Steelers Position Battles: Landry Jones
“Position Battles” is a new feature column which will explore upcoming training camp battles from an individual player perspective. Each article will aim to make a case for, and against, a player making the roster based on the spots available at their position.
I’m going to regret writing this article before I even do. Regulars here at Steel City Underground, specifically our listeners of our podcast, know I’m a Landry Jones “fan”. I put that in quotations as I’m one of the few members of Steelers Nation who understands who Jones is: and what he isn’t, is a replacement for Ben Roethlisberger.
He was never intended to be, nor if Landry himself were asked, do I think he envisions a future where he steps into Big Ben’s shoes.
However, as far as backup quarterbacks go across the National Football League, Jones is one of the better ones. Is he flawless? Nope. Nor will you get me to say that, but at the same time, when looking around the league, I’m not ready to chase Landry out of town either. In fact, you could do far worse when it comes to a backup quarterback. Call that what you will, but I call it a lack of overall talent at the position. The NFL is comprised of 32 teams, and as I examine each of those teams’ depth charts, I do not see 32 players who are capable of starting under center.
Nor should you.
Which leads me back to the Landry Jones and today’s topic: position battles. The title has been a feature for a few weeks here at SCU, but unlike others which have been posted earlier, there may not be much of a “battle” to speak of behind Ben Roethlisberger. Like it or not, Landry Jones is a veteran quarterback with starting experience in the pros. That same recognition had front offices fawning over the prospect of trading for New England’s Jimmy Garoppolo or signing former Tampa Bay QB Mike Glennon this offseason.
Garoppolo officially has two career starts in three seasons in the league. That’s two less than Landry Jones, but includes the pedigree of playing for the Patriots. Glennon has 18 total starts and far more pass attempts, but only threw eleven balls in 2016 and hadn’t thrown any in 2015 whatsoever.
Again, it shows that value is in the eye of the beholder. The Steelers may have drafted Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs in the fourth round of this year’s draft, but it will take some time to bring the rookie up to speed; literally. The NFL game is much faster and more complex than what Dobbs ran with in college with the Vols. Jones had a similar learning curve after dominating his college opponents at the University of Oklahoma.
However, it’s Jones who will edge out Dobbs as the primary backup behind Ben. It only makes sense from a veteran viewpoint of having a quarterback capable of executing the team’s playbook in a pinch. Jones has experience; most of which isn’t as terrible as some make it out to be. Those snaps translate into helping the Steelers win games in a pinch should they be without Roethlisberger, a situation they have found themselves in often over the last two seasons.
In 2015 it was Landry Jones who helped carry Pittsburgh to wins over the Arizona Cardinals and Oakland Raiders after he was called upon to come in cold during the middle of games. He executed what was asked in a loss to New England in 2016, and defeated the Cleveland Browns in his sole start at the end of the same season.
Yes, he also had some dud appearances too, including a loss on the road in Kansas City in 2015, and some ill-advised throws (again coming in cold) against the Seahawks and Bengals too. (Seriously, the Seahawks plays were really bad calls by whoever made them – including that fake kick!) But overall, when you look at the body of Jones’ work when compared to his peers, you could do worse. Dobbs has yet to throw a pass in the NFL yet, and the preseason will give us a glimpse of what his future may hold. We already know Roethlisberger will be the starter without a shadow of a doubt; that much of the “battle” is settled before it even started.
It will be interesting to see how Dobbs progresses, but I have prepared myself to see more of the timidness and poor preseason play that Jones exhibited before getting to work with players who had an actual chance of making the final 53-man roster. With that in mind, I think we can expect to see Jones hold his backup position for at least one more year.
If that’s difficult to accept as a fan, just take solace in knowing there are teams who went to camp with Brock Osweiler, Mark Sanchez, Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Fitzpatrick as their top options last season: finding a starting quarterback in the NFL is tough enough let alone a competent backup!
