NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Huh? Vick relieved Ben in the 2nd half against St. Louis and then started the next 3 games.

Jones relieved Vick in the 2nd half against Arizona and then started two more games.

Whether you want to call those guys #3 or #4 is up for debate I guess but neither was the #2 last year for sure.

 

OMG it was just an interview that could have been handled easily and quietly had Harrison and the NFLPA not made such a stink about it. They picked yet another fight and lost. It's their MO.

 

He was there for a month before that to learn and managed them to wins and an OT loss in his best game. Plus unlike other teams Vick isn't a suicide start.

 

Vick was ostensibly your 4th - I didn't even comment on him. Kudos for getting a 2-1 record from him, even though you - and every other Steelers fan here - told me he sucked. Which, as I was getting at, is pretty much to be expected when you start a 4th stringer.

Jones was your #3. He started and finished 1 game - KC - and lost. He started the Cleveland game and came out after throwing 4 passes for 23 yards. Got credit for the win anyway. Good work ... I suppose.

Ummm...never said they were.

 

Really not sure what you're getting at. My comment was in regards to what the Cowboys are facing this season. The situations are very similar. Backup QB went down in the preseason. The 3rd QB became the #2 QB but Dallas' backup went down on Aug 3rd. The Steelers lost their backup on Aug. 23rd. The Steelers acted right away. The Cowboys have done nothing.

Introducing a new line of discussion on how much time Vick had to get ready seems pretty pointless considering the Cowboys are the ones who have chosen to do nothing and it's not related to the original comment anyway.

Teams over the years have indeed mounted a successful season having had to use a 3rd / 4th QB. Axe's notion that any team's season is over as a result of having to turn to a 3rd QB is misplaced. Kurt Warner comes to mind. Heck, it could be argued Dak Prescott is the 3rd QB although I would venture to say he would have surpassed Moore by now.

 

Because their #2 (formerly #3) fared so well. Plus they still had their #1 (Romo).

If Landry Jones had done what Dak Prescott has done this preseason, Steelers wouldn't have been looking for a new #2.

 

Really? How many teams were relegated to using their 3rd string QB for at least 6-8 games and still were legitimate playoff teams?

Warner was 2nd string, wasn't he?

 

You can't call Vick the 4th when he was the first option after Ben was injured. But that's not really the point anyway. Your original point was that if Dak was injured his backup was irrelevant because the season would be over. I disagree and I give you the '15 Steelers as an example.

Pointless to argue but he was not the #3 when Ben went down. The timeline went Ben > Gradkowski > Vick > Jones.

Look, can we agree that going to a 3rd QB is not the death sentence you said it was? There are plenty of examples of that not being accurate.

 

Why would you assume it would be 6-8 games? What if Dak plays the first three and gets injured?

Yeah you're right. They traded Banks away before Green went down. So Kurt became the #2.

 

But they don't have a legitimate #2 (now) and the Steelers didn't lose their #1 either. In fact, he was completely healthy. They lost their #2 (Grad) and still reacted immediately. They've given no one legitimate anytime to get acclimated to the offense. In that scenario, I agree their season could be over if Dak gets hurt but only because of their inaction.

The Steelers always have a 3rd QB on the roster. Maybe they wouldn't have brought Vick in when Ben went down but they definitely would have still signed him regardless of whether he was to be the #2 or #3.

 

Okay - if it ain't Jones and it ain't Vick, then who the fudge is this 3rd and 4th who was winning all those games for you...?

 

Can you name some...? And I mean for more than just a game or two.

Thanks.

 

It was Ben then Vick then Jones. Jones started 2 then Ben came back. No 4th.

 

Right - because Landry Jones hadn't exactly set the world on fire when he DID play.

Again - with Dak playing well, they felt they had a legitimate #2. I don't see a lot of teams actively looking for a QB when you have a perceived solid #1 and #2.

That's fine. But they IMMEDIATELY went looking for a new #2 - instead of promoting from within - when Gradkowski went down.

 

It was Ben>Gradkowski>Jones, then Ben>Vick>Jones.

But Beach is telling me the Steelers won with 3rds and 4ths, but Jones wasn't really a 3rd, and Vick wasn't a 4th, so...

 

To be fair - wouldn't that make Vick the third and Landry the 4th options?

 

Could be - although Beach hasn't really said. I was thinking since Vick came in in August and didn't start a game until October, he was the #2 and Jones the #3. A month seems pretty good lead time for a vet to get up-and-running.

 

I can see that, but Gradkowski has been the immediate back-up to Ben for an extended period of time.

I don't think it's too big of an assumption on my part, but I would guess that the coaching staff would of still had Bruce as the #2 if he was healthy making Landry and Vick 3rd and 4th options.

 

That may be true but it is fair to say that Vick getting signed and put in as #2 and not a #4, or else Landry starts. That being said Landry might as well be a bonafide 4th stringer.

 

A lot of semantics when my point was much more basic. I don't think Axe's original comment is accurate...

And I gave an example. Like I said before, I think you could almost make the case that they will start the season with the 3rd stringer, although I think Dak probably wins the #2 job if he and Moore were both competing for it.

And I don't think the season would be over if Dak gets hurt either if the Cowboys were more proactive whether it was in March, after Moore went down or after Romo went down. Even now, the Steelers just claimed Mettenberger off waivers which means Dallas could have had him had they put a claim in. He's played a lot of football and with the Cowboys o-line and running game could win 2-3 games if Dak went down.

I guess the Cowboys are waiting for final cuts but that will put them in a pickle if Dak goes down Week 1. In that scenario, I will agree the season ain't looking good but only because of the inaction they have taken.