week 7 foward and getting blown out by 40+ points in the Ravens matchups late in the year.
The Longtime Lurker
Footballguy
Yes, this makes sense. Tomlin is about as respected as a coach gets in the league and that has to hold some sway.
Rodgers coaching history in the NFL is pretty much rookie to very early in their career head coaches. Sherman was to early to really count, but both McCarthy and LaFleur both came in as rookie head coaches and Bob Saleh was still green and young as a head coach so there might be something to it. He grew his career with McCarthy, but by the end of McCarthy's tenure their relationship seemed pretty soured. In comes a young rookie coach in LaFleur and it never appeared he garnered as much respect from Rodgers as he should have. Bob Saleh (who I went to college with and have mutual friends, who after his firing ofcourse asked about Rodgers and if he was the reason. He was not, but to paraphrase, his comment was he was a "strange/odd player to coach" and I'll leave it at that) couldn't reel in his personality either and being the newish young couch I'm sure that was a factor.
None of this applies to Tomlin and we're looking at 2 years at most together, so if they can have a relationship and trust each other it most certainly could work as we haven't seen Rodgers with an already established alpha coach. Tomlin can make it work i have no doubt there, but when Rodgers starts up with his voodoo and spurts out who knows what on Mcafee that's when i wonder what the relationship will look like especially if they're losing.
I think Rodgers to Pittsburgh is a done deal already and i still believe his ego is what will determine if this works or not, but the respect angle Tomlin commands could be a positive factor in if this will work or not. It'll be a fun ride either way.
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The Longtime Lurker
Footballguy
This is what i mean by ego being the biggest factor. They're going to reign him in and he'll have to accept the game manager role (which if he committed to he could do quite well, the man is pretty efficient). Will he or will he improvise when asked not too? After watching him as long as i have i don't know that a leopard can change it's spots, but maybe mutual respect can reach a compromise and it will have to if this is going to work.
I can see that. One of the hallmark of great coaches is playing the "cards you're dealt" and adapting to personnel.
Smith as Titan's OC would be interesting to revisit with a deep dive - I'm sure there are looks at that already.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Nah. The Steelers will win one of those 12-11
