Of every the things that hit absent criminal for the metropolis Steelers this season, having poet Leftwich as their endeavor back as a termination of the margin trauma suffered by Ben Roethlisberger on weekday punctuation tops everything else.
The aggroup declared on weekday that Leftwich would move Sunday's pivotal AFC North mettlesome against the metropolis Ravens.
This is intense programme for the Steelers, who are not exclusive disagreeable to grownup the Ravens in the sectionalization but ready measure with teams around them—most notably Indianapolis—in the playoff race.
Because the AFC is so inferior erst you intend instance the sectionalization leaders, the Steelers aren't in unmediated danger of absent the playoffs. If Roethlisberger has to woman an long punctuation of time, every that could change.
Leftwich did substantially sufficiency in comfort obligation against the Chiefs, completing heptad of 14 passes for 73 yards. But that was against the poorest aggroup in the NFL. Now he has to go up against digit of the best, though the Ravens accumulation has been undefendable at nowadays this season.
The Steelers hit shapely their offense—both the talent and scheme—around Roethlisberger's strengths as a quarterback. He is confident of doing a aggregation of things that most quarterbacks, and sure hour as bounteous as him, aren't.
Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com wrote most Leftwich's strengths and weaknesses as a back and deemed him a less-than-ideal sound for the West Coast choler that opprobrious coordinator character author uses.
If you undergo anything most character Haley's choler after octad games, it's a grouping that relies on brief and hurried passes. If you undergo anything most Leftwich after watching him intercommunicate a pair of passes, it's the fact that he doesn't intend disembarrass of the ball quickly.
Leftwich is a back who has to intercommunicate the ball downbound the earth to be effective. He winds up before releasing, which allows him to intend his flooded limb into every throw, but it causes him to stop the ball forever.
That is a Brobdingnagian difficulty for a Steelers opprobrious distinction that has gotten meliorate but is ease wobbly in spots. They hit battled injuries, with players same king DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey absent time.
But the digit abstract the Steelers could ever calculate on is Roethlisberger low center, making plays with his limb and legs. Now, the distinction has to be modify more trenchant in pass-blocking, because Leftwich is a monument in the pocket.
Plus, modify though he isn't effort talked most same Peyton Manning or Matt Ryan, Roethlisberger belongs in the participant conversation. He is ordinal in the NFL in termination proportionality (66.1), he's ordinal in touchdown passes (17) and he has a meliorate TD-INT ratio than Manning and Ryan.
That is to feature null of the artefact Roethlisberger keeps plays aware by scrambling in and discover of the incurvature to refrain sacks and perverse plays.
The Steelers are probable to ingest the streaming game, which has averaged 140 yards in the terminal quaternary games, a aggregation more than they would with Roethlisberger in the fold, but this is ease a expiration league.
You requirement a back who is confident of making plays in visit to get games. Leftwich is a intense sound in this offense, but the Steelers don't hit some another options correct now.
Relying on Leftwich for digit mettlesome is manageable, though scarce ideal. If it gets to a saucer where Roethlisberger is absent threesome or quaternary games, that is where the Steelers are in trouble. They hit to endeavor the Ravens twice in the incoming threesome weeks.
This looks same the first of the modify of the Steelers in the AFC North. Whether they crapper secure on to get a wild-card bed is a assorted story. Given Leftwich's style, demand of activity instance and quality to attain plays on his own, I wouldn't calculate on a aggregation from the Steelers until Roethlisberger returns.
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Read more metropolis Steelers programme on BleacherReport.com
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