So, wow, Landry Jones?
Did not see that coming. Obviously.
Right back in my face. Right back in the faces of everyone who presumed, if we're really cutting to the core of this, that the Steelers will continue to build everything around Ben Roethlisberger into infinity.
Maybe we should have paid more heed to that concept when Mason Rudolph was drafted in the third round, the year after Josh Dobbs was drafted in the fourth round.
Maybe we should have paid more heed when Rudolph and Dobbs got all of the action in the final preseason game, rather than presuming Jones was being set aside because all concerned already knew what he could do.
But more than that, again, maybe we all should have paid more heed to the repeated suggestions from both Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert in recent months, subtle or otherwise, that they have zero intention of closing up shop after their franchise quarterback retires, after Antonio Brown ages, after the offensive line is broken up and, yeah, after Le'Veon Bell leaves later this winter.
Remember this Colbert remark back in April?
“We go all-in every year. We want to win it every year,” he told reporters shortly before the draft. “I’ll never support mortgaging the future to sell out and win because one critical injury can change that, and what have you done to your organization? Since I’ve been part of this thing, we’ve had one losing season."
He was referring to 2003, when the Steelers were 6-10. He's been the GM since 2000.
"That’s one too many," Colbert continued of that season. "Fortunately, we got a franchise, Hall-of-Fame quarterback that year. There were probably three Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks in that class. If that wasn’t, who knows what would have happened? Without Ben, we’re probably not winning as many Super Bowls as we’ve been able to."
Right. And 'without Ben' is coming up on the horizon. He's 36. He's already spoken openly about doubts about a long-term future. I love the shape he's been in through this camp, not to mention the fire, the leadership, all that. He's eminently capable of winning another Super Bowl.
But the Steelers, as a franchise, are built on consistent success, maybe more than any franchise in professional sports. Three head coaches since 1969, you know. They were a consistent failure until 1972, the year of the Immaculate Reception, but since then they've been .500 or better in a mind-boggling 38 of those 45 seasons, including six Super Bowl championships, two other Super Bowl appearances, 30 playoff appearances and -- this one's insane -- 23 division titles.
To put it another way, they've given themselves a chance to win it all in nearly three-quarters of their seasons over the past half-century.
The principle, very clearly, is sound.
This case, though, has more to it.
I didn't think they'd go this way, releasing Jones, and I'd made that stance known for months. Certainly not after Tomlin and Colbert themselves had anointed Jones the No. 2 quarterback entering camp, both in word and deed. Jones was the one taking the backup snaps. He was the one taking on the mentor role for the younger guys.
So something changed.
Ask me, and it's now evident, with the gracious benefit of hindsight, that Rudolph met -- possibly exceeded -- expectations right away, which would explain Colbert's striking comment early in camp that he was "even more advanced than we'd thought." That put Rudolph into a spot with the bosses where they could see him as being a bona fide emergency option for 2018. And once he took charge as he did in the preseason, that was that.
If you missed our little exchange after his terrific showing Thursday night against Carolina, I can't recommend it enough. He's all that and a ball of a fire.
Beyond that ... hey, give it up for Dobbs.
All the kid did was enter a camp where everyone, including his teammates, saw him as Dead Man Walking. He'd have no chance, no matter what he did. He'd either get traded or released, and he'd have to do it all again with whatever other organization would pick him up. He was asked about that one final time after his own terrific showing Thursday, addressing the matter as coolly and calmly as he had all throughout.
“That will all play itself out,” Dobbs would say. “I don’t know what the future holds. I think that’s just how it is, and that’s the business we’re in. You can’t worry about those type of things.”
And this was what he tweeted after making the cut:
Don’t be afraid of tomorrow. GOD is already there. #HereWeGo? pic.twitter.com/EmqIrSNaSb
— Josh Dobbs (@josh_dobbs1) September 1, 2018
Good for him.
Good for the Steelers, too, certainly in the longer run.
For now, though, I can quickly come up with three questions that'll need to be addressed sooner rather than later:
1. What will Ben think?
Let's not pretend this won't be an issue. He made no secret of his affinity for Jones, both as a friend and fellow quarterback, including as an in-game advisor. And he wasn't blowing smoke. Those two were together constantly on the sideline after an offensive series. As Roethlisberger put it just the other day, "He'd see stuff away from the play that I couldn't see when I'm out there live. That helps so much."
Could Roethlisberger use his weekly radio show Tuesday, yet again, as a vehicle to vent?
And since that would come on opening week, how much of a legit distraction would that be?
2. Who's No. 2 now?
It's funny, but here we are, after OTAs, minicamp, training camp and now even the preseason, and it can't be clear to anyone on the outside who'll suit up as Roethlisberger's backup in Cleveland.
I'd have to assume it'll be Dobbs because of his advanced knowledge of the playbook, but then, maybe I should get out of the assuming business after this.
3. Who's the starter if Ben goes down?
Believe it or not, it's not the same question as above.
At the risk of mixing sports, think of it in the same spirit as the Penguins' handling of their backup goaltenders behind Matt Murray late last season: Casey DeSmith, more experienced, stayed in Pittsburgh at the end of the bench, while Tristan Jarry, the more talented of the two, kept busy in the minors. But if Murray were to have been hurt, Jarry would have come up to start.
I could see that here. Dobbs, again, is best equipped for immediate support. But if Roethlisberger is hurt for any significant amount of time, Rudolph might be better able to achieve some Nick Foles-type surge through contention. (Or a Roethlisberger-like surge, if you want to go back to 2004.)
It sure isn't the status quo, huh?
Or maybe it is, should the Steelers just keep on being the Steelers for the foreseeable future.