Rooney wants old offense

While Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Bruce Arians announced his retirement Friday, team sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen the Steelers chose not to retain Arians, against the wishes of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The sources said the move was made in order to shift the offense back toward its blue-collar identity of years past, in line with the desires of Steelers president Art Rooney II.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7489906/pittsburgh-steelers-chose-not-keep-bruce-arians-bucking-ben-roethlisberger-sources-say
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I believe that should put an end to any lingering doubts about what Rooney meant when he told Arians he wanted them to run the ball more consistently.

Wallace108 wrote:

While Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Bruce Arians announced his retirement Friday, team sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen the Steelers chose not to retain Arians, against the wishes of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The sources said the move was made in order to shift the offense back toward its blue-collar identity of years past, in line with the desires of Steelers president Art Rooney II.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7489906/pittsburgh-steelers-chose-not-keep-bruce-arians-bucking-ben-roethlisberger-sources-say
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I believe that should put an end to any lingering doubts about what Rooney meant when he told Arians he wanted them to run the ball more consistently.

Glad to hear this. Now let's hope they can build an OL to open the holes for the backs.

Damn man, I was like, 25 seconds away from posting this

I guess we both visiting SF and saw this, or this article is fairly new.

bayz101 wrote:

Damn man, I was like, 25 seconds away from posting this

I guess we both visiting SF and saw this, or this article is fairly new.

Nope, we have a news feed.

Wallace108 wrote:

bayz101 wrote:

Damn man, I was like, 25 seconds away from posting this

I guess we both visiting SF and saw this, or this article is fairly new.

Nope, we have a news feed.

#@!%

Forgot about that

I'm not sure I really want the old offense back. I wasn't crazy about Cowher Ball. I just want the new OC to actually scheme against the specific team we're facing, and not just have a philosophy we're going to employ regardless of who we're playing. And I don't care if we continue to be a passing team, I just don't wanna see Ben dropping back and looking 20, 30, or 40 yards down the field on every play.

BGSU A Dub wrote:

I think it all starts with the offensive line. A great offensive line can even make an average running back look like a HOFer.

I don't completely disagree. But old and slow Charlie Batch got sacked 0 times against the Rams. How could that be with our crappy O-line?

Wallace108 wrote:

BGSU A Dub wrote:

I think it all starts with the offensive line. A great offensive line can even make an average running back look like a HOFer.

I don't completely disagree. But old and slow Charlie Batch got sacked 0 times against the Rams. How could that be with our crappy O-line?

I agree that a line isn't the only thing we need to be successful. Ben needs to throw the ball, it's obvious, He really does need to tweak his game. However, the Rams we're ranked 22nd in defense this year, and won the title as worst team in the NFL. I think it's safe to say that if Ben was in that game, he'd probably go untouched for a good portion of the game, even without the ankle.

bayz101 wrote:

I agree that a line isn't the only thing we need to be successful. Ben needs to throw the ball, it's obvious, He really does need to tweak his game. However, the Rams we're ranked 22nd in defense this year, and won the title as worst team in the NFL. I think it's safe to say that if Ben was in that game, he'd probably go untouched for a good portion of the game, even without the ankle.

Yeah, the Rams were ranked 22nd. But Ben faced defenses ranked 31, 25, 20, and 18 and was sacked multiple times in each game. I'm not a betting man, but if I was, I'd bet that Ben would have gotten sacked against the Rams.

BGSU A Dub wrote:

Charlie also gets rid of the ball quicker than Ben (throwing it away). We also had a pretty effective run game that day if I remember correctly. IMO, a team that knows the backup is going to play attacks him a lot differently. Since Charlie is old and slow, it could be possible that the Rams were looking for more coverage sacks. Or, the Rams may have thrown the towel in by that point and were looking to next year.

On average this season, we threw nearly 60 percent of the time and ran 40 percent. Against the Rams, we ran nearly 60 percent and threw only 40 percent. And when Batch did pass, it was mostly short and intermediate passes. It was the same style of offense we employed against the Titans. In that game, we ran the ball 28 times for 174 yards. Ben threw 35 passes, but most of them were short passes. The average net on the passes was 7 yards. And in that game, Ben was sacked only 1 time and we scored 38 points.

Wallace108 wrote:

bayz101 wrote:

I agree that a line isn't the only thing we need to be successful. Ben needs to throw the ball, it's obvious, He really does need to tweak his game. However, the Rams we're ranked 22nd in defense this year, and won the title as worst team in the NFL. I think it's safe to say that if Ben was in that game, he'd probably go untouched for a good portion of the game, even without the ankle.

Yeah, the Rams were ranked 22nd. But Ben faced defenses ranked 31, 25, 20, and 18 and was sacked multiple times in each game. I'm not a betting man, but if I was, I'd bet that Ben would have gotten sacked against the Rams.

BGSU A Dub wrote:

Charlie also gets rid of the ball quicker than Ben (throwing it away). We also had a pretty effective run game that day if I remember correctly. IMO, a team that knows the backup is going to play attacks him a lot differently. Since Charlie is old and slow, it could be possible that the Rams were looking for more coverage sacks. Or, the Rams may have thrown the towel in by that point and were looking to next year.

On average this season, we threw nearly 60 percent of the time and ran 40 percent. Against the Rams, we ran nearly 60 percent and threw only 40 percent. And when Batch did pass, it was mostly short and intermediate passes. It was the same style of offense we employed against the Titans. In that game, we ran the ball 28 times for 174 yards. Ben threw 35 passes, but most of them were short passes. The average net on the passes was 7 yards. And in that game, Ben was sacked only 1 time and we scored 38 points.

I'd bet that Ben'd get sacked in a game against a local high-school team

BGSU A Dub wrote:

Well hopefully the new OC implements more short route passing into our offense. Getting the ball into Wallace and Brown's hands quickly could be a very good thing for us. I think often Ben is looking for the big play, but he doesn't always get the time to go for it.

Exactly. That's how we beat the Pat's this year, and that's how we'll need to play next year if we're going to make it very far. It just seemed to me like BA couldn't LIVE without throwing 25 deep passes a game, when in all reality, long drives filled with short routes and a run game is what won us the games this year. Or at least against teams that mattered. Think about it. Advance the ball 3 1/2 yards per play, every play, and your getting into the endzone. Long drives not only give the defense the rest it needs, it helps you DOMINATE the time of possession game, and that's always huge. Check out the Texans first drive against us when we played them. It took an entire quarter.

BGSU A Dub wrote:

Well hopefully the new OC implements more short route passing into our offense. Getting the ball into Wallace and Brown's hands quickly could be a very good thing for us. I think often Ben is looking for the big play, but he doesn't always get the time to go for it.

I agree with this Dubs. Get the ball in the hands of our playmakers and let them do the rest. And you're right that Ben always looks for the big play. If we had a solid O-line, he could do that. But we don't have a solid O-line, so he needs to stop doing that. But what separates Ben from QBs like Rodgers and Brady is that they get the ball out quickly. If nothing's open, their lines can buy them some time. But more times than not, they get the ball out quickly. That's what Ben needs to learn to do. It'll be our new OC's job to make him do it.

Wallace108 wrote:

I'm not sure I really want the old offense back. I wasn't crazy about Cowher Ball. I just want the new OC to actually scheme against the specific team we're facing, and not just have a philosophy we're going to employ regardless of who we're playing. And I don't care if we continue to be a passing team, I just don't wanna see Ben dropping back and looking 20, 30, or 40 yards down the field on every play.

Exactly. This year when we needed to run the ball to kill clock time we weren't able to do that. I don't have a problem with taking a shot on 1rst and ten but not on third and long when we can check down and pick up the first instead Ben is looking for the kill shot.

Hopefully the new OC will deal with this.

solardave wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

I'm not sure I really want the old offense back. I wasn't crazy about Cowher Ball. I just want the new OC to actually scheme against the specific team we're facing, and not just have a philosophy we're going to employ regardless of who we're playing. And I don't care if we continue to be a passing team, I just don't wanna see Ben dropping back and looking 20, 30, or 40 yards down the field on every play.

Exactly. This year when we needed to run the ball to kill clock time we weren't able to do that. I don't have a problem with taking a shot on 1rst and ten but not on third and long when we can check down and pick up the first instead Ben is looking for the kill shot.

Hopefully the new OC will deal with this.

I believe what you're talking about is situational football. That was always one of the biggest criticisms against Arians.

Isn't that just fucking great now Rooney has become the NFL equivalent of 80's Steinbrenner and 90's 20xx Peter Angelos. I know some of you don't care all you see is Arians is gone, but if these articles are true it's not a good thing for the Steelers.

supytalpeht wrote:

Isn't that just fucking great now Rooney has become the NFL equivalent of 80's Steinbrenner and 90's 20xx Peter Angelos.

This isn't the first time a Rooney had to step in and get rid of a coach. The Steelers front office has a great track record of knowing when to part ways with people. I watch other teams constantly redefine who they are, and they don't have as much success as the Steelers have had over the past few decades (actually longer if you go back to the 70s and ignore the 80s). There's a Steelers Way ... and Arians was trying to redefine it.

Wallace108 wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

Isn't that just fucking great now Rooney has become the NFL equivalent of 80's Steinbrenner and 90's 20xx Peter Angelos.

This isn't the first time a Rooney had to step in and get rid of a coach. The Steelers front office has a great track record of knowing when to part ways with people. I watch other teams constantly redefine who they are, and they don't have as much success as the Steelers have had over the past few decades (actually longer if you go back to the 70s and ignore the 80s). There's a Steelers Way ... and Arians was trying to redefine it.

That Arians was trying to redefine the Steelers way is comedy gold. It should be abundantly clear that the Steelers have made a conscientious decision to go a passing attack. Arians didn't make that decision the Steelers did. Using your hc as a puppet and publicly hanging him out to dry is a bad thing no matter how you slice it. Hey if we're lucky maybe Rooney will start running things like Al Davis.

supytalpeht wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

Isn't that just fucking great now Rooney has become the NFL equivalent of 80's Steinbrenner and 90's 20xx Peter Angelos.

This isn't the first time a Rooney had to step in and get rid of a coach. The Steelers front office has a great track record of knowing when to part ways with people. I watch other teams constantly redefine who they are, and they don't have as much success as the Steelers have had over the past few decades (actually longer if you go back to the 70s and ignore the 80s). There's a Steelers Way ... and Arians was trying to redefine it.

That Arians was trying to redefine the Steelers way is comedy gold. It should be abundantly clear that the Steelers have made a conscientious decision to go a passing attack. Arians didn't make that decision the Steelers did. Using your hc as a puppet and publicly hanging him out to dry is a bad thing no matter how you slice it. Hey if we're lucky maybe Rooney will start running things like Al Davis.

Seriously? You don't remember Rooney telling Arians to run the ball more consistently? We just had that debate.

Wallace108 wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

Isn't that just fucking great now Rooney has become the NFL equivalent of 80's Steinbrenner and 90's 20xx Peter Angelos.

This isn't the first time a Rooney had to step in and get rid of a coach. The Steelers front office has a great track record of knowing when to part ways with people. I watch other teams constantly redefine who they are, and they don't have as much success as the Steelers have had over the past few decades (actually longer if you go back to the 70s and ignore the 80s). There's a Steelers Way ... and Arians was trying to redefine it.

That Arians was trying to redefine the Steelers way is comedy gold. It should be abundantly clear that the Steelers have made a conscientious decision to go a passing attack. Arians didn't make that decision the Steelers did. Using your hc as a puppet and publicly hanging him out to dry is a bad thing no matter how you slice it. Hey if we're lucky maybe Rooney will start running things like Al Davis.

Seriously? You don't remember Rooney telling Arians to run the ball more consistently? We just had that debate.

You're right we did and multi-millionaires born with silver spoons in their mouths received the education to know how to use the word consistently properly in a sentence. I can't wait for us to go back to those Bettis days where we scored all of those points. How many points per game did we average in the Bettis years 20-21?

supytalpeht wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

Isn't that just fucking great now Rooney has become the NFL equivalent of 80's Steinbrenner and 90's 20xx Peter Angelos.

This isn't the first time a Rooney had to step in and get rid of a coach. The Steelers front office has a great track record of knowing when to part ways with people. I watch other teams constantly redefine who they are, and they don't have as much success as the Steelers have had over the past few decades (actually longer if you go back to the 70s and ignore the 80s). There's a Steelers Way ... and Arians was trying to redefine it.

That Arians was trying to redefine the Steelers way is comedy gold. It should be abundantly clear that the Steelers have made a conscientious decision to go a passing attack. Arians didn't make that decision the Steelers did. Using your hc as a puppet and publicly hanging him out to dry is a bad thing no matter how you slice it. Hey if we're lucky maybe Rooney will start running things like Al Davis.

Seriously? You don't remember Rooney telling Arians to run the ball more consistently? We just had that debate.

You're right we did and multi-millionaires born with silver spoons in their mouths received the education to know how to use the word consistently properly in a sentence. I can't wait for us to go back to those Bettis days where we scored all of those points. How many points per game did we average in the Bettis years 20-21?

I don't think any of us (at least here) wanna return to Cowher Ball. What we're saying (and I'm sure Rooney would agree) is that if we're going to pass, we can't have Ben dropping back and looking 20, 30, or 40 yards down the field every play. But that's exactly what we've done the past number of seasons, and it isn't working. Either Arians caused the problem or can't fix it. Either way, Rooney determined that it was time to bring in someone else who could.

Wallace108 wrote:

Seriously? You don't remember Rooney telling Arians to run the ball more consistently? We just had that debate.

That conversation provoked Arians to bring in an UFA defensive end to play fullback.