When the Steelers signed Ben Roethlisberger to a new contract extension that locks him in for three more years as the team's quarterback, it had to be a blow to the backups, Josh Dobbs and Mason Rudolph. After all, both know that, as long as Roethlisberger is still around, their path to their dream of being an NFL starter faces a pretty big roadblock.
That does not, however, mean either was discouraged.
"Football is a game of uncertainty," Dobbs told me this week as the Steelers wrapped up Week 2 of their OTAs. "You can’t give your mind that thought. You’ve just got to be ready. I’ve seen it at the high-school level in my junior year. I’ve seen it at the college level. You see it happen. You don’t pay any attentions to years. We just want him to play and play at a high level. When one of us is called on, we want to go in and play at that level as well."
Which one of the two will be called upon if something were to happen to Roethlisberger remains to be seen.
Dobbs, who was the primary backup to Roethlisberger last season, isn't about to concede anything to Rudolph, a third-round pick a year ago who was inactive for all 16 of the team's games.
After all, it was Dobbs who was guaranteed of nothing a year ago after the Steelers' selection of Rudolph in the draft. With veteran backup Landry Jones expected to be Roethlisberger's backup, Dobbs was considered to be on his way out of Pittsburgh.
Instead, he didn't back down from the challenge and put together a strong offseason and training camp, beating out Jones for the No. 2 spot.
"The urgency is still there," Dobbs told me. "In this profession, you never take anything for granted. You still want to put your best foot forward every day. Of course, you’re competing. You want to complete every pass when you get out there. Even last year, when people were saying I was the odd man out, the urgency was there. The urgency was there my rookie year. The urgency was there in high school, in college. The urgency will be there as long as I play."
Rudolph feels the same way.
He wasn't happy not throwing a pass once the season began last year. And even though he and Dobbs are longtime friends -- they attended passing camps together as high schoolers -- it's the competition for No. 2 that is driving both players.
"Everybody on this team loves competition, that's why we're here," Rudolph said. "My plan is to be the backup and I'm going to do everything in my power to take care of that and earn it every single day. That's my plan."
Unfortunately, one of the two is going to be disappointed.
But that goes with the territory when you're a backup quarterback. It's not like being a backup at another position, where you might still see time on special teams or in certain packages. The starting quarterback -- or at least one of Roethlisberger's talents -- only comes off the field if he's injured.
Dobbs saw that first hand a year ago when he sat most of the season until called upon in Baltimore when Roethlisberger left the field for a second-and-20 play from the Steelers' 5 early in the fourth quarter.
Instead of simply handing off the ball, Dobbs completed a 22-yard pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster that got the Steelers out of trouble.
"I relived it that night," Dobbs told me. "I honestly haven’t relived it a lot. You’re always itching for the next one. It’s kind of like that golf shot theory. You always go back to the course. You might suck all day, but it’s that one shot that keeps you coming back. I had that opportunity to make a play. It keeps you coming back for more. It keeps you focused. In this situation, you never know when your opportunity is going to come, but you have to be ready for it. It keeps your mind mentally tough in a different area."
And it will keep driving both young quarterbacks throughout this offseason competition.
Dobbs wants another shot to get on the field in an NFL game, however it might come. He wants to have that feeling again. Rudolph is just looking for the chance to live it at the highest level of the game.
And neither minds the competition.
"That’s how you go in and compete on a Sunday," Dobbs told me. "Everybody with the Steelers wants to compete. We want to go on long runs in the playoffs. We want to compete for Super Bowls. That’s the way we want to be. If you don’t have that urgency, then all is lost."
MORE STEELERS
• A lot of players have commented on how good it is to have Roethlisberger fully engaged in OTA sessions this year after he skipped out on most of them a year ago. Even on the days in which he's not practicing, Roethlisberger has been there working with the young guys or at least engaging them. "That has been a big difference," Dobbs told me. "(My) rookie year, he was here the whole time. Last year, he had some family things. It is good seeing him around, being able to bounce things off of him. Being able to pick his brain and interact with him. It’s good to have him around. You never take him for granted. It’s good to have him here." -- Lolley
• A lot of the veteran guys, including Roethlisberger, checked in Thursday and then were told to go home. That included Maurkice Pouncey, Ramon Foster and Alejandro Villanueva. Though you do want your veteran players to show up, sometimes, it is beneficial to have some time to get younger players on the field more, as well. And that was the case last year with Roethlisberger. Had he been at the Steelers' OTA sessions a year ago, it would have taken valuable time away from Dobbs and Rudolph. -- Lolley
• Speaking of guys taking advantage of practice time, Artie Burns did so this week with Joe Haden not at practice. That said, Burns hasn't been in a mood to talk to reporters at all thus far. He has declined every attempt at an interview, including a couple of times by me. Burns hasn't spoken to anyone since the Steelers declined to pick up his fifth-year option, but he has been out there working hard. -- Lolley
PIRATES
• Much credit has been given to personal hitting instructor Joe DeMarco for Josh Bell’s sizzling start and rightfully so. Bell’s agent, Scott Boras, paired the switch-hitting first baseman with DeMarco in the offseason and the duo worked together in the Los Angeles area. However, Bell told me Rick Eckstein and Jacob Cruz, the Pirates’ hitting coaches, also deserve much recognition. That duo has developed a pregame routine they follow each day. “It gets me up to game speed and gets me ready for whatever pitcher we’re facing that day,” Bell said while declining to divulge specifics. “I feel like I got into every game as prepared as I possibly can be and that’s a good feeling.” – John Perrotto at PNC Park
• Former Phillies shortstop and manager Larry Bowa once told me the best way to stop teams from throwing at each other is to hit the opponent’s best player with a pitch. The rationale is teams will think twice about hitting batters if they know their best player is at risk of injury. A Pirates' person confirmed that was part of the thinking when Clay Holmes hit the Reds’ Eugenio Suarez with a pitch Wednesday in Cincinnati. That drew the ire of Reds rookie manager David Bell, who was not only ejected but said after the game Major League Baseball and umpires won’t protect his players. The Pirates and Reds have combined for 113 hit batters in their meetings since the start of the 2013 season. – Perrotto
• Texas Christian left-hander Nick Lodolo is considered one of the best college pitchers available in next week’s Major League Baseball amateur draft. The Pirates have the 18th overall pick and it is questionable whether Lodolo will still be available. If he is, it will be most interesting to see if the Pirates choose him. The Pirates selected Lodolo in the second round in 2016 following his senior year of high school in LaVerne High School. His family wanted a $3 million signing bonus, and the Pirates countered at just $175,000. So Lodolo went off to play for the Horned Frogs. -- Perrotto
PENGUINS
• If there's any meaningful activity inside the Penguins' offices these days, it's either being brilliantly hidden or, as I've been hearing, Jim Rutherford's still on break. Don't expect anything seismic until closer to the NHL Draft, which is in Vancouver in the third week of June. -- Dejan Kovacevic
• Olli Maatta's name surfaces most commonly when discussing the defenseman most likely to be dealt. It should. That's the name I hear the most, as well, from within the team. But that shouldn't be taken to represent any disrespect from the inside. This is anything but a Phil Kessel situation. Rather, all concerned recognize that any exchange involving Kessel, Jack Johnson or any unwieldy contract almost certainly will bring negligible return. And the goal of the offseason isn't the status quo. Rutherford and his people are looking to part with a defenseman to bolster what's up front, and Maatta might be their smartest reasonable chip in that regard. -- DK
• I asked someone with the Penguins about their first-round pick, which far more often than not has been a trade chip of its own. The lean is very hard against such usage in Vancouver, I was told. They like the depth of this draft class and sound confident they can secure a player at No. 21 overall. It almost sounded like there's a push from way, way up top to keep the pick, but that wasn't definitive. -- DK
• Two names I haven't heard from that direction in two full weeks now: Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Read into that as you will. - DK
