The egregious praise heaped upon Will Howard by just about everyone in the 412 has been either inspiring or nauseating, depending on your level of delusion. (Misguided optimism, if you’d rather.)
The Steelers’ staff isn’t immune, as we heard from quarterbacks coach Tom Arth:
“He’s really smart.”
“He’s a hard worker.”
“The level of detail in the preparation.”
“He’s doing everything and more.”
“Exceeding expectations.”
Get a room.
Head coach Mike McCarthy has been equally effusive.
It all lends credence to the nonsensical: That there’s a legit battle for the No. 2 QB spot between Mason Rudolph, a proven veteran backup, and Howard, who’s never even taken a preseason snap.
The Steelers’ emphasis is “win now,” as reinforced by having a 42-year-old quarterback.
It’s also the franchise’s philosophy, however betrayed by a decent level of “now” last being achieved in the 2016 season.
Given the desire to “win now,” why cut Rudolph — who deputized to win three games at the end of the 2023 season and got the Steelers in the playoffs — and go with nothing but inexperience behind Rodgers?
I don’t know, but bookmark this (or whatever it is the kids do):
If the Steelers cut Rudolph and keep Howard, it will be the reason they don’t make the playoffs.
Rodgers is old. He played 16 games last season — not wholly incredible given his dedication to never getting hit but unlikely to occur again.
If Rodgers misses games and Howard has to play, Howard won’t be ready. Won’t be good enough. Osmosis and wishful thinking don’t trump experience and talent.
But if Howard is really as promising as we’re told, start him.
That would be absurd, and annoy Rodgers, but would energize my industry and justify the constant praise lavished upon Howard.
Howard is better as a concept, as a fantasy, than he’s (maybe ever) going to be as a performer.
If Howard can do this, that and the other, if he’s so far ahead of the curve, why was he a sixth-round pick?
How did Howard get better in everybody’s eyes without playing? It’s like a sociological experiment.
From his lofty perch as a podcaster, two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger commented on rookie QB Drew Allar doing a rather elementary three-step drop drill at OTAs:
“When I’m watching him do three-step drops, that makes me incredibly nervous. When we did football camps, the first thing you’re teaching the youngest kids is how to do a three-step drop. Maybe they’re working on the three-step drop to be more efficient. But it looked to me like it was baby steps, teaching.”
That’s a bit condescending, but Roethlisberger can be.
Roethlisberger was NFL-ready when he arrived in 2004, going 14-1 as a rookie. He likely can’t relate to Allar being a project.
Or maybe it’s because Roethlisberger and Howard have the same agent.