On the Steelers: Dixon OK with Tomlin's QB setup
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Steelers quarterback Dennis Dixon on his chances of being the team's starting quarterback: "Honestly, I feel everything is pretty much equal."
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All remains status quo as the Steelers resumed practices. Ben Roethlisberger was nowhere in sight Tuesday, and Mike Tomlin's pecking order has not changed.
Dennis Dixon, though, sounds convinced he has the same opportunity to win the starting job as Byron Leftwich, who has run the first team in every practice since minicamp that began April 30.
"Honestly, I feel everything is pretty much equal," Dixon said after practice Tuesday. "Everyone's getting their share of reps."
There is a theory that Tomlin wants to see how Dixon reacts in this competition while running the second team behind Leftwich, wants to see if he will compete for the job rather than have it handed to him.
Yet as the OTAs dwindle -- eight remain through June 10 -- and with Tomlin's stated desire to have his starting quarterback chosen before training camp begins, it looks more and more apparent that the coach and his staff are preparing Leftwich to open the season as their starter.
"I haven't been told anything," Dixon said as to what it all means and whether he will get a turn with the first-team offense. "All I can do is control myself on my reps and try to make the most of it."
Leftwich said no matter who is chosen to start the season while Roethlisberger serves his minimum four-game suspension, "I really believe they'll do the right thing for this team."
"We're all competing to play, we all want to be the guy to play," Leftwich said. "We all have enough respect for coach Tomlin and his team to understand that they'll make the right decision and, whatever that decision is, we'll live with it. Right now, that's the least of my worries. I can't be thinking about September."
Leftwich, the 30-year-old veteran who was a first-round pick and former starter in Jacksonville, and the young and inexperienced Dixon have differences in styles as well as backgrounds. Leftwich is not a scrambling or running quarterback; it is one of Dixon's fortes. In fact, he can run like no other quarterback to wear a Steelers uniform since Kordell Stewart, and he has adopted Stewart's No. 10 jersey this season as well, the same number Dixon wore at Oregon.
First Published May 26, 2010 12:00 am
