It’s pretty easy for me to admit, since when he got his head smashed sideways, it didn’t hurt me one bit.
Well, you can’t go back and count the one real injury that he actually had!
Word this morning is that they are going to be signing Tyler Palko to the practice squad. Looks like there’s not much doubt about whether Ben will play or not.
Looks like there is doubt about what Jason LaCanfora would be able to find with a flashlight, a funnel, two hands and guidance from Jeff Garcia.
I’m not familiar with Palko. Let’s hope I remain unfamiliar with him. 
Ramon Foster is getting the start at Left Guard this week. Interesting that an undrafted rookie free agent gets the start while the 3rd round guard (Urbik) sits on the practice squad. Foster can play tackle too. I would love to see Willie Colon move to guard and Foster at Right Tackle at some point.
Really? Not from Pittsburgh? He was a local high school guy and Pitt’s quarterback from 2002-2006. He famously dropped the f-bomb on national tv after beating Notre Dame in South Bend. He’s not done much as a pro, leading to the speculation that the Steelers aren’t out there looking for a veteran guy to step in because Ben’s hurt.
Not from Pittsburgh and don’t follow college ball. Thanks for the info on Palko. Sometimes I’ll look certain guys up on YouTube if there’s draft buzz from the Steelers camp but I don’t remember this guy. I’ve heard rumours that Charlie Batch might not be back following his injury, BTW. Who knows but he was a fine back-up. If he is done I think he goes out as an underrated QB. I think he helped Ben more than some of the coaches.
You’re right. Batch was a very capable backup, as pretty much any competent journeyman would be in the Steelers system with that defense getting your back.
I agree. He’s another one of those guys about whom you wonder what their career would have been like if they hadn’t been sucked into the mire of Detriot.
He’s a local Pittsburgh guy, too. It would be a shame if he were done, but he’s gone down with injury the last couple times he’s been in there - IIRC it was a shoulder injury to Batch that led to Byron Leftwich being brought here.
He’s also the guy who kept Joe Flacco on the bench at Pitt, leading to his eventual transfer to Maryland. Pretty much sums up Dave Wannstedt’s quarterback-evaluating skills.
Didn’t Flacco go to Delaware?
That’s what I said, isn’t it? No? Okay, brain fart.
As a general rule, the skill set for top-level college quarterback is not the skill set for successful pro quarterback. Legion are the numbers of relatively unknown college QBs who become NFL greats; few and far between the ones who manage greatness at both levels.
cf: Kenny Anderson 
That might be a valid argument if Pittsburgh ran some archaic triple-wing or option or spread offense, but they don’t. They run a pro-style run heavy play action offense much like the one Falco runs in Baltimore.
You know, you’re really not all… oh, wait, nevermind.
Flacco went to the powerhouse Delaware, where in 2006 he went 5 and 6, throwing 18 TDs and 10 picks, amassing 3,000 yards. In 2007, he went 8-3, with 18 TDs on 5 ints, and 3,300 yards. Not terrible, really, but not anything to really jump up and down about, especially considering that the Fighting Blue Hens are a 1-AA division school.
Tyler Palko’s career at Pitt ended with him being the 2nd in school history for career TDs, and second in yardage behind Dan Marino. Wannstedt’s current QB is fourth in the country for QB ratings, and has more yards, TDs and a better completion percentage than Tim Tebow, even though I don’t hear Bill Stull being mentioned for Heisman consideration.
Stull can’t take a five step dropback across a pond like Tebow.
Not to hijack this thread from the Pitt discussion (perhaps its own thread?)
but can we get rid of that fat-ass jackass Jeff Reed?
In the KC game, if we had a kicker, like say Rob Bironas, (free agent, kicking in the arena league), we could have kicked a field goal in OT, instead of punting.
He’s also incapable of kicking off deep, giving the opposition great field position. The chubby little bastard is a liability.
Time to go.
oh, and a follow-up about Leftwich.
He has stated publically that the best season of pro football he ever had was last year in Pittsburgh. He said it was all about the team, and the players were unselfish. Granted, he got a Super Bowl ring, but he seemed to like it in Pittsburgh, and the Steelers and the city sure liked him.
it’s a shame that he’s sitting on the bench in TB. I’m sure he would have stayed in Pittsburgh if not given the chance to start in TB. Too bad for us all.
Palko? I think he was on someone’s practice squad for a while (Buffalo or Arizona ring a bell, but I’ll check the web to make sure).
He was on the Saints’ and Cards’ practice squads for a year each. He spent this season on the Montreal Alouettes practice roster.
I don’t get it. Why not go out and get a quarterback who might actually play? Tim Rattay is getting quality couch time (actually, he’s playing in the UFL). I always felt like that guy deserved a better shot.
Plus he’s a deadly threat to gas station paper towel dispensers everywhere. He must be stopped before he can do any more damage.
They must see something they like in Dixon. Tomlin made it pretty clear that he was comfortable with the QB situation. We’ll see how it goes.
When you look at Leftwich it’s initially surprising he played so well here behind a line that had, at least, a reputation for being sieve-like. Leftwich’s biggest problem elsewhere has been his molasses-slow release time and of course he has the mobility of a fire hydrant. I think this line actually found it to be a relief blocking for him rather than Ben’s ten-second adventures he’s prone to going on. With Ben they need to need hold their blocks and then try and figure out where he’s going or what’s happening back there when they obviously can’t just turn around and look for him. They always know where Leftwich is. Even if they have to hold their blocks a bit longer than they would with another QB it’s probably still less of a challenge.
The team is working out several LBs and DBs for the coverage units. Heads are rolling and some veterans are being assigned to the coverage unit. James Harrison will lobby hard to get on I’m sure, he seems to want to play every unit. They had him practicing at fullback when he was backing up Joey Porter. I notice he gave up his back-up long snapper role to James Farrior following the safety last year though.