For those who worship backup quarterbacks, the Pittsburgh Power has made your dreams come true.
Local legend Derek Cassidy (or is it Chad if you ask certain Power fans) has been assigned to the team this week. Cassidy is the quarterback who helped “lead” the Power to their historic 31-point comeback victory over the Orlando Predators last year. It was the team’s only win at home in the past two seasons.
Despite the fact that Cassidy threw four interceptions in that game, some Power fans seem to think he’s the missing link on the path to gridiron glory. He’s such a highly sought after commodity at the quarterback position that no other team in the AFL gave him a chance. Maybe they were scared off by a 13:9 touchdown/interception ratio. Cassidy wasn’t the answer last year and he’s still not the answer.
Blast me all you want but a journeyman backup AFL quarterback with limited “success” doesn’t excite me, not when the opponent this week brought AFL legend Aaron Garcia in to try and fix their quarterback woes. You need a quarterback with close to a 70% completion percentage and doesn’t have less than a 2:1 touchdown/interception career ratio.
It’s not like it matters anyway because Jordan Jefferson seems to be entrenched as the starter regardless of how awful he plays behind center. Shane Austin came into the game late against the San Antonio Talons and lead the team on touchdown drives both chances he got. Unfortunately he broke his hand during that game and has been placed on injured reserve.
Surely somewhere on the planet is a quarterback capable of leading the Power to victories and if any of you say Tim Tebow just close your browser window right now. Tebow would be an awful AFL quarterback because he’s not a quarterback period. He’s a glorified running back who gets a ton of media attention for no apparent reason. Maybe ESPN is suffering from the same affliction as Cassidy’s fan club.
Any team bringing in Tim Tebow to the AFL would be doing it for the attention, not because of the talents he brings to the field. That’s great if you think people will actually buy a ticket to watch a sideshow at quarterback rather than a serious attempt to win. Winning is all that matters to fans in Pittsburgh.
Somehow that goal never seems to be achieved despite the constant quarterback shuffle. Here’s a list of quarterbacks who have suited up for the Power in franchise history; Bernard Morris, Kevin McCabe, Anthony Morelli, Chris Wallace, Bill Stull, Andrico Hines, Bryan Randall, Derek Cassidy, Jordan Jefferson and Shane Austin.
That’s ten quarterbacks in less than three full years, eleven if you count Kyle Rowley even though he never officially played a down for the Power. It is a shame this list doesn’t include Adam DiMichele who tore up the SIFL in 2011 for the Erie Storm. He threw for 3247 yards, 91 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions in just 12 games and was named league MVP. DiMichele was the backup to Dan Raudabaugh in Philadelphia last year. He’s also a local Pittsburgh guy.
Who knows if DiMichele would ever consider playing here or if he isn’t done with playing football altogether, but it just shows there are plenty of options out there who seem to have a better resume than what we’ve seen under center for Pittsburgh.
The carousel has to stop soon because Power fans are getting dizzy.