PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Steelers back-up quarterback Mason Rudolph believes he’s improved, and now he finally has a chance to show it in a game Sunday afternoon in Cleveland.
“Experience and repetition is the biggest teacher,” Rudolph said. “When I was able to go back and look at last year’s every snap I played in. I tried to make mental notes and corrections on the good and the bad and try to take a step forward this year. Even back through training camp, I could feel myself being more comfortable with our offense, more comfortable with Randy’s style of play-calling, with my teammates.”
“It starts to slow down a little bit more. Coverage recognition, you start to get a little more comfortable that these are the concepts I like.”
The last time we saw Rudolph he was 14 of 20 for 129 yards with a touchdown and a pick against the Jets. In his second year in the league, it was Rudolph’s big chance with Roethlisberger out with injury in week two. Rudolph started eight games, winning five while completing 62% of his passes for 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Now after studying all of his old tape and making corrections, Rudolph finally gets another chance to show his improvement.
“When you are the back-up quarterback in this league, every week you try and take advantage of the reps in practice,” Rudolph said. “Wednesday is kind of my game-time of the week when Ben rests. I’ve tried to treat that day as well as every other day in practice, whether I’m getting reps or not, as a development day.”
Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner praised Rudolph’s work when he’s the acting starter on Wednesdays (a day Roethlisberger takes off every week), the first on-field practice day for the next opponent. Rudolph then watches Roethlisberger and studies him during practices and games, and not just between the white lines.
“It’s been a blessing to watch him work with the receivers,” Rudolph said. “The way he interacts on the sideline, the communication. When you come off the field, make adjustments. I think that’s priceless for a young quarterback.”
“There’s plenty of quarterbacks that have sat behind Hall of Fame quarterbacks and it’s benefited them down the road. What a positive to sit and watch a guy work like Ben that has so many banked years of reps and so much knowledge of the game. He’s willing to pass that down.”
Rudolph didn’t respond directly when asked if he thought about the importance of this game when it comes to someday replacing Roethlisberger. The 25-year-old did say he understands that game performance does mean more in the eyes of the coaches than how you perform in practice.
“I think I’m motivated by this opportunity,” Rudolph said. “I think all the guys that may have an increased role this week. It’s very motivating in and of itself that ‘hey, I got a chance to play this week as well as a lot of other guys’.”
The result of this game doesn’t matter much to the team, the playoffs start next week. For Rudolph however, the playoffs begin Sunday in Cleveland.