Strengths/Weaknesses - Roethlisberger Continued
By CK Stiller
The following are email responses received after the first article. I had expected at least a few negative responses, but it was all positive. To those who sent in the emails, I didn�t respond to anyone. I instead decided I would just do so in here. If you question anything I say, feel free to email me again and I�ll respond.
I appreciated a lot of the comments which, as stated, were overwhelmingly positive and complimentary. All the emails can�t be put in here. I chose based off whether they raised a specific issue I wanted to talk about.
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From Teja McDaniel:
Dear Ck Steeler,
I have to say I was very impressed with your detail and analysis of Ben Roethlisberger's 23 INTs. I'm a firm believer that if one sites a criticism of someone, there better be substantial supportive fact to back it up. I found your article, helpful in enlightening Ben Roethlisberger's struggles and perceptive to finding areas to work on. As a Steeler fan from the early 70's when I chose them as a young boy born in N.Y.C., I often get embittered with those that lash out their frustrations on Steeler players without merit.Last season was disappointing, especially with the expectations, but unwarranted finger pointing will not make any player better. Ben has accomplished so much in so little time. He was part of the the One finally for the Thumb. Would it not be better to foster his positive attributes as a fan and encourage his development with support as he improves on his game? With anything we should always strive with the persistence of a hungry student and nurture those that struggle at times as a benevolent teacher.
For those with uneducated comments, take another swig of beer. Their mouths are better suited for it and it makes less noise.
Thank you again for your article and shedding light with your insight.
Teja McDaniel
Currently waving a Terrible Towel in Melbourne, Australia-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Chuck:
Your article was very detailed & well written & most of all gives me great hope for next season. My point is simple, we were 6 & 2 in the final 8 games. There were 3 games Ben should not have started in the first 8 games. Jacksonville, Cinci & Oakland. Batch is one of the 5 best back ups in the NFL, just poor coaching decisions letting him start, that's what blew the season. Now to Ben's arm, many of the long balls he connected with were off of play action, off his back foot or on the run. I agree with you no problem with the long ball. Ben is a very very confident in his ability to make the "big play" as a result many times that effort has ended in an interception. I believe the best improvement can be in his "split second decision making". Just a few different decisions may have resulted in 1 or 2 additional wins & we would have been in the playoffs. Lets see how the new coaching staff handles his decision making ability as he develops.
Thanks for taking the time to write such a great article about Ben. Go
Steelers!
I think the big thing people miss from last season is that, in spite of starting 2-6, the team battled back to 8-8. They were still just a single game from missing the playoffs. We can all see that, in spite of their many mistakes, there were times they lost to inferior teams. Oakland, the first Cinci game, Denver, Atlanta�stupid mistakes by the Steelers blew leads or allowed the other team to jump all over them early. Not to mention Roethlisberger�s shaky status. Just one of those games being different means playoffs.
Cowher had a line that many fans dismissed as coach speak, but that I believe is very true. There�s a fine line between winning and losing. You�re never as good as they tell you that you are, or as bad as they say you are. Many fans have overreacted to a down season (one for which there are many reasons or �excuses�).
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From Kelley Peagler:
Excellent analysis � definitely spot on. Yes, there has been a lot of criticism of Ben�s performance, and I believe a lot of it was due to his physical well-being (or lack thereof). And I have also heard that he is not a real big proponent on watching film. Having said that, I still expect a big season from him as well. But one point that you did not touch on was IMHO his biggest flaw � his mechanics. It is both a blessing and a curse. It allows him to make some of the on-the-run, against-the-grain, defender-in-his-face throws, but it causes some of the underthrows/floaters that he�s been prone to throughout his career. Case in point � SB 40, the INT he threw trying to hit Cedric Wilson in the end zone. He was wide open and instead he tried to float it over the defender�s head. The pass had NOTHING on it, and it was an easy INT and return that turned a potential laugher into a game. It was thrown off his back foot, and it looked like he tried to make the pass perfect instead of just putting it out there where only Wilson could make the play. Another mechanics-related bad pass was in the 2004 AFCC game vs. New England, trying to hit Jerame Tuman in the right flat. This pass was doomed in every way imaginable � it was late, it was a bad read and it was hung out there � the only person who could have caught WAS Rodney Harrison. Sometimes Ben seems to rely too much on his athleticism instead of his throwing fundamentals, and it gets him into trouble. Tom Brady is not a great athlete, but his mechanics are exceptional. Same with guys like Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, and to go old school, Warren Moon. Would I like to see Ben change his freewheeling style? Absolutely not. Would I like to see him be a more disciplined QB? Absolutely. I think it is possible he can still be a still be a creator while doing what a great QB should � deliver the ball on time with accuracy.
I received several emails that noted mechanics, something I intended to discuss further in this follow-up article.
I don�t have a big problem with Roethlisberger in this regard. I think a lot of QB�s struggle with this at various times. Especially young guys. One of the things about Roethlisberger that allows him to make plays is that he�s a natural thrower. Some other guys in the league, like Carson Palmer, tend to be mechanical. They can throw a great looking ball if they are set and no one is pressuring them. They even throw on the run (as in, on a designed bootleg), if they are able to set up unhindered.
There�s always a fine line on these sort of things.
I do not think Roethlisberger has maximized his ability at this point. I think his arm is pretty damn strong, and I can�t believe people question it when he�s made plays like the one against the Pats in 04 (the deep ball to Burress). The guy can run around and just whip the ball 50 yards down field effortlessly. I think that if he stepped into more of his deep passes, people wouldn�t be complaining about that issue.
Basic point is that, while not being as refined as he could be, I don�t see this as a massive problem. It works well for him more often then not. Guys like Grossman and Eli Manning have big mechanics problems (two of the biggest reasons for their struggles). With Roethlisberger, I think he just needs to smooth out some wrinkles.
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From Casey Hartley:
KC Stiller-
People can argue all they want about his ability to manage a game, but the truth is, when proteced, Roethlisberger can be deadly accurate and shows the ability to make good desicions. Many times last year his completiion was in the 60s. For me, that's the key for him: keep the completion percentage up.
Personally, I was glad to see both Whisenhunt and Grimm go for two main reasons: their game plans last year were terrible at times (Baltimore) and the players seemed complacent in the schemes. Tomlin should bring new life to this team, including Ben and the O-Line, allowing many of the jobs to be an open competition.
I agree with this to an extent. In my opinion, it�s completely unreasonable to ask a QB to perform under the sort of pressure he faced in that first Ravens game. The OL played like crap.
I don�t want to put everything on the OL, though. While they certainly struggled, and I thought their performance was disgustingly bad, I have already stated that the OL wasn�t too great in pass protection in the past.
The Steelers gave up more sacks this year compared to the last two because the team was throwing far more than in the past two seasons. However, the sack rates (as in, sacks per attempt) were on par with the past two seasons.
I expect Roethlisberger, and every QB to deal with a certain level of pressure. Roethlisberger in particular has done well in the face of a pass rush. I felt against Oakland, and Jacksonville, he was scared of taking a hit.
He made an awful decision under pressure that can�t be excused against San Diego (noted in the last article). He tried to make a pass while being hit, and it really cost the team the game.
In the second Baltimore game, I don�t think he trusted his OL to protect him at all. He started off with happy feet. This is maybe the only time in his entire career I would accuse him of that, which says something about his own faith in the guys around him. I can�t blame him entirely for that after how they played in the first meeting.
I hold the QB to a high standard on this issue. You have to deal with pressure in some games. I don�t think the pressure was a legitimate excuse for Roethlisberger�s poor play in Jacksonville, San Diego, or Oakland. And I think both the OL and Ben were out of sync in the second Ravens game.
I think he was scared to take a hit in two of those games (Jax, Oak), but I think he generally handled it well against San Diego (outside of that one boneheaded play).
This has been one of Roethlisberger�s strong suits over his career. And I�ve been of the opinion that he has done what he has in his short career more in spite of his OL, not because of them. I didn�t feel they played well against Denver, or Indy in the playoffs in terms of pass protection. Roethlisberger carried the offense in those two games on his back, with little help from the OL or run game.
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From Ashley Davis:
Hey,
good article. I tend to agree and I am a big fan of Ben Roth. One thing you left out; I believe Ben�s right thumb has been a hindrance to him these last two years contributing to his accuracy and his tendency to under throw some passes. Sometimes it didn�t seem to affect him but others times it definitely did. The wildcard win over Cincy comes to mind (and the loss @ home in December) - the trick play he had Ced WIDE open and unleashed a wobbly, under thrown pass�.not terrible on either count as he got it to him but it was not the kind of tight spiral, thrown with authority we had seen prior to his injury. I�ve been able to see Ben play live twice & those experiences combined with watching him on TV suggests Ben throws a �heavy� ball. After his thumb injury I haven�t seen that out of him on a consistent basis. I�m hoping all that is behind coming into the 07 season, and like you, I expect great things from him this year Steelers will be 14-2 & will roll to another Title!
It�s hard to determine what effect it had on his play. It�s one of the more overlooked aspects of the Steelers late 05 run. I can�t blame it entirely for his game against Cinci in December, in which I felt those INT�s were poor decisions.
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From Adam Smith:
I just want to say that your article on Ben R. was well done, and I completely agree with the points you made. How quickly fans and critics turn on somebody.
This year is a 'chump' test for Ben. He was the freshman darling during his rookie year. He became the youngest qb to win a Super Bowl; make no mistake about it, he was the 'main' reason the Steelers won those 3 road play-off games. Last year, he (along with the team) had a bad year. The honeymoon is over. Usually, quarterbacks struggle sometime in their career. Ben has been bashed and criticized.
Does
Does Ben come back better, stronger, and more determined? Or, does he quit, and become a chump. I think he comes back and establishes himself as an elite qb. He FAILS the chump test: because he's not a chump. The chump test is a test only chumps pass.
I have to say that it really bothers me that there are morons out there who were quick to turn on Roethlisberger last year, or had seemingly been waiting for him to struggle to say they were right about his ability. Roethlisberger achieved incredible things in his first two seasons.
Just compare his first few seasons in the league to those of Elway, Bradshaw, Manning, and many other QB�s. Neither of them had the hang of things by year three, and it�s obvious they hadn�t achieved as much in their first two seasons.
That there are some fans and pundits who want to peg Roethlisberger as a game manager or other nonsense so early in his career is laughable.
Roethlisberger is a prolific passer when he airs the ball out. He puts up great volume and efficiency stats. I�m only going to point to his efforts against Cinci in December last year, or his two performances against Denver. On his worst days he doesn�t sink to the level of Eli Manning and Rex Grossman (and many other young QB�s).
Roethlisberger has unlimited potential, as far as I�m concerned. One subpar season (after suffering from a number of ailments) has not altered my opinion of him at all.
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From David Saulsbury:
I admire the in-depth analysis. I am not one of those that are worried at all about Ben. For many reasons (bad health and the corresponding missed time, bad bounces, poor decision making, superbowl hangover and bad gameplanning) last season was a disaster for the entire team.
It took Peyton Manning, the best quarterback in football until this year to REALLY play patiently and make the right decisions. The Colts went through the playoffs by running the ball and mostly check down passes to the running backs. It was a very ball control offense that the Colts played. The Ravens played the same deliberate brand of offense all season and it translated into a 1st place finish. This is what the defenses were giving them and Peyton and Tom Moore had the smarts to game plan appropriately and defeat these defenses anyway.
I expect the offense will focus on getting the ball out much more quickly on pass plays. I expect they will make the running back a viable receiver in 1st and 2nd down formations (instead of just the 3rd down package). Ben is NOT going to be able to scramble against some of the more formidable defenses (Ravens for one). They will need to have quick hitting pass attack to mitigate the pass rush. I have no doubt that given proper practice and gameplanning, Ben and the offense will be able to properly implement a quick passing scheme.
Giving Ben some new quick hit options on first and second down will complement the skills that Ben already has and help him move the offense more effectively.
I attribute some of the struggles against the Ravens to the fact that the Steelers offense does not incorporate many quick hitting pass plays, or give its QB�s many targets in the pass game. Kreider and Tuman are both worthless in the pass game (something I believe they wanted to change - they threw some passes to Kreider late in the season).
They tried to run two TE sets in the second Ravens game, but Tuman is worthless. I thought they should have spread the Ravens out with the receivers (which is part of the reason I love Arrian�s idea of using SOME 4 wide on first and second down). This is when they had the majority of their success. They just refused to do it until they were down threen scores...
Manning runs an offense that involves the backs. His TE�s are all good receivers. He has a lot of speed on the field, and a number of options on each play. The Steelers were running plays against the Ravens with 2-3 receiving options.
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There were other emails that raised similar points to the ones I posted above. These were just the first ones I came to that detailed a specific issue. The emails were pretty good.
I plan on writing a few other articles similar to this one on some other Steelers players throughout the off-season.