The Pittsburgh Steelers are moving into Week 16 of the NFL regular season, and as the team prepares for the New York Jets we continue to provide you with features, commentary and opinions to tide you over until the next game starts!

Today in the black-and-gold links article we take a look at whether the Steelers are now “stuck” with Devlin Hodges at quarterback for the remainder of the 2019 season?

Let’s get to the news:

• Devlin Hodges is the Steelers’ starting quarterback heading into Week 16, but have the Steelers painted themselves into a corner with their decision?

Tim Benz: Steelers are stuck with ‘Duck’ for now. Starting him Sunday is right call.

By: Tim Benz, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

I started drinking coffee when I was 13.

I’ll say it before you do. Yes, that’s what stunted my growth.

It was usually instant coffee. I stole it from my father every morning. He always seemed to have Folgers Instant Crystals or Taster’s Choice in the pantry.

Gross.

The grounds were locked away in his den. And I was too dumb to work the coffee maker back then anyway.

If anything, that should’ve turned me off to coffee forever. I should’ve just gotten addicted to Jolt cola or something.

There was no reason to choose between the two brands. Both options were distasteful, watered-down knockoffs. I simply swallowed hard and picked whichever one I thought would get me through the day.

Kinda like how head coach Mike Tomlin has to choose between Devlin “Duck” Hodges and Mason Rudolph to play quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Yup. Pittsburgh is home to the instant-coffee version of quarterback controversies. There is no right choice. But you have to pick one, or else you’ll fall asleep at the wheel and drive off the road.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• This is Mike Tomlin’s time to shine...

Kevin Gorman: Mike Tomlin, Steelers at best during this time of year

By: Kevin Gorman, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

In one breath, Mike Tomlin sounded like he was in the spirit of the season, in terms of delivering on yearlong wishes in December. In another, the Pittsburgh Steelers coach said he didn’t care about what happened at this time last year.

One year, he’s on the naughty list. The next year, Tomlin wants to make nice.

“We recognize what time of the year it is,” Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly news conference at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “We recognize the urgency of it. Man, I love this time of year, the clarity of it, the weight of it. It’s football.”

It’s a shame the Steelers (8-6) didn’t find any clarity Sunday night, when they could have put some serious space between themselves and the Tennessee Titans (8-6) for the sixth seed and a wild-card berth in the AFC playoffs.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• Why starting Devlin Hodges is the right thing for the Steelers to do, both now and in the long term.

Duck Hodges is the right choice in Pittsburgh, for 2019 reasons and beyond

By: Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk

The Steelers have decided to stick with Duck Hodges at quarterback. And it’s the right call, for the balance of the current season and beyond.

With Ben Roethlisberger getting closer and closer to the end of the road and given the possibility that his anti-TB12 approach to health and fitness could lead to other parts of his body breaking down, the Steelers need to be thinking about Life After Ben. In so doing, they need to remember Life Before Ben.

In the 20 years from the retirement of Terry Bradshaw until the drafting of Roethlisberger, the Steelers learned the hard way the consequences of not having a franchise quarterback. From Cliff Stoudt to Mark Malone to David Woodley to Scott Campbell to Bubby Brister to Steve Bono to Todd Blackledge to Neil O’Donnell to Mike Tomczak to Jim Miller to Kordell Stewart to Tommy Maddox, the Steelers had their own version of the Browns’ jersey that spanned two decades from Tim Couch to Baker Mayfield.

As the Steelers get closer and closer to the end of the Roethlisberger era, they need to be planning for the future. Which means that they need to know whether any of the options currently on the roster are good enough. They’ve likely seen enough from Mason Rudolph to know that he isn’t. With Hodges, there’s still a ceiling that could be significantly higher than where his play currently resides. Over the balance of the season, the Steelers will see whether and to what extent Hodges can get closer to his maximum level of performance.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• Mike Tomlin Press Conference

• Social Media Madness