Any team of any kind is in and of itself a sort of living organism, a whole greater than the sum of its parts. While it is constituted of individuals, they respond as a group in a variety of ways. In that regard, the team can let you know simply by its performance how it feels.
That is how former Pittsburgh Steelers CB Bryant McFadden interprets his former team’s turnaround with Mason Rudolph at quarterback. With Kenny Pickett down, the Steelers turned to backup Mitch Trubisky before benching him due to poor play. The team has since looked like an entirely different version of itself.
“If you want to know if the correct move was made personnel-wise or coaching-wise, the team will let you know [through] the way they handle the situation”, he said on CBS Sports following Sunday’s 30-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks. “They will tell you if that was the correct move or not”.
He brought up the Las Vegas Raiders’ decision earlier this year to fire head coach Josh McDaniels, replacing him with interim head coach Antonio Pierce. While it hasn’t been a cakewalk since then, the Raiders have been a more competitive team, going 4-4 under him after a 3-5 record under McDaniels.
“Oftentimes it’s the same situation when you make a personnel decision like they did when they decided to bench Mitchell Trubisky and bring in Mason Rudolph as the starting quarterback”, McFadden argued, pointing to an improved run game and a patchwork defense that has held up better than one might have thought.
Of course, Rudolph’s own play has had a little something to do with that. He has thrown for 564 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions, leading six total touchdown drives in the past two weeks. The Steelers didn’t go three and out a single time in their last game, punting only once and scoring on six of their eight competitive possessions.
Not everything has been perfect, but this feels like a team that is playing with a greater belief in what it can accomplish. And yes, some of that stands outside of Rudolph and his theoretical influence. The offensive line has gotten back on track, as has the run game. Those are pretty significant parts of the equation.
Is that because they believe Rudolph can win them games while doubting that Trubisky (or even Pickett) could? I suspect that would be going rather too far. But success does breed success, and the collaborative effort, the points scored, does make the living organism of the team feel as though it can succeed.
The Steelers scored touchdowns on each of their first two possessions two weeks ago against the Cincinnati Bengals. They scored on three of their first four possessions this past Sunday in the first half, and four of their first five overall, among those being three touchdowns, all scores in question being lengthy drives.
The Steelers showed themselves what they could look like if they could put things together consistently. Has Rudolph helped to provide the key to unlocking that consistency? Perhaps he very well has. His performance under center has been nothing if not consistent, with few plays that make you question your sanity. That’s one thing he has going for him.
