Roethlisberger finds room to roam

[The Duke]

LATROBE, Pa. — In the course of winning five Super Bowl titles, the Pittsburgh Steelers became synonymous with defense, conjuring images such as Mean Joe Greene, semi-toothless Jack Lambert and Troy Polamalu's bouncing locks.

"People in Pittsburgh like their defense," said third-year tight end Heath Miller.

But this year, under new head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, the major buzz in camp was the restoration of Ben Roethlisberger as one of the NFL's most efficient quarterbacks.

In his first two seasons, Roethlisberger, 25, posted a combined passer rating of 98.3, and in 2005 he ranked third among NFL passers along the road to the playoffs and victory in Super Bowl XL.

Last season, however, was one to forget.

Roethlisberger was hurt in a motorcycle accident in June. An emergency appendectomy forced him to miss Week 1. He threw 23 interceptions against 18 touchdowns, with a completion percentage under 60. His career-low passer rating of 75.4 ranked 25th in the league. After losing six of their first eight games, the Steelers finished 8-8.

"It was frustrating," Roethlisberger said. "You don't want to let the fans down, but I felt like I let my teammates down. That hurt the most. There were games we could have won had I played better."

Despite Roethlisberger's struggles, Pittsburgh's offense ranked seventh in the NFL, averaging 357.8 yards per game. The Steelers threw 523 times and rushed 469, but the attack, at times, still seemed stifling to Roethlisberger.

"We were so predictable — run on first, run on second, throw on third-and-long — and that killed us," Roethlisberger said. "Last year, if we took a shot downfield and it was incomplete — or, heaven forbid, intercepted — we weren't throwing it again for a long time. And since we knew we were only throwing 15-20 times, we were so careful with doing this and that.

"It will be nice to know that Bruce isn't going to handcuff us."

Arians plans to use more varied personnel groups than the Steelers did under former head coach Bill Cowher and coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.

"Three tight ends, one back, one receiver," Arians said. "We've toyed with four wideouts."

It's required some adjustment. "We're starting to jell a little bit, understand things a little more," said Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca. "It gets real easy when you're running the same running plays for nine years. I could tell you where the running back is going to run before we even snapped the ball. That comfort level is gone."

But this is not a wholesale makeover; Arians served as Pittsburgh's wide-receivers coach the past three seasons and was well-versed in Whisenhunt's attack.

"(Arians) is trying to add to what we've already done," Miller said, "whether it's different personnel groups or doing the same things out of different formations."

Arians will give Roethlisberger the kind of autonomy quarterbacks crave. He can change plays, snap counts — pretty much anything he wants to do.

"We don't want him to be a robot," Arians said. "I'm not going to call all good plays. I want him to get me out of the bad ones."

As part of this relationship, last winter the two sat together and banged out the new playbook's terminology.

"What he wants to call things," Arians said. "Because this is his offense; it ain't mine."

Said Roethlisberger: "It's not like we came up with crazy names like 'Farfignuten.' Just names that make sense to what's going on."

Now in his fourth year, Roethlisberger isn't a kid anymore. He believes he's ready to have his best season, and Arians agrees.

"Ben should light it up," he said. "He knows what he wants to do with the football. He has a reason for everything he's doing. That's all you can ask out of a quarterback."

Even if "Farfignuten" isn't in the playbook.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/footb...ger-camp_N.htm

[stlrtruck]

It'll be interesting to see what Roethlisberger can do now that he's back into a normal flow of things and especially since he helped design the new offense. I'm excited and yet still cautious about Ben having that type of control - but I'm sure he'll come through just fine.

[delhess]

Originally Posted by stlrtruck

It'll be interesting to see what Roethlisberger can do now that he's back into a normal flow of things and especially since he helped design the new offense. I'm excited and yet still cautious about Ben having that type of control - but I'm sure he'll come through just fine.

i've got that nervous kind of feeling in my stomach, i know there is great potential there, but i think if things don't go well (in the o-line for example) that ben could bomb bad again. i

f he fights back this year, last year will be called a fluke. if he has a horrible year again, i don't know if he will ever fully recover.

what do ya think?

[TackleMeBen]

he is going to be just fine this season.. (that is if he will actually watch game film)
this is the offense he wanted so i am sure he will excell in it

if not then i am going to have to come there with my wok and use it ...lol

[MACH1]

Originally Posted by TackleMeBen

if not then i am going to have to come there with my wok and use it ...lol

What are you going to do, cook him dinner?


Man, i've been reading alot about how the Steelers fair when they turn to the Passing Game.Every time we do it doesn't result in the Steelers coming out ahead. with all this talk about this up coming season and what Arians plans are, I wonder if we aren't just setting ourselves up for another let down.
Arians and His 3-TE sets was tried back when he coached with the Browns and You see what happened there and now he's going to try it again here in Pittsburgh. What did he Say "Things don't change, History just sorta repeats itself."

[TackleMeBen]

Originally Posted by MACH1

What are you going to do, cook him dinner?

it would be the best cooked meal he ever got .. then i would use it upside his head to knock some plays in it..lol

[fansince'76]

Originally Posted by TackleMeBen

it would be the best cooked meal he ever got .. then i would use it upside his head to knock some plays in it..lol

You could also use a rolling pin for the same purpose.

[tony hipchest]

Originally Posted by MACH1

Man, i've been reading alot about how the Steelers fair when they turn to the Passing Game.Every time we do it doesn't result in the Steelers coming out ahead. with all this talk about this up coming season and what Arians plans are, I wonder if we aren't just setting ourselves up for another let down.
."

its just that the steelers, for some reason, are incapable of using the passing game. its like those NBA teams who cant capitalize on the "dunk".

[TackleMeBen]

Originally Posted by fansince'76

You could also use a rolling pin for the same purpose.

true '76, but a wok is heavier and would work better .. and isnt he due for his yearly hospital visit....lol

[Preacher]

Originally Posted by MACH1

What are you going to do, cook him dinner?


Man, i've been reading alot about how the Steelers fair when they turn to the Passing Game.Every time we do it doesn't result in the Steelers coming out ahead. with all this talk about this up coming season and what Arians plans are, I wonder if we aren't just setting ourselves up for another let down.
Arians and His 3-TE sets was tried back when he coached with the Browns and You see what happened there and now he's going to try it again here in Pittsburgh. What did he Say "Things don't change, History just sorta repeats itself."

Actually... the reason the Browns made the playoffs and was able to hang with us that year in the playoffs was because of that offense. So actually, I HOPE it repeats itself. If the Browns had our defense, they would have walked all over us and gone deep in the playoffs.