It's Time to Step Up for Mason Rudolph

It's Time to Step Up for Mason Rudolph 

Steelers nation was thrown for a loop this week after finding out that all-pro quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is out for the rest of the season after undergoing elbow surgery.  This puts the remainder of the season on the shoulders of 2018 third-round pick Mason Rudolph. Rudolph stepped in for Roethlisberger in week 2 and looked rather exceptional making some big plays and only throwing one interception that arguably was not his fault.  The Steelers have shown great confidence in Rudolph by trading 3rd string quarterback Josh Dobbs to Jacksonville and their 2020 first-round pick to Miami for shutdown cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick.  These moves make the statement that despite Ben Roethlisberger going down the team is still dedicated to a winning season despite the 0-2 start.  

After becoming the starter Mason Rudolph gave an interview and said, "I prepare every game like I’m going to be the starter, so this is no different."  These are the things that you want to hear from the man who is going to quarterbacking your team. The Steelers still have a lot of weapons in JuJu Smith-Schuster, running back James Conner and Mason Rudolph's old college number one target James Washington. With these guys there to help Rudolph, he will have every opportunity to be successful and I truly believe that he will be.

It's hard to imagine the team bouncing back after all this but when one part goes down the rest of the parts need to step up, offense and defense.  Look for the Steelers to go back to the basics on offense and that's a ground and pound running game with some play-action passes thrown in. I expect Mason Rudolph to utilize his big tight end Vance McDonald and his buddy James Washington on deep pass plays.  On defense I anticipate the secondary to be a little more aggressive now that Minkah Fitzpatrick is there to help cover the tough matchups. I also believe the Steelers pass rush will step up and start striking fear into opposing quarterbacks. Only time will tell whether or not young Mason Rudolph can step up this season to lead the Steelers to the playoffs, but the one sure thing is that he will have every opportunity with a strong team rallying behind him.

-By: Ryan Johnson