28-year old QB Ben Roethlisberger is a dingbat as he keeps getting himself into trouble off the field which until now had not hurt his NFL career.  But with a lot of the fans turning on him in Pittsburgh due to how he treats people he could be in for a rude awakening in 2010.  It will start with at least a four game suspension and even when he does return who knows if he’ll be the same player he was before.  You see what has happened to Tiger Woods since he has been a good boy……he has lost his edge.  Roethlisberger played in 15 games for the Steelers last season and he completed 337 of 506 passes (66.6%) for 4,328 yards with 26 TD passes and 12 INTs (100.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 40 times for 82 yards (2.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs last season.  In his career with the Steelers, Roethlisberger has played in 87 games in which he has completed 1,526 of 2,411 passes (63.3%) for 19,302 yards with 127 TD passes and 81 INTs (91.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 228 times for 698 yards (3.1 ypc) with 12 TD runs in his career.  The Steelers are 60-26 (69.8%) in games started by Roethlisberger as he is the best player on the team and they will be lucky to start the season with a .500 record until he returns……if he does.

The Steelers traded a 7th round pick to the Buccaneers for 30-year old Byron Leftwich shortly before the suspension came down.  Leftwich will likely be the starter in the Steelers first few games of 2010 as long as he stays healthy until September.  Leftwich played in 3 games for the Bucs last year and he completed 58 of 107 passes (54.2%) for 594 yards with 4 TD passes and 3 INTs (71.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 6 times for 6 yards (1.0 ypc) last year.  Leftwich has now played in 57 games in his NFL career in which he has completed 900 of 1,545 passes (58.3%) for 10,218 yards with 58 TD passes and 41 INTs (79.6 QB Rating).  Leftwich has also carried the ball 136 times for 384 yards (2.8 ypc) with 9 TD runs in his career.  Leftwich is nothing more than a stopgap until Roethlisberger is ready.  He has a 24-25 (49%) record as a starting QB in this NFL career.

25-year old Dennis Dixon got his first chance to really play in a game last season and he proved that he wasn’t quite ready for prime time which is the reason the Steelers went out and traded for Leftwich.  Dixon played in 1 game for the Steelers last season and he completed 12 of 26 passes (46.2%) for 148 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (60.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 3 times for 27 yards (9.0 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  He has now played in 2 games in his NFL career and he has completed 13 of 27 passes (48.1%) for 148 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (62.0 QB Rating).  Dixon has also carried the ball 5 times for 24 yards (4.8 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career.  Dixon does have some talent, especially running the ball but he’s going to have to improve his passing to stay in the league for a while.  Dixon is 0-1 as a starting QB for the Steelers.

35-year old Charlie Batch is back for one more year.  He played in 1 game for the Steelers last season and he completed 1 of 2 passes (50%) for 17 yards.  Batch has now played in 72 games in his NFL career in which he has completed 819 of 1,461 passes (56.1%) for 10,050 yards with 57 TD passes and 44 INTs (77.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 162 times for 609 yards (3.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs in his career.  He is 22-28 (44%) as a starting QB in the NFL.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR  THE STEELERS QBs in 2010:  C+