View topic - Best Steelers Back-Up QB All-Time?

[Steelers76 Profile]

Who in your opinion was the best Steelers back-up QB? This should cover the time frame that only you watched/were witnessed to. I myself didn't become a Steelers fan until going into middle school in the late 1980's-early 1990's, so that's the era I'll go by for me. With that said, I'll start;


-Charlie Batch; 2002-2012. Good old reliable Charlie. You are def. doing something right when you're the back-up signal caller for 1 team for over a decade. Never so good that you think he could ever be a regular starter here, yet not so bad that when Ben got hurt you thought "Oh shit!" Almost always played within himself as the type of QB he was and rarely made bonehead mistakes, which is really the most you can ask of someone in his position. He went out with a bang in the final start of his career when he beat Baltimore on the road. Certainly 1 I'll never forget.


-Honorable Mention; Mike Tomczak; 1993-1999. Yes, you read that right. Mike "Let me try to squeeze the football in between a WR and 3 defenders" Tomczak. Few remember his 1996 run. Neil O'Donnell, after leading The Steelers to The Super Bowl the previous season, left for a lucrative deal with The Jets. After a horrible opening week loss in Jacksonville, Jim Miller,(remember him?), the team's named starter was yanked by Cowher in favor of T-Zak. Although he didn't put up eye-popping numbers, Tomczak did enough to help lead that team to a 10-6 record, another division title, and a playoff win against the Indy Colts. He came in mid-season again during the 1999 campaign after Kordell Stewart was flaming out as a starter. Even though T-Zak put up decent numbers from the rest of that season on,(actually better than his 1996 term), the team overall sucked and finished 6-10. Although I hardly attribute that record to Mikey T. behind Center. Still, a solid if unspectacular 8 season run here.


Well, those are my picks. Agree-Disagree-Have your own? Let's hear 'em!

[Crucible-steel-kid Profile]

Joe Gilliam. No other q.b. created more controversy than Jefferson Street Joe. You oughta hear the crap all persons of a certain demographic group whine to me about when Jefferson Street Joe is mentioned. I asked someone that followed the story closely, and he proffered this explanation:

Joe would be advised to run the ball, and every down would be a 60 yard deep bomb. Every play was a deep throw, and it got old real fast. So, when he was accused of not following the game plan it should come as no surprise he lost his role as starter and became a backup.

When you look at his life & substance addiction issues, his stating that he was going to try and stage a comeback to the N.F.L. at 48 years old is a sure fire sign of a player not present in reality.

Ancient history, but nothing has really changed in this league with players that "look like me". He was black & they're racist so they kept him as backup to Bradshaw...

LINK: http://mweb.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-fo ... ing-qb-job

[isfry Profile]

Best backup? Easy. Ben. Name another backup who came in and went 15-1 immediately thereafter...

OK. Charlie Batch.

[Steelers76 Profile]

Best backup? Easy. Ben. Name another backup who came in and went 15-1 immediately thereafter...

OK. Charlie Batch.

LOL. I should've been more specific; I meant "back-up QB" as in they were signed to be the back-up here to whoever was the starting QB at the time.

[Pommah Profile]

Hanratty. Was a number two draft pick, and so inspiring, the team spent its number one pick in the entire league on another QB. Perfected the art of holding a clipboard while wearing a ball cap. Actually did quite well in backup performances.

[LenSherwood Profile]

Terry Bradshaw also backed up Cliff Stoudt in his last year in the NFL. Terry had to come in in an end of the year game in his last season to pull the Steelers into the playoffs with a win after Stoudt who began the year on a win streak began shitting the bed. Terry had no arm strength at the time but played on instinct and what was left of a once magnificent arm... Remember that Pommah?

[Pommah Profile]

Terry Bradshaw also backed up Cliff Stoudt in his last year in the NFL. Terry had to come in in an end of the year game in his last season to pull the Steelers into the playoffs with a win after Stoudt who began the year on a win streak began shitting the bed. Terry had no arm strength at the time but played on instinct and what was left of a once magnificent arm... Remember that Pommah?

Not sure I'd call him a backup - they were trying to preserve what left he had of his arm and not letting him play. But what an arm it was....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnSrgPUwUVU
2:55 55 yards in the air on a 2-step