Will the new coordinator reign in Roethlisberger?

[BlitzburghRockCity]

At 30 years old you aren't going to heal as fast as you did when you were 23. Ben is still tough as nails and able to play through virtually any pain a defense can inflict. He can make plays on the run, evade pressure, and march you down for a game winning score at any time. That's a big reason why he's one of the best signal callers in the game. That being said, sometimes change is a good thing.

Perhaps Ben needs to be reigned in a bit now. He won't necessarily like but it doesn't have to be bad. Design the offense with a mindset of more intermediate passing, using the TE's and RB's, and of course still go deep here and there. We saw flashes of it against the Patriots, or for a quarter here and there during the season. You don't have to always get 50 yds at a chunk, 10-12 yds. is ok too. Roethlisberger has said countless times, I can't change who I am, that's how I play the game. He even makes light of it from time to time on various talk shows and interviews. It's hard to argue with his success, but like every top flight athlete you evolve over time and experience. Just because you can take the big hits and run away from pressure doesn't mean you should still be hanging onto the ball forever now. It's good to know that you have in your arsenal should you need it, don't get me wrong.


Think about the weapons available on offense, and how they can be used in more than just the traditional way. You don't always have to pound the ball with a good runnning back; use him in the short passing game too. You have speed at WR but hitting them 15 yds. down field and letting them take off for a big gainer still moves the chains. Emmanuel Sanders, Antonio Brown, and Heath Miller can be lethal on a 10 yd route when you hit them in stride. That's just the tip of iceberg of the ways you can use this offense and Ben's skill set to be effective. Ben may not want to change but his own sake, and the rest of his future, you almost have to right now. The window is there to win and win for years, but it won't last forever. As much as the fans can't stand Tom Brady, he and guys like Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees get rid of the ball quickly. They aren't beat up by the end of the year and they are all near the top of the league in scoring. Ben can be that guy too, he really can. Nobody is saying he should take a back seat to those top 3 or be just like them, but Roethlisberger can prolong his career and his overall health after football if does start to do some of these things.


Part of that change involves fixing the offensive line, we all know that. If there's quality blockers up front then it opens up a world of potential success all over the field. Whoever comes in, whether is Fichtner, Caldwell, Clements, or anyone else they'll have their own tweak on the offense. Ben will need to be able to adjust. In the end, it could turn out to be a very good thing.

[Nolrog]

You don't have to necessarily reign him in. Just don't design an offense like this:

All the receivers go out in a route.
All the OL block someone.
Ben runs around until someone is open.

[coldrolled]

You don't have to necessarily reign him in. Just don't design an offense like this:

All the receivers go out in a route.
All the OL block someone.
Ben runs around until someone is open.

you forgot - All the receivers go out in a route, 25 yards down field.. Then end up in the same field space with the TE's

[connecticutsteel]

here is one guy the new OC should use more

[coldrolled]

here is one guy the new OC should use more

With 82, 34, 17, 84, 89, 83, 88, 21

Maybe the Steelers need to put a nice fast turf down on the field.

Our field seems to slow us down... Just thinking...

[North Steel]

All we need is a OC with more than 3 ****ing plays in the playbook.

[HUNT4SEVEN]

All we need is a OC with more than 3 ****ing plays in the playbook.

and who can score more TD's then FG's in the red zone

[BlitzburghRockCity]

I'm on the fence with this, I can see where Ben could use a firm hand and a coach more than a friend. "Ben, look dude, I know you're awesome, I know you can make plays on the run but you are going to get rid of the ball quicker this year come hell or high water"

Would that be such a bad thing? It can only prolong his career and cut down on the sacks dramatically.

It will be a learning curve no matter who takes over, you can't completely change his game but you can certainly tweak it.

[DIESELMAN]

I think a change in OC will do Ben, the offense and even the defense a lot of good, as long as he is different and successful in his game planning and in game adjustments. Ben needs a coach/mentor like he had with Whipple in his first 3 years in the league. Ben DOES NOT need a buddy/pal to be his OC. Like Matt said, being a 30 yr old QB, you don't heal as fast as you did when you were 23, he has to change his style of play in order to do that. But, before he can change his mobile style of play, which has saved his ass over the years, we need to fix the OL.

[Stone]

It's a shame that Ben didn't have the benefit of a good OC while he was young. He had his share of success during that time but who knows where he would rank in history if he had a good OC.

All we need from the new OC is three things:

1. Creativity........The ability to design a few unique plays.
2. Flexibility........The ability to modify a game plan that isn't working.
3. Knowledge........The ability to see the talent at his disposal, and use it wisely.