One of the points we’ve been making from time to time of late -- and which appears prominently in our season preview magazine -- arises from the mess that the Steelers are facing in Pittsburgh.
If they do well without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, what will coach Mike Tomlin do once Ben returns?
Though Tomlin is keeping his cards sutured to his chest, the guy who seems to be in line to replace Roethlisberger had a chance today to declare an intention to step aside.
Appearing with Adam Schein and Rich Gannon of Sirius NFL Radio’s The Sirius Blitz, Byron Leftwich faced this question: “You’re the quarterback for the Steelers. Pittsburgh goes 3-1 or 4-0. Does Ben automatically get the job back [when he returns from suspension]?”
It’s a simple question, and the right answer likely is “yes,” or some variation thereof.
Leftwich didn’t say “yes.” Or any variation thereof.
“I don’t know,” Leftwich said. “That’s not a decision for me but that’s a good problem to have. It’s a good problem to have and I’m quite sure he’ll say the same thing. You want to go out there and, every chance you get, get a chance to win football games because we’re all in it for one thing. We’re all trying to win football games and hopefully you can win a championship.
“So if that’s everybody’s mindset and that’s everybody’s plan I don’t really see that as an awkward situation. I see that as a situation that’s good for the Pittsburgh Steelers and if it happens that way they’ll handle it the way they have to handle it. But it’s not something that you really think about. Man, it’s too hard in this league to be hypothetical, you know? We’ve still got a long way to go and we’ll see what happens.”
Yep, it’s potentially going to get ugly if the Steelers thrive without Roethlisberger.