Steelers' Dennis Dixon Deserves a Vote of Confidence

But its not happening. Check my fanpost that I put up a couple hours ago

Quarterback Rotation will not change

but take issue with your rhetorical question: “How can you expect a man to have something that was never given to him in the first place?” My issue with the question is simply that it assumes athletes should be given something. I think confidence stars with the individual. The lack of confidence, if there is one, can only be attributed to Dixon because he yet to earn it. From the little I know about him, he seems like a great kid, but I think he must not have done the things to earn the confidence of the FO and the coaching staff. Many of the other QB’s you mention were thrown into the fire and their teams didn’t have much choice (Lions – Stafford, Jets – Sanchez, Joe Flacco – Ratbirds, etc). As you say, he is not the long-term solution for us at QB. However, maybe knowing that, he didn’t do all the little things in the off-season to earn the coaching staff’s confidence. Additionally, I read somewhere today that Dixon is still making some errors that are explained away as “inexperience.” I don’t understand that because he’s been in the same offense since joining the team, so there should be zero errors. I agree with you we should just let the kid play rather than going with Lefty, but if there is any hesitation, I would look at the player before assigning responsibility to anyone else.

…I don’t understand all the stuff about Dixon being, ready, great, exciting, has a great future, has great speed, is fun to watch…blah blah blah….and then he rides the pine.

He’s not the #1 QB, so might as well get him the ball whenever possible just in case he has to lead the team. If he’s sooooos great anyway and has such a future, why not trade him for a QB who is somewhere between him and Lefty, plus another OL? Greatness is a waste if it it isn’t used.

I think he should be the number 2 QB and he should run the team right now. PLUS, once BB gets back there should be some nice gadget plays….I could see see something wacky where DD, BB and Randle El all are on the field. Hike to BB, double reverse option with the other two…..ok ok ok….now I’m just being crazy………zzzzzzzzzzz

I don’t really agree with you (I’m on the fence) … but I still love this post.

I think that Leftwich is a proven commodity. Like Charlie Batch when he filled in for Ben during the regular season on the way to SB40, or Leftwich himself during the run to the last SuperBowl.

I think we can all agree that Leftwich has less upside than Dixon, but he’s also far less risky. Personally, I think that our defense will keep most games close, so our best shot might come with the QB who makes the fewest mistakes.

He makes fewer mistakes? He also makes fewer plays. I think Maryrose knocked it out of the park on this one. Ask yourself this one question, Does Leftwich really give this team a better chance to win in the regular season? I don’t think so. I don’t believe this offensive line can protect him, and frankly he has never been a very good passer. At this point, Dixon looks like Kordell Stewart. Say what you will about Kordell, but in the regular season defenses had a hard time dealing with him at times. Put Dixon in there, and if he is atrocious, you always have Leftwich too back him up.

THis needs to be faxed/emailed/sent by courier pigeon to Tomlin, ASAP.

Do not stop at Arians desk, do not pass go.

Yes, I like Byron. I remember the game in college where his linemen had to carry him to the line of scrimmage between plays. Dude has heart, he sure seems like a quality individual, and he has seen success in Jacksonville and with the Steelers when called upon. I really care less about his mechanics, his lack of footspeed, his absence of ‘touch’…He’s a good player, and capable of leading the team.

But we have a young man that will be leaving us in the not too distant future because he’s starter-worthy. I believe, like several others who have stated the same thing here, that when Dixon leaves (not an “if,” but a definite “when”) he will be leaving to become a starter, and he will find success. I’d like to see us reap the rewards of a great draft pick, as well as markedly improve his trade stock at the same time.

My two centavos.

Thanks again MR.

From what I’ve seen of them. Dixon deserves a chance with first team against New York. Let’s see what he can do. It’s preseason. Why not mix it up?

first off, it’s a nice article, well written and argued. But I don’t know if I can completely agree with your perspective… Just yet.

As has been pointed out above, there are two (obvious) major differences between Leftwich and Dixon. First, Dixon is a mobile quarterback that has no problem taking off and running if the space isn’t there, while Leftwich is more of a typical pocket passer, less able to move. Behind what our line showed in the first game, that would obviously be an advantage for Dixon. But keep in mind that this was the first game-time action the line got, and that they should improve of that. We might not have a great line come September 12, but I fully expect them to be at least decent. Also, more than once Dixon took off running when he had deeper options to throw to. Imagine a game against the Ravens (great front 7, suspect secondary) in which that happens, and he gets blasted while Mike Wallace/Hines War would have been open for the TD. All theory, but man, we would hate him.

The second difference is their respective experience. I know calling Dixon unproven is probably a cliche by now, but that’s exactly what he is. People point out his performance against the Ravens, but forget to mention that he sealed that game with his interception. Not all that great. In college, if I recall correctly, he ran out of a option/spread offense, which made him need a ton of adjustment for the pro game. Yeah, he was a leading Heisman candidate, but how many times have we seen those not turn out well? Remember Tim Tebow, greatest college quarterback of all time? I think many of us agree that he will have a less than stellar year and maybe even career in the NFL. On the other hand, you got Leftwich, who has been been there, done that. Even with the Steelers. He stepped in twice for Ben behind a line that was at least as bad, completed 21 of his 36 passes, had a quarterback rating of over 104, threw 2 touchdowns and most notably no interceptions. His last season in Tampa? A short one in which he had trouble adjusting to a new system, and got pitted against a young quarterback that the organization saw as its future. Not a good prerequisite.

Now, I am not saying that we should disregard the first preseason game. In there, Leftwich looked average at best while Dixon looked sharp. However, we should also not forget that 80 of his 128 yards came as YAC on the two throws to Battle and Brown, which inflated his statistics a little bit. And according to several beat writers such as Dale Lolley (IIRC), Dixon has had a shaky camp that had some great highlights, but included quite some bad decisions, interceptions, and wrong reads as well. People are quick to forget that over one preseason game.

In a nutshell, as we all probably have heard many times by now, Dixon is the game changer while Leftwich is a game manager. And a better than people give him credit for. If you have a dominant defense and a running game that is said to get back on course, who would you rather have for four games? The guy you might win you games with his ability but might just as well lose them? Or the guy who you might not trust to win the game alone, but with whom everyone on the team knows what they are gonna get? If this was a team that hasn’t had a lot of success, of course you go with the upside. But the Steelers, as Coach Tomlin loves to point out, have a different “standard of expectations”. We cannot afford to trust a guy that obviously still has inconsistencies.

When Tomlin was asked after yesterday’s practice if Dixon deserved reps with the first team, he responded with a wink: “he just might!” I think this is the right approach. It is too early to elevate Dixon into the next big thing. All he has done so far is showing that he deserves more opportunities. Should he get them for the rest of camp and preseason? Absolutely. But I don’t think at all that he should already be penciled in as the starter for Atlanta.

For all of Tomlin’s grandiose statements, his biggest weakness appears to be rewarding individual output. Last year, during that dreadful losing streak, all of the starters kept their jobs despite Tomlin’s promise to unleash hell and make changes. This is the first (and only time, in my memory) Tomlin ended up with the proverbial pie on his face.

James Farrior was playing terrible and Keyaron Fox, who played lights out when in the game, rode the pine. Two years ago, Larry Foote lost his starting job based on Timmons’ promise, not production. The results showed on the field last year.

Dennis Dixon has, to this point, outplayed Byron Leftwich. I don’t care who played with the first team and who didn’t: one guy was the best on the field when given the chance, the other looked like he was treading water.

Leftwich is the status quo and the choice that won’t lose the game. But YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME. Even if Dixon played with the practice squad on Saturday, it was clear that only one man had the ability to win games, while the other has become renown for not blowing them.

I have been in Dixon’s corner from day one. I will admit that I can see what I think the coaches may see as far as short comings of Dixon, BUT and that’s a big but, I don’t think he has the kind of flaws that warrant Leftwich being favored over him. I’m just waiting this out. Another game like the past weekend and I expect a change.

Interesting I point I just thought of. This week it may be Leftwich playing with second teamers. Let’s see how he does with them. I’m almost willing to bet he doesn’t do what Dixon did with them.

I always enjoy your historic posts, but I extremely enjoy when you talk current issues. You always have a good and level-headed view on a situation.

Dixon for president!

This is the kind of thought provoking post that separates BTSC from other blogs.
I think the issue of Dixon being “ready” relates to the direction and expectations of the team at the present.
If the Steelers were in rebuilding mode, Dixon is a no-brainer as the starter. The high expectations of the organization keeps Leftwich in the mix due to his experience and lower risk. Personally, I agree with you that we lose nothing if Dixon starts and gets hurt before BB comes back. I like Byron as Dixon’s backup to start the season and give Dixon the first four games to gain the readiness everyone wants.

arguments I’ve seen here in a long time. Well done, Maryrose and everybody else.

I agree that Dixon has more value than BL, but I haven’t seen camp, so I’m forced to assume that BL is outcamping Dixon.

I’m convinced.

Usually the merchandise commercials hijack my posts around thread #14. Someone must be asleep at the switch.

Ask any NFL coach who he’d start in the current situation, and maybe 2 out of 10 would pick Dixon. You always go with experience. Dixon has tons of potential, but I don’t see how he deserves to start in front of a guy with Leftwich’s resume. Byron has had the misfortune of playing for a bunch of mediocre teams, none of whom could ever decide what they wanted to do on offense. Sure Dixon can run, but he still has a lot to learn. Except in an emergency situation (Lefty goes down), the regular season is no time for on-the-job training.

Start Dixon Week 1.

Could interest a few of you who are supporting Leftwich by saying he was very effective for us against Washington. The link to the video is above. You may be surprised to see how often the Receivers actually bailled out Byron.

This is an age-old question. Experience or athleticism? I think the plan is to make Dixon fight for it and improve in the process, therefore if he wins out, you have a better player and if he loses out you have great depth and possible subpackages you can still use. Why settle it now? Let the competition continue, give him the start in game three, (you have to start Big Ben in game four) and study the tape. Ease him in, because although I understand Maryrose’s point, I think you have to feel your players out and give them as much as they can handle. Several young starters have worked with limited playbooks. Ben did it. Sanchez did it last year. Flacco did it in 08. Work him in from the ground up and see what you get.

These were my two cents. I’ll leave you with a little Joe Pa nugget:

“I’d rather start a young guy one game too late than one game too soon”

-Joe Paterno

Some of the commenters here are so blinded by hype (and by 1 preseason game). I’m not saying that Dixon doesn’t deserve a chance … he does … but the safe choice isn’t him … and you look really silly when you discredit a veteran NFL passer leading a TD drive in favor of a totally unproven QB with minutes of real experience.

This is a great post.(i’ll spell it correct for you)
You have brought great discussion amongst each other.

“The Steelers were one play from Tyler Palko…” Losing a game with Tyler Palko is no different in the standings than losing because they were too conservative with Dixon. All we needed from Dixon last year was one game, one win. Ben was coming back the next week. Once that game got in overtime, I throw caution to the wind and let Dixon run his way into field goal range. We never used him again anyway. So what if we risk injury? We needed that win to get in the playoffs. If you think about, if Dixon would have scrambled into field goal range, it wouldn’t have mattered if on that play he broke his leg or not. He wasn’t going to play again one way or the other.

And the first four games will probably be decided by our defense and our running game anyway.

…agrees completely!!