Bires: Steelers need better Ben

By Mike Bires

If the Steelers are to pull off a mild upset today, Ben Roethlisberger needs to step up and lead the way.

He can't play the way he did in the Steelers' first two road games this season.

Granted, the Steelers' offensive line is in disarray. Due to injuries, the fourth different line combination will start today in Houston. The chaos up front has resulted in poor run blocking and sub-par pass protection.

Still, Roethlisberger has to find ways to overcome the problems on the offensive line.

It won't be easy against a vastly improved Texans' defense. But it can be done.

For Roethlisberger, it starts with being a smarter quarterback. His four interceptions and his four lost fumbles aren't all his fault. But he deserves his share of the blame.

http://www.timesonline.com/sports/steelers/bires-steelers-need-better-ben/article_e6cebab0-43e7-5685-8025-ec00e240a59d.html

Steelers need a better offensive line in order to have a better Ben.

stlrtruck wrote:

Steelers need a better offensive line in order to have a better Ben.

exactly!!!

ben isnt the problem, i thought he had a decent game yesterday. its this awful o-line and they are going to get ben killed

I disagree. I feel half of the sacks could be attributed to Ben looking downfield instead of getting rid of the ball faster. He needs to make adjustments and know that this o-line is not going to allow him the time to look at receivers trying to get 20+ yards downfield most plays. At best, Ben had an OK game.

By no means am I blaming him for the loss. He's the best QB we've had in a long time and has been huge for us, but we can't turn a blind eye to his "going for the gold" moments trying to get greedy with this putrid o-line protecting him. At some point, self-preservation instincts have to kick in and force him to dump the ball off to an outlet receiver to save his life. He's not doing that. I've seen running backs come free out of the backfield open and Ben is holding onto the ball looking downfield for the big play while running for his life just to take a sack or worse. Take the 5 yards and live to fight another play, I say.

I will say he's a tough SOB and gutsy as hell, but at some point he needs to develop the smarts to get rid of the ball to put us in a better position.

You're a bit right on this one Buddha. There was more than one play, but the one I remember specifically was he had MeMo out of the back field with open field in front of him and he opted not to pitch it to him for what could have been a huge gain and instead Ben got sacked from behind.

stlrtruck wrote:

You're a bit right on this one Buddha. There was more than one play, but the one I remember specifically was he had MeMo out of the back field with open field in front of him and he opted not to pitch it to him for what could have been a huge gain and instead Ben got sacked from behind.

Exactly the play I had in mind, Truck. There's nothing wrong with a 5 yard passing play to get us closer to a first down. Unless, of course, you're the "Dynamic Downfield Duo" of Bruce Arians and Ben Roethlisberger. I'd much rather see 3rd and 4 than 3rd and 15 or a sack fumble any day.

BGSU A Dub wrote:

I can't imagine playing QB knowing that you will get hit at least 10 to 15 times a game and most of the time you have to drop back you are running for your life. How can you look at all your options when you have pocket collapsing in on you and you have to worry about being hit? Ben has NO time to throw, and when he does- how do you know the recievers aren't being covered? Hell, if I was DC of the teams we play, I would say "you just have to cover the WRs for 2 seconds and then we will already be in Ben's grill".

The check down is one of the harder people to see because while it looks obvious on TV, it's much more difficult when you have the number of bodies around you like Ben does.

Yes, but on the play that was mentioned, Ben was scrambling and the RB was directly in front of him with no one blocking his view. He was too busy trying to make chicken salad out of chicken shit to notice or care.

BGSU A Dub wrote:

But that has always been Ben's style. In high school, college, and start of his pro career, he has never utilized the RB. Jerome wasn't exactly a pass catcher and I wouldn't call Fast Willie much of a threat either. Would you wanna throw the ball to Mendy? I honestly would like to see some numbers of how many times he has thrown to Mewelde as I'm sure he has been his favorite target among backs as a pro.

Plus, I'm sure he's thinking that since he's scrambled and the play has broken down, there might be someone who has beaten the coverage deep.

Bottom line, Ben Roethlisberger with a solid line would be a MUCH different quarterback than the one we see now. He's in crisis mode just about every play, and with good reason.

I know he's in crisis mode and I'll give him some slack for that. Not all of the turnovers/sacks have been his fault by any stretch, but on the plays where he has a open option right in front of him, he has to take it. We need to start incorporating a little more dink and dunk to curb the blitz and open up the deep stuff. They're putting the cart before the horse right now.

I agree with you on the dink and dunk, but that's never been Ben's style. It's like trying to tell a dog to lay when all he has ever done is sit. I'm going to guess that given our state of the offense, the RB has mostly been used for blocking anyways, so maybe he's not even looking for them to be catching passes because THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE BLOCKING

BGSU A Dub wrote:

I agree with you on the dink and dunk, but that's never been Ben's style. It's like trying to tell a dog to lay when all he has ever done is sit. I'm going to guess that given our state of the offense, the RB has mostly been used for blocking anyways, so maybe he's not even looking for them to be catching passes because THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE BLOCKING

Whether that's his style or not, he'd better learn it quick if he wants to live!

I realize that it's his nature to do what he does and that it has worked in the past for the most part, but it's not working THIS year. This o-line is a whole different level of suckitude than any that's come before it. He needs to adapt and change for the good of the team and for his own well-being.

As far as "supposed to be blocking", it sure looked to me like Moore was out there expecting a possible check down pass to me. He was looking at Ben, not downfield for defenders.