Charlie Batch Is the Right Man for Steelers' Backup QB, Not Dennis Dixon

When the Pittsburgh Steelers' backup quarterback, Byron Leftwich. broke his arm against the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday night, both Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch automatically made the team.

Leftwich, who may be out for the year, was going to be the No. 2 quarterback behindBen Roethlisberger. Leftwich is a former first-round pick and is clearly the better QB out of Dixon, Batch and himself.

Now with Leftwich out, the Steelers will either have Dixon or Batch as the No. 2.

So far it looks like Dixon might get the nod. If that’s true, I think the Steelers would be making the wrong decision.

Batch is the better choice over Dixon. Batch is a veteran, more accurate, a superior passer, more familiar with the offense and is just a better overall quarterback than Dixon.

I don’t get the love affair with Dixon. Yes, he was good in college, but he’s not an NFL-caliber quarterback. Dixon is too short, doesn’t have a big arm and is extremely inaccurate. He’s a hell of an athlete, but that’s not what being an NFL quarterback is about.

Dixon is 2-1 in the regular season as the starter, but has a QB rating of just 71.4. He also has more interceptions than touchdowns. Additionally, Dixon threw a costly pick in 2009 against the Baltimore Ravens in overtime, which eventually led to a loss.

Batch is 4-2 as a starter for the Steelers, with a QB rating of 85.1. He has 11 touchdowns to seven interceptions.

So far this preseason, Dixon has completed just 10 of his 24 passes, with zero touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 61.3—that includes a 1-10 outing against theWashington Redskins and is going up against second and third stringers as well.

Dixon has made zero progression as a quarterback. Remember, this is the same guy that wanted to be traded so he could get a chance to start. I’m not sure if the Steelers can trade players to the arena league or not.

As for Batch, he knows how to hold that clipboard correctly. No one else is better at telling Ben Roethlisberger, "Good job." Batch is the man for the backup spot.

Despite the team going 3-1 without him last year, Steeler fans should pray that Roethlisberger can stay healthy this year; he’s poised to play the best football of his career. 

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