Think back to last week at this time. Panic.
Will Ben play?
Won't he?
Will he pass the protocol?
Won't he?
Are the Steelers going to be OK at quarterback headed into an AFC North matchup with the Bengals or is someone else going to have to man the position? Questions, questions and, yeah, more questions.
Everything ended up working out as Ben Roethlisberger didn't just play against the Bengals, he played masterfully in an easy Steelers win to keep his squad undefeated.
But throughout last week it was all so convoluted, tortuous and circuitous when it really should have been so darn simple ---- if Ben can't go, Mason Rudolph should be plugged in to operate as a man doing his best Big Ben impression.
That is what should have been happening. But the truth might just be this: The Pittsburgh Steelers once had plans for Rudolph to be the seamless successor to Roethlisberger when a transfer of power is due, but Rudolph just hasn't shown he's good enough.
After all, if you listened to the fans last week they were calling ---- if Ben couldn't play ---- for the Steelers to play an astrophysicist who has thrown all of six NFL passes and keep Rudolph firmly planted on the bench.
Oh yeah, never has the Mason Rudolph stock been so down as evidenced by so many yattering about handing the offense to Joshua Dobbs if Big Ben couldn't go.
And therein lies the biggest situation. It wasn't about the Bengals game or some contest in November of 2020. The questions are these:
What is the Steelers' succession plan?
Do they need to start the implementation of one?
Is Mason Rudolph no longer --- if he ever was --- the person seen as a primary candidate to be the primary quarterback once Ben is done?
I mean, after all Roethlisberger is 38 years old, playing with a bionic elbow and some unsteady knees. The guy takes an absolute pounding but definitely gets back up each time. And he keeps getting back up and then gets back up some more.
But some day he won't --- someday that old cowboy will ride off to his Sewickley ranch and call it a career. As much as it doesn't seem real, that day will more than likely come in the next two years or so.
So that's why I'm advocating the Steelers select a quarterback with their first selection of the 2021 Draft. If not, they need to do it with their first selection of the 2022 Draft, but I'd much rather it be the former than the latter.
See, Rudolph has a contract that is done at the end of next season. Again, it feels as if we know what we are going to know about the guy --- I was once super high on him but now what appears obvious is his ceiling screams more career backup than anything approaching franchise signal-caller.
The Pittsburgh Steelers need to take a chance and try to grab that next franchise guy. They need to do it soon as last week proved as much to me; or at least the lack of confidence in Rudolph did.
Despite what our hearts tell us here in Pittsburgh, Big Ben isn't going to play forever. In fact, the end of his football road is in view through that windshield. It is time to draft the next guy they think is the guy. And Kevin Colbert & Co. need to do it with their top pick real soon.
