Roethlisberger Named AFC Offensive Player of the Week

2 Comments

1. 

   DrGeorge

   January 6, 2011 at 1:53 pm

   Ben has recently changed for the better as a QB in a way the national media has largely ignored. Over the past 3 games, he has finally begun doing what we recommended here months ago — throwing to open receivers underneath the coverage and letting his talented receivers do the rest. By throwing short and quickly, he has reduced his holding time from nearly 6 seconds to 3 seconds or less. The difference in the way the offense performs is remarkable, and not always evident from the statistics. It makes Ben much harder to sack, and second, it makes it easier to pass block for him. We repeatedly mentioned both benefits here, and now it appears it is actually happening in the game. For those reasons, regardless of the final results, I say the award is deserved. The offense is much more effective when Ben is patient and plays within himself, even though his stats may suffer modestly.

   At the same time, Arians has begun running the ball more, especially in the red zone. Our recent rushing TDs are a major improvement over the red zone failures in the first half of the season.

   Third, we’ve been complaining here about the lack of gadget plays, usually as part of a general lament on how predictable the offense has become. That’s changed too. Suddenly, in the last three games, we’ve got flanker reverses, misdirection plays, WR pass options, and other fun stuff reminiscent of the Cowher offensive coordinators.

   Finally, since preseason, we’ve been lobbying for Lugursky to be given a role at FB. Suddenly, he’s been rediscovered. He has been a frequent red zone blocker and the results speak for themselves.

   My guess is that these changes in the offense go together, and that someone (Tomlin?) demanded the changes. They are certainly not changes Arians would welcome nor consistent with his aerial circus philosophy or his public statements prior to the New England loss. But the changes are working. The Steelers are far more dangerous right now and more balanced; Ben is more effective; the rushing and pass blocking has improved; and the offense is much more difficult to defend with this style of play. This is not the same team we saw play New England. We now have an offense with a legitimate shot at going deep in the playoffs, even if the road leads through Foxboro.

   The burden now shifts to LeBeau to find a way to improve the secondary coverage, especially over the middle. If that can be done, the Steelers will find themselves in the Super Bowl again.

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     Curt

     January 6, 2011 at 6:15 pm

     I want revenge in the worst way, 2 of New England’s Super bowl trips ran through Pittsburgh. This has caused me to have bitter hatred for them, especially when they were caught video taping our defensive plays. It would be ecstasy to see the Steelers go into Foxboro and stomp the living crap out of them, showing those chowder heads how it feels. I can’t stand Tom Brady he is the most overrated QB. Now I,m not saying that he’s not a good QB. Brady plays in a system that provides him with maximum protection, heck when we gave Tommy Maddox a decent pocket he was a pretty decent QB, but he got exposed when he was outside of the pocket which made him useless . I would like to see Tom Brady on another team constantly getting flushed out of the pocket, running for his life and taking the abuse that Ben or any other QB in this league takes, then lets see how great of a QB he is.

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