So Ben Roethlisberger was a mess yesterday, looking more like a modern-day Cliff Stoudt than the guy who led the Steelers to a win in Super Bowl XL. Benjamin floated three wounded ducks into the waiting arms of Colts defenders at critical times yesterday, outright costing the Steelers the game.

Maybe the injured shoulder was to blame (it was said to be at about 80 percent). Maybe it was that great Colts pass defense (allowing a completion percentage of 68.9 percent on the year). Or maybe Benjamin just had a bad game. I don't know.

What I do know is that last week, in relief of Ben and his bum shoulder, Byron Leftwich was pretty darn good, and when you've got a backup that's played well recently and a starter that's struggling, you've got all the ingredients you need for a quarterback controversy.

And unless you're a fan of the team involved, quarterback controversies are fun. I say we do all we can here to get one started.

Now, I'm not suggesting a major quarterback controversy. We don't need to go into full-blown Rob Johnson vs. Doug Flutie mode, or even Derek Anderson vs. Brady Quinn mode. To me, there's no question that Large Benjamin is the leader of this team, and that long-term, the job is his, as is the adoration of every female fan in the Pittsburgh area.

Pat at FanIQ disagrees with me, and orders up the big deluxe quarterback controversy with extra cheese. He wants Ben gone all together.

All I'm suggesting is that they consider Byron Leftwich for the start in Week 11 against San Diego, while giving Benjamin some time to rest the shoulder and get a little bit healthy. Mike Bires of the Beaver County Times is thinking along the same lines (though he'd like to expand that to the Nov. 20 game against Cincinnati, too).

It's at least an avenue worth exploring. What do you say? If you're Mike Tomlin, are you giving Byron Leftwich a shot against San Diego and their porous pass defense? Or are you sticking with Large Benjamin all the way?