Pittsburgh Steelers GM Kevin Colbert was in attendance at the recent Rutgers-Louisville game. Colbert — and about 20 or so officials from other NFL teams — were in town to watch Heisman-hopeful, Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater didn’t really live up to the Heisman hype in this contest, going 21 for 31 for 310 yards, two touchdowns, 1 interception and a quarterback rating of 78.4 en route to an uninspiring 24-10 win. Why are all eyes on Bridgewater?
Well, for starters, he’s led Louisville to a 6-0 start. Also, he’s passed for 1,872 yards making 125 completions on 176 attempts. He’s also thrown 18 touchdowns against two picks. Pundits are calling Bridgewater the top rated quarterback in the draft next spring. That is, if the junior decides to come out early. And since the Steelers are off to a 0-4 start, they could be considered front runners in the Teddy Bridgewater sweepstakes.
However, this does open up a can of worms for the Steelers.
1)Are the Steelers throwing in the towel on this season? 2)Will the Steelers tank to get a higher pick in the draft 3)If the Steelers do draft Bridgewater, what happens to starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger?
I wouldn’t say the Steelers are closing the book on this season. It’s just prudent to do your due diligence. And no team would ever admit to tanking to improve their draft position. As for the Roethlisberger question? That’s a bigger issue.
First of all, is Bridgewater even worth the hoopla? He could just be this week’s quarterback du jour. Keep in mind, he plays in the Big East, or Big Least as it’s affectionately called. That conference is certainly not on a par with the SEC or the Big 12. Typically when a player is drafted in the first round, as is expected to be the case, that player will be called upton to contribute immediately; especially a quarterback.
The days of drafting a signal caller in the first-round and let him hold a clipboard for a season or two has passed. So what to do with Roethlisberger? Contrary to popular opinion in this region the past few weeks, Roethlisberger is not done at quarterback. How can anyone — including Roethlisberger and Bridgewater — be expected to perform at a high level when there is questionable talent surrounding them?
People say Roethlisberger looks like he’s finished as an elite quarterback. It’s hard to successfully march your team down the field to victory when you are constantly swallowed up by opposing team’s pass rushers. Roethlisberger is starting to feel the effects of getting beaten around like a tackling dummy week after week. I’m sure Bridgewater would, too.
What I’m trying to say is, the Steelers still have a franchise quarterback. The Steelers should spend more time scouting offensive linemen and skill position players to support him, instead of trying to bury him. Pass on Bridgewater and get Roethlisberger a better supporting cast because even if you drafted Teddy, you’d still have too many holes and not enough quality players in which to fill them.
