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"There is nothing worse than starting 0-2 and being beaten 102-10," said a Dolphins fan on Monday. For that, a fan of the Steelers might have retorted: "Hold my beer. Better yet, give me one or three more.
The biggest fear of many Steelers supporters was undoubtedly taken on Monday when it was revealed that injured quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was visibly facing a 28-26 loss in Week 2 against the Seahawks at Heinz Field Sunday requiring surgery. Veteran 16 years on the list of injured reservists for the rest of the 2019 season.
So, not only must the Steelers find a way to bounce back from a 0-2 start, but they will have to do it with second-year QB Mason Rudolph as a starter. Big challenge? That's an understatement.
Everyone knew that day would come, finally. This is not officially the end of Roethlisberger's career, but it would not be a shock if it were. After all, he would not be the first quarterback for the Steelers to win multiple Super Bowl wins as his Hall of Fame career was interrupted by an elbow injury, says Terry Bradshaw. And at age 37, he's eight years older than Andrew Luck, who recently decided that all the work needed to rehabilitate his body after an injury was worthless.
All Steelers fans were not depressed when they heard the news on Monday. In fact, I know many who are excited about what Rudolph can do. And those who are not enthusiastic about this, of course, are excited about the fact that the old number 7 will not be there for the rest of the season. In other words, they hate it. I know that I have spoken to many people who have shared these feelings over the years. Due to these difficulties, they want to see Rudolph come in and brighten up every San Francisco dashboard this Sunday, where he will make his first career start against the 49ers at Heinz Field, where he will likely get his second career start. against the Bengals eight days later.
Then there are those who want to see Rudolph fail, not because they hate him or even Roethlisberger. They really hate head coach Mike Tomlin and want to see how "great" he is without a quarterback to support him.
I do not know why anyone would want anything other than the success of his favorite professional football team, but hey, it's the people.
So how is Rudolph going? Based on his debut in the NFL Sunday in which he completed 12 of 19 passes for 112 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, there is hope. He looked calm and confident. He looked comfortable in his pocket. But, according to the odds, he will probably not have the same kind of success as Roethlisberger and will perhaps continue to have it play again.
Franchising quarters, they do not grow in trees. That's why it took the Steelers two decades to find a suitable replacement for Bradshaw. That's why dolphins are always looking for their next Dan Marino 20 years after playing their last game with them. That's why John Elway needed the perfect storm from Peyton Manning, missing the entire 2011 season. The Colts finished with the worst NFL record, Andrew Luck posing as a generational talent at college and Indianapolis ahead Manning with a huge bonus of finding the Broncos a quarterback who was as good as Elway was when he played for them.
But whether there is a good chance or not, we will not really know until Rudolph starts doing his thing. Rudolph certainly embodies the Steelers in the unknown, a place in which they were not forced to venture before 15 years.
If you're a 20-year-old fan, Big Ben is the only Steelers quarterback you've ever known. You never had to see the team try to survive for more than a few games without the number 7 doing its job, something that includes unique abilities that few people who have played at his post have owned.
It may be why it has been so difficult to convince yourself that simply preparing a successor is not as easy as it seems.
That's why you're likely to say that Roethlisberger's real successor may be someone whose parents have not met yet.
But, again, there is hope. There is even a precedent. I think his name is Tom Brady. I may have also accepted Kurt Warner or, to be a little more realistic, Dak Prescott.
It is possible that Rudolph will intervene and do a decent job for a very good job as a Steelers quarterback in 2019 and beyond. But there is also a more than realistic chance that it does not have what it takes.
We will never know until we know.
This is the problem of the unknown and the replacement of these rare quarters of franchise, I repeat, it is a place that the Steelers and their supporters have not had to explore for a very long time.
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