Pittsburgh Steelers leave Charlie Batch to back up QB Ben Roethlisberger – NFL News
Pittsburgh Steelers have retained veteran quarterback Charlie Batch to back up offence leader Ben Roethlisberger while letting go a number of players to consolidate roster strength to 53 players as required by the National Football League (NFL).
Charlie had set strong hopes for surviving the post-training camp roster cleansing and they were fulfilled when the team waived many players but him, allowing him to serve as a backup to Big Ben.
He said:
"It seems like over the years, this game dictated whether I was going to be around. Any time it's the first team guys watching and the coaches evaluating, these are things you've got to be ready for. To go down there and put points on the board, those are
things that coach wants to see. At the end of the day, as a player, you just want to make the decision tough for them. I think I did."
Batch’s case was also helped by his performance against the Carolina Panthers in the preseason campaign when he managed to put up 102 yards and scored a touchdown in the game, which the Steelers won convincingly.
Also, since the Steelers have let go many other veterans in their squad revamp drive during the offseason, forced by their compelling salary cap issue, the post-preseason releases are mostly rookies.
Allowing Batch at the backup position will help the team maintain the required balance on the offensive line, which had a major boost on return of wide receiver Mike Wallace a couple of days ago.
Apparently, both moves have come as welcome developments for Roethlisberger, who since being near to maturity of his career, needs extra help around him.
The QB recently admitted to have gone selective in walk-through throws and took some other measures to sustain fitness in the longer run. This season is going to be a real test for him given new offensive coach Todd Haley has put up some pace in the team’s
offence.
With stepped up offence, players on the line need to be more aggressive and pumped up to match the power and pace requirement of the new offensive scheme.
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