On Sunday night, I watched Devlin ‘Duck’ Hodges and the Pittsburgh Steelers struggle to a 17-10 loss at home against the Buffalo Bills. Indeed, on Sunday Night Football; it was a game where if the quarterback makes one more play, the home team probably finds a way to win.
Instead, Hodges threw four interceptions. He closed out the final two Pittsburgh drives – where they were attempting for a tying score – with interceptions in the end zone. In short, he looked like a player who really didn’t belong in the NFL. While Hodges is a great story of an upstart player who has found a way to win a few games, it’s still a results business. Now, the Steelers have made the decision to stick with Hodges.
No Ducking around; Steelers stick with Hodges https://t.co/zWl8kSNLtD
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) December 17, 2019
Therefore, here’s how head coach Mike Tomlin justifies sticking with Hodge. He talks about growth and experiences shaping a player.
“I think it’s reasonable to expect growth from young players as they get exposure. Sometimes that exposure can be negative exposure, like his experience in the last game, but exposure nonetheless is a tool for growth. Particularly at the quarterback position, I think it’s reasonable to expect him to learn from those negative experiences from last Sunday night and apply it to this next opportunity and really, hopefully not make those same mistakes twice.”
Without question, Tomlin is saying all of the right things. And Hodges really only needs to make a few plays a game, because the Pittsburgh defense is close to elite.
But as much at Tomlin talks positivity and his anticipation for greatness, Hodges will still need to make a throw or two. Otherwise, the Steelers could still miss the playoffs. And that onus would fall squarely on quarterback play.
