Duck season fun; now it’s muddled
BALTIMORE — Duck season was fun while it lasted. Now it’s over and so is the Steelers season.
Three weeks ago, rookie quarterback Duck Hodges was the toast of the town. He led the Steelers to three consecutive victories, and they held their playoff fate in their hands.
Duck masks were all the rage inside Heinz Field until the undrafted free agent out of Samford was unmasked over the final three weeks of the season.
Opposing defensive coordinators made it target practice on Hodges, and he was defenseless against the onslaught.
Hodges threw six interceptions over those final three games and a fumble late in the first half Sunday all but put the finishing touches on a third consecutive loss to end the season.
The Ravens beat the Steelers, 28-10, and have them rethinking what’s going to happen at the most important position on the team.
“It’s execution,” Hodges said, when asked what went wrong in the final three games.
“We’ve got to be better, execution, turning the ball over, just little things in the game that will cost you.”
It’s easy to say the Steelers season was doomed the moment Ben Roethlisberger went on injured reserve in the second week of the season. The thought that entered everyone’s mind when Roethlisberger flexed his elbow against the Seahawks came to fruition.
It just took longer than expected. Much longer.
Playoff teams don’t start 03 or finish the season 0-3, but there were a lot of moments sandwiched between the bad start and bad finish to provide some hope next season might be different.
The one thing the Steelers were going to find out is if they had a reliable backup for the final two seasons that Roethlisberger is under contract. Well, do they?
Hodges isn’t the answer and there are real questions as to whether Mason Rudolph, a third-round pick from the 2018 draft class, is either.
Roethlisberger will turn 38 in March and is coming off elbow surgery. All indications are he is on schedule to return for training camp in the summer. The question general manager Kevin Colbert has to figure out in the coming weeks is this: Does he stand pat with the quarterbacks in the building, or does he go out and sign an experienced veteran that’s capable of doing more than Rudolph or Hodges?
The 2019 season was a harsh reminder of a popular axiom in the NFL: If you don’t have a quarterback, you don’t have a chance.
“It’s eye-opening more than anything,” offensive lineman Ramon Foster said. “Winning is super hard in this league. We’ve all been blessed for this last decade, being able to win, knowing you have a shot at winning. This year was a little bit different.”
Foster was careful not to throw Hodges or Rudolph under the bus. He made sure to mention their contributions.
He was merely speaking about his view of things having played with Roethlisberger since 2009.
The offense finished the season 31st in the league after being among the best for the past five seasons. It was so bad late in the season that Foster found himself apologizing to the defense.
“We didn’t do enough offensively, period,” Foster said. “That defense is really special. You hopefully get Ben back next year. I don’t want to fall on that, but that’s reality. When you have a franchise, Super Bowl-winning quarterback and the defense we have — if they can keep everyone intact — that’s going to be something moving forward.”
It’s a reason to be optimistic over the long offseason. But for Hodges and Rudolph, there is uncertainty.
Hodges was discovered at a rookie minicamp in the spring and was signed as a fourth training camp arm. He was cut after the preseason and re-signed to the practice squad only after Josh Dobbs was dealt away in Week 1 for a draft pick.
He ended up starting six games. He caught fire and then was extinguished, all in a six-week span.
That’s life as a quarterback in the NFL. Hodges did enough to remain with the Steelers over the offseason, but there are no guarantees he’ll be on the team when the 2020 season begins in September.
“It’s tough, but at the same time, I really enjoyed the experience,” Hodges said. “Shoot, I’m 23. If you had asked a lot of people if I would be in this position they would have said no way. I am blessed. I’ve got a lot to learn and build on. Playing with this team, and this group of guys, it’s amazing. I haven’t really had time to sit back and reflect.
“I played with the Pittsburgh Steelers this year, one of the most historic franchises in the NFL, and it is so cool and amazing.”