Mike Vick has a lot on his plate now. Like someone asked you to eat five Big Macs in a row type of plate.
I said earlier in the year that the Vick signing was a smart move by the Steelers front office. It gave them a competent backup in case Roethlisberger went down. However, I also noted in that piece, that if the Steelers had to rely on a backup quarterback for more than a week, who that backup quarterback is would be the least of their problems. Well, the worst nightmare of Steelers fans has come true.
Here’s the schedule for the Steelers over the next six weeks:
- Baltimore
- at San Diego
- Arizona
- at Kansas City
- Cincinnati
- Oakland
Vick showed the ability against St. Louis to not completely destroy the Steelers offense when he was on the field. Granted, he never had adequate warm up time and hasn’t run with the first team at all this year. I
If you’re Vick (which you’re not, but let’s play hypothetical) you have a tremendously talented offense. Le’Veon Bell is just a handoff away, and arguably the most talented wide receiver in the league, Antonio Brown, literally catches just about everything. So, weapon-wise, it isn’t like Vick will be struggling to find capable targets.
Also, Todd Haley has proven to be an extremely competent coordinator who had this offense on pace to be one of the best in the league. Unlike a majority of Steelers fans, who always believe they can call plays better than any of the offensive coordinators, I trust Haley’s decision making and game planning. Like I said, when two of the league’s top five players are on the Steelers offense, the world isn’t lost.
But, Vick isn’t a hall of famer either. He’s still a backup quarterback that no one signed for the first few weeks of the preseason. He is absolutely not a “for sure” commodity. I implore Steeler fans to recognize their “yinzer denial” and realize this isn’t going to be a smooth ride.
“Vick’ll be fine n’at, Ben’s comin’ back in six weeks anyways. We’ll be alright,” said Marge who smokes a pack of Pall Malls outside a 7-11 convenient store. (This is not an actual quote that I got, but I imagine this was on most local news broadcasts last night.)
Guess what Marge, they may not be. This is a tough stretch of games, with a quarterback who has a more question marks than answers for the time being. If the Steelers go 3-3 during this stretch, it will be remarkable frankly. Anything better than 3-3 and I’ll buy Marge another pack of Pall Malls.
A short week of rest with a new quarterback is a scary thought. The fact that Baltimore is 0-3 is worrisome. The law of averages say that Baltimore isn’t an 0-4 team. If the Steelers pull this win off, there will be reason for optimism.
I’m not saying the season is over by any stretch, especially since Roethlisberger is reportedly out for only six weeks. I’m saying it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be real tough.
Photo courtesy of our news partners WPXI-TV
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