It’s a talent drop off that could be described as “orbital.” Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger tore his left meniscus in his team’s loss to the Miami Dolphins Sunday. For the next three weeks the Steelers’ entire season is in turmoil. And that’s the best possible scenario.
For the next few weeks at least Pittsburgh will be led by Landry Jones, a fine college quarterback and a decent enough NFL back-up who can, in no way, even come close to doing what Roethlisberger does as the Steelers’ quarterback.
#Steelers have a bye after the #Patriots game, which Landry Jones will start. Ben Roethlisberger will know post-surgery how long he's out.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 17, 2016
Luckily for the Steelers (4-2) they have a bye in Week Eight. Unluckily enough, in that four-week span (and, again, that’s if everything goes perfect) that Roethlisberger will be out, Pittsburgh will face the New England Patriots, the Baltimore Ravens and the Dallas Cowboys. Losing Roethlisberger right now may not cost the Steelers a playoff spot, but home field and probably a home game are off the table.
According to reports, the meniscus issues with Big Ben should just be a “clean-up,” where the torn tissue is removed and not a full repair. That’s still a month of recovery time. If the doctors get inside Roethlisberger’s knee and see it actually needs to be repaired, that’s probably eight weeks at least. Maybe more.
Steelers' statement on Ben Roethlisberger's knee surgery: pic.twitter.com/YgBixCU68w
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 17, 2016
Last year the Steelers went 3-2 without Roethlisberger in the line up, starting Michael Vick for three games and Jones for two. Neither QB was that effective and Vick wasn’t invited back this year. The No. 3 quarterback this season is third-year man Zach Mettenberger. It’s possible, if not likely, the Steelers will take a good look at him in live game action in the second half against the Patriots next Sunday.
Jones has completed 57.1 percent of his passes in his NFL career for 513 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions. Jones has seen action in 11 NFL games and started two, going 1-1.
Mettenberger has completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 2,347 yards, 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He’s played in 14 NFL games, started 10 and is 0-10 in those starts, all with the Tennessee Titans.
When will the Browns win a game?
Let’s be clear on one thing. I don’t feel this year’s Cleveland Browns squad has the fortitude, the hunger, the innate desire to pull off an 0-16 run in the modern NFL. To even pretend the Browns are capable of such an incredible feat is to diminish the accomplishments of the 2008 Detroit Lions; the worst football team to ever take the field in the history of the NFL.
Best Chance for No. 1 Pick in 2017 NFL Draft according to FPI:@Browns 68%@ChicagoBears 7%@49ers 7%
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 17, 2016
Only four teams have ever gone winless since 1944 and three of those teams’ 0-fer record comes with caveats. The 1960 Dallas Cowboys and 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers were both expansion teams in the era before free agency. That means they could only build their teams through the draft and from other teams’ cast-offs. The 1982 Baltimore Colts went 0-8-1, but that was a strike-shortened year and a full 16-game schedule would have likely resulted in at least one win.
No, the 2008 Lions were of a different breed. This was a team that not only had access to the same draft as every other NFL team as well as the cast-offs, with free agency and the salary cap, they had multiple offseasons to fill the holes in their roster with the best unrestricted free agents available. Rod Marinelli, the head coach (now defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys) had been in Detroit for two seasons. This wasn’t a roster he was handed as a first-year head coach. It was one he’d been developing since 2006.
#Browns Hue Jax on Kessler: "He's growing week-to-week. Made some huge plays outside the pocket. Gets walloped and stands up.''
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) October 17, 2016
Of the Lions nine draft picks, three are still in the NFL (Gosder Cherilus, Cliff Avril and Jerome Felton). Two more, defensive tackles Andre Fluellen and Landon Cogen, played in the league until just last year. Fluellen isn’t currently on a roster, but Cohen is playing in the CFL for the Ottowa Redblacks.
The Lions were celebrating their 75th anniversary as an NFL franchise that seasons. Five of their losses were by a touchdown or less and one was just by two points, a 12-10 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings in Oct. 2008.
Can the 2016 Browns hope to match this perfect storm of shitty coaching, horrid team leadership and bad luck? We’ll just have to see.
