Steelers can’t make the mistake of undervaluing the QB position after Ben
By Tommy Jaggi
The Pittsburgh Steelers made some questionable decisions in the past. Here’s why they can’t undervalue the QB position after Ben Roethlisberger.
I’ve talked to a lot of Pittsburgh Steelers fans recently who spent time talking about the mediocre stretch of seasons this team had before my day. “Be thankful you didn’t have to suffer through those Steelers teams in the 80s,” they would say.
So what was it that made these teams less than mediocre?
From 1981 to 1991, Pittsburgh had a record of just 68-68 — the epitome of mediocrity. Just a few years later, they had another stretch from 1998-2003 in which they were 51-44, according to Pro Football Reference.
While football is a team sport, it’s clear that the lack of success during these forgettable seasons for the Steelers was directly tied to who was at the helm at quarterback. While Bubby Brister and Neil O’Donnell were serviceable starters from the late 80s until the mid-90s, collectively, Pittsburgh was really hurt by the fact that they undervalued the QB position.
How the Steelers undervalued QB
Apart from a half-hearted effort to replace Terry Bradshaw with a late first-round pick in Mark Malone in 1980, the Steelers still had a remarkable stretch in which they didn’t draft a QB in the first round — 24 years to be exact.
This is a number that is clearly unacceptable, and investing higher at the position could have yielded very different results during these down years for the Steelers. Malone was clearly not the answer Pittsburgh was looking for (as evidenced by his dismal 61.9 career passer rating).
However, instead of investing in the QB position until they found a franchise passer, Pittsburgh was content with streaming mid-round quarterbacks for over two decades. It’s no wonder why their seasons during this span finished the way they did.
This isn’t to say that they didn’t get some competent seasons of QB play out of guys like Brister, O’Donnell, and Stewart. However, none of these quarterbacks were the long-term answer for this team.
Steelers can’t repeat this mistake in the future
In today’s NFL, the quarterback position holds more value than ever before. It’s hard enough to even make the playoffs without a quality quarterback and a team’s record almost seems to be tied to who is at the helm. Likewise, it’s typically the star quarterbacks making it to the championship games and ultimately winning the Super Bowl (with the expectation of just a few outliers over the past two decades).
The Steelers are at the end of a remarkable era with Ben Roethlisberger. While they have plenty of pressing needs, the organization needs to value the quarterback position above all else to avoid another drought like the one the franchise witnessed in the 80s and 90s.
In order to do this, Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin must make QB a top priority for this team. Long gone are the days when you can try to simply get by with mid-round, game-managing quarterbacks. The Mason Rudolph’s of the world aren’t good enough to get the job done.
I’m not saying that the Steelers must take a QB in the 2022 NFL Draft, regardless of who’s available, but they need to be making every conscious effort to find the next great quarterback who will be here for a very long time. Until that happens, we can expect Pittsburgh to go through some sad years like they did between Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger.