U mad, bro?: Steelers fans are mad about Mason Rudolph and hot about Dwayne Haskins; Pirates fans are peeved

Little should surprise me at this point when it comes to how angsty online dialogue about the Steelers can be.

But some of what I’ve seen about the backup quarterback “debate” between Dwayne Haskins and Mason Rudolph is blowing my mind.

The funny thing is, both guys have actually been pretty decent. Yet the tone of conversation constantly seems to be that one side says, “Rudolph will never get any better,” while the other insists, “Haskins washed out in Washington, so he’ll do the same thing in Pittsburgh.”

Yikes. How ugly would it get if both guys had been flat-out bad so far?

So I wrote this week that if people are assuming Haskins will magically turn things around now that he has become a Steeler, they should hold out a touch of optimism that Rudolph may improve, too.

Bad idea. Man, did that bring out the knives and pitchforks.

In this week’s “U mad, bro?”, I’ll give you a little taste. We get some cranky Pirates emails into the mix as well. And we talk draft.

What kind of draft? Well, I’m not exactly certain.

Let’s start with an email from Jerome.

“They had a great draft.”

Um, here’s the problem. Jerome only sent that one line in the subject heading.

That’s it. I have no idea if he is talking about the Steelers or the Pirates.

I assume he’s not talking about the Penguins, seeing as how they only had one pick in the first 153 selections. Unless Jerome is a massive Tristan Broz fan, I’m going to use my powers of deductive reasoning to rule them out.

So, Jerome, here’s how I will respond to your email.

If you mean the Steelers had a great draft, I’ll say that based on the preseason so far, it looks like you are right. We’ll find out in a few months.

If you mean the Pirates had a great draft, based on what management, fans, bloggers, scouting services and baseball media say, it looks like you would be right on that front as well.

We’ll find out in four or five years.

I look forward to your response in either November or, roughly, 2025.

Samson is finished with seeing Mason Rudolph in a Steelers uniform.

“With all due respect Mr. Benz, you’re hugely mistaken.

Rudolph has had a few YEARS to impress including live games (not to mention practice & preseason!)

He has shown ZERO indication that he’s learned ANYTHING from the master (I assume he means Ben Roethlisberger here).

It’s especially sad to see that he hasn’t picked up the art of avoiding getting hit when the pocket collapses. I don’t expect him to be in the class of the master but just a little.

I’d trade him for a six-pack.”

Rule of thumb. Any email that starts with the phrase “with all due respect” usually continues with some variation of the phrase “you don’t know what the (expletive deleted) you are talking about!”

At least this guy kept it mild with “hugely mistaken.”

Samson, there is a difference between “impress” and “improve.” I think between the game in Cleveland he started at the end of last year and his preseason so far this year, it’s fair to say he has shown signs of improvement.

You make it sound like I was suggesting Rudolph needs to be given the chance to replace Ben after 2021. I’m not saying that.

I’m simply saying he’s improved as an option to be the backup as opposed to the unknown quantity that Dwayne Haskins is. What has Haskins done to earn the kind of faith that you don’t have in Rudolph?

Your email has done nothing but help underscore that line of thinking. But if they do trade him for a six-pack, I’d gladly split it with you and talk more about it.

Thanks for reading. But next time, please read the whole column before forming an opinion based on the headline.

This “move on from Mason” email comes to us from “proller556.”

“How many shots do you wanna give the bum his second year he got his shot and blew it and you people said give him a chance to learn and year after year they say the same crap he still makes poor decisions he cant score sure he can move the ball except to get a score but yet you bring him up now that he has competition.”

Well, I’m sure there’s one thing that Rudolph can do — put a period at the end of a sentence. Or at least mix in the occasional comma.

But you weren’t finished ranting. Please … do go on.

“Colbert and Tomlin keep him on the roster he hasnt had competition for the backup and now that he does his job is in jeapardy well now he has to earn it you ask me he has had his shots and couldnt produce now its time to go 50 or more percent want him gone and your little stats and crying about he should get the same shot once again he has been here awhile he has had his shot and they still giving him a chance but he is not the qb you think he is.”

OK, first of all, the way you write exhausts me.

Honestly, I’m physically tired reading that. My eyes and brain weren’t able to keep up with each other. And when I tried to read it out loud, my tongue cramped.

But — from what I can translate — I think you are trying to say that Rudolph has had enough of a chance already and that the Steelers should give up on him. You don’t like what Mason Rudolph has done in the 15 games he played. You think he can’t be fixed.

Well, he was 5-4 in nine starts. During his career, he has completed 62% of his passes for 2,089 yards, with a 15:10 touchdown-to-interception ratio, absorbing 16 sacks.

Meanwhile, Haskins was 3-10 in 13 starts with Washington. During his career, he has completed 60% of his passes for 2,804 yards, with a 12:14 touchdown-to-interception ratio, while absorbing 49 sacks.

Sorry for bogging you down with more of my “little stats.” But, please, answer me this question (and I’ll write it in a manner I’m sure you can appreciate):

If Rudolph’s numbers and Haskins’ numbers are so similar how come you think that Rudolph can’t be fixed but the Steelers should go with Haskins and assume that he will get better that seems inconsistent to me I’m not saying Rudolph is all that great of a quarterback I just think he may eventually be good enough to be a backup and maybe Haskins is better but if you want to give him the benefit of the doubt because of potential improvement then you should give Rudolph the same benefit of the doubt.

Wow. Actually, you know what? That felt pretty good. I should try that more often.

Oh, by the way, if the Steelers do get rid of Rudolph, do you think he can host “jeapardy” instead of Aaron Rodgers?

Robert is angry that I used a recent “First Call” entry to briefly mention Antonio Brown’s practice fight when his Tampa Bay Buccaneers were scrimmaging against the Tennessee Titans.

“We don’t want to hear or see any news about Brown and (Le’Veon) Bell. They are non-stories. He has caused problems everywhere he goes! Pittsburgh fans didn’t want to hear stories about him. Go get a job in Tampa Bay!

Sorry that is how most of us feel. Cover players that want to be here and add to the community!”

Who is the “we” here exactly? Are you emailing on behalf of your household or something? Or did the entire Steelers fan base get together and hire you as their spokesperson?

Either way, Robert, you sound like a jilted boyfriend. You spent almost as much time replying to me about A.B. as I did writing the piece.

It was a five-line story about him getting in a practice fight. You make it sound like I did a five-page feature on him getting a humanitarian award.

The more you cry about him not being a Pittsburgher anymore, the more I know how torn up you were about him leaving.

By the way, reactions like yours are why I write about Brown and Bell as much as I do in their post-Steelers careers. Folks like you scream about how you don’t care about them. Yet you get so triggered every time their names are mentioned, you can’t help but read.

Thanks for proving my theory accurate again.

With love from Tampa,

Tim

Finally, this comes from Richard. He would like to add some context to last week’s “U mad, bro” conversation about the “rebuilding” Pittsburgh Pirates.

“You must have been built to be rebuilding.”

Wow. It’s like Confucius has become a Pirates fan.

That’s deep. Almost Zen-like.

And 100% accurate.