Fichtner looks like the next OC

By Bob Smizik

No one should be greatly surprised if Randy Fichtner is the next Steelers offensive coordinator.

It might not be the Steelers way to force their offensive coordinator into retirement, but it is the Steeler way to promote from within.

The past three offensive coordinators, Mike Mularkey, Ken Whisenhunt and Bruce Arians, all were on the staff in other positions before being promoted.

The promotion of Fichtner, the team's quarterbacks coach, also would help in lessening the disappointment of Ben Roethlisberger, who is believed not to be pleased with the dismissal of Arians, with whom he had a close relationship. And whether people like it or not, $100 million superstars must be kept happy.

The Steelers also have a history of not hiring well from outside the organization for this position. When offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, who was promoted from within, left the Steelers to become head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 1998, coach Bill Cowher made a bad hire in Ray Sherman. He lasted one year before being replaced by Kevin Gilbride, who was a considerable upgrade in his two seasons. But the Steelers did not make the playoffs in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

But this is more than just about personalities. The offense needs tweaked, not overhauled. Fichtner would figure to ideal for such a role. He has a relationship with Roethlisberger and we can only assume it’s a good one because that's part of the job description. He knows the offense, he knows the quarterback and he has a long relationship with Mike Tomlin.

http://communityvoices.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/sports/bob-smiziks-blog/31688-fichtner-looks-like-the-next-oc

I have mixed emotions about him. Is he a friend to Ben or a mentor or an authority figure (which I think he needs right now). I'd like for him to have a good relationship but not just like BA had.

Most NFL teams typically hire from within, it's not rare. People seem to forget that our Head coach, Mike Tomlin, wasn't hired from within. We brought him in from outside of the organization when we could have hired in Whiz as Head Coach? I wouldn't say it's the "Steeler way" to hire from within, but's it's not a rare occurring thing in this league. Quite honestly, we have no way of telling what's going on in the FO. We'll just have to wait it out.

FIRE RANDY FICHTNER!!!!!!

Buddha Bus wrote:

FIRE RANDY FICHTNER!!!!!!

It's only a matter of time.
Which is going to be the first complaint?

A. We need a real fullback
B. Why are we passing on 3rd and 2
C. The @$$@! bubble screen never works
D. All we do is run up the middle
E. Fichtner doesn't care about winning he just wants to pad his fantasy stats(my personal favorite)

As long as Fich doesn't throw a hail mary on 3rd & 2, or run a bubble screen on 3rd & 8999999 we'll be fine

supytalpeht wrote:

It's only a matter of time.
Which is going to be the first complaint?

A. We need a real fullback
B. Why are we passing on 3rd and 2
C. The @$$@! bubble screen never works
D. All we do is run up the middle
E. Fichtner doesn't care about winning he just wants to pad his fantasy stats(my personal favorite)

A. We do need a real fullback. The team keeps catering to Ben to give everything he wants. How about giving the running backs something they want.?

B. I don't have a problem passing on 3rd and 2 IF ... 1) They don't use an empty backfield, and 2) We try to get the first down instead of throwing the ball 40 yards down the field.

C. No one says it never works. It's just used too much with little variation. Defenses can see it coming.

D. It would be nice to run to the left once in a while. And I'd like to see them dump passes off to the running backs.

E. Anyone who believed that about Arians shouldn't have been taken seriously.

I know I said in another thread that it's time to move on from the Arians debates, but I'm curious supy ...

I've seen some serious Arians haters on various boards who blame him for everything, but everyone on this board is fairly objective. We recognize that everything isn't always Arians' fault. We have a weak O-line, and Ben's shortcomings are well documented here. Most of us even gave Arians game balls several times last season.

But saying that it's not always Arians fault doesn't mean that it's never his fault. Countless times, he went with an empty backfield in 3rd and short situations. That's just crazy. Having a back makes the defense have to gamble on whether you're running or passing. And a back serves as an extra blocker if you're passing. Going with an empty backfield on 3rd and 2 just doesn't make any sense, but Arians loved to do it. And there are other things Arians did that didn't put the players in the best position to succeed. Yet I don't recall you ever having a single complaint about him. You make it sound like Arians is the greatest offensive coordinator in the history of football. So tell me ... what's something you don't like about him? What's something he did that you disagree with?

Yeah, you said you were done with Arians and then continued to post about him. If you go through some of the game day threads you'll see me questioning calls;although, admitedly in the last season plus I've spent a lot of time poking fun at the sky is falling crowd. Regarding the empty backfield get over it. The empty set works fine for every other professional in the league, but one of them wants to hang onto the ball for 3+ seconds. It also happens far less than you think. It's really taken on a life similar to that of the bubble screen. We average that play under 3 times a game and it's good for a 1st down 50% of time. But according to the bashers we either run a bubble screen or a hail mary. Not using check downs to running backs is on Ben period. Look at the pick 6 in the SB, there's mendy wide open underneath. Ben's high ankle sprain, once again Mendy wide open underneath.

The offense was built for Ben, by Ben and Arians. Ben knows full fucking well that he needs to get rid of the ball in empty sets, but he decides to do it his way. No one friend or foe can force him to get rid of the ball from sidelines. Once the ball is snapped it's all on Ben period. Of course you'll say well Arians shouldn't call those plays which brings up the use of audibles yet once again. You can be a tool like someone who shall remain nameless and sya that an audible is circumventing the OC's authority, but that is bullshit. They are built into the offense for a reason and they are very effective.

supytalpeht wrote:

Yeah, you said you were done with Arians and then continued to post about him. If you go through some of the game day threads you'll see me questioning calls;although, admitedly in the last season plus I've spent a lot of time poking fun at the sky is falling crowd. Regarding the empty backfield get over it. The empty set works fine for every other professional in the league, but one of them wants to hang onto the ball for 3+ seconds. It also happens far less than you think. It's really taken on a life similar to that of the bubble screen. We average that play under 3 times a game and it's good for a 1st down 50% of time. But according to the bashers we either run a bubble screen or a hail mary. Not using check downs to running backs is on Ben period. Look at the pick 6 in the SB, there's mendy wide open underneath. Ben's high ankle sprain, once again Mendy wide open underneath.

The offense was built for Ben, by Ben and Arians. Ben knows full fucking well that he needs to get rid of the ball in empty sets, but he decides to do it his way. No one friend or foe can force him to get rid of the ball from sidelines. Once the ball is snapped it's all on Ben period. Of course you'll say well Arians shouldn't call those plays which brings up the use of audibles yet once again. You can be a tool like someone who shall remain nameless and sya that an audible is circumventing the OC's authority, but that is bullshit. They are built into the offense for a reason and they are very effective.

Just as I thought. You can't say one negative thing about him. Arians is the greatest OC in the history of football. And Rooney is nothing but an idiot.

Wallace108 wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

Yeah, you said you were done with Arians and then continued to post about him. If you go through some of the game day threads you'll see me questioning calls;although, admitedly in the last season plus I've spent a lot of time poking fun at the sky is falling crowd. Regarding the empty backfield get over it. The empty set works fine for every other professional in the league, but one of them wants to hang onto the ball for 3+ seconds. It also happens far less than you think. It's really taken on a life similar to that of the bubble screen. We average that play under 3 times a game and it's good for a 1st down 50% of time. But according to the bashers we either run a bubble screen or a hail mary. Not using check downs to running backs is on Ben period. Look at the pick 6 in the SB, there's mendy wide open underneath. Ben's high ankle sprain, once again Mendy wide open underneath.

The offense was built for Ben, by Ben and Arians. Ben knows full fucking well that he needs to get rid of the ball in empty sets, but he decides to do it his way. No one friend or foe can force him to get rid of the ball from sidelines. Once the ball is snapped it's all on Ben period. Of course you'll say well Arians shouldn't call those plays which brings up the use of audibles yet once again. You can be a tool like someone who shall remain nameless and sya that an audible is circumventing the OC's authority, but that is bullshit. They are built into the offense for a reason and they are very effective.

Just as I thought. You can't say one negative thing about him. Arians is the greatest OC in the history of football. And Rooney is nothing but an idiot.

I guess you just ignored the second sentence.

supytalpeht wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

Yeah, you said you were done with Arians and then continued to post about him. If you go through some of the game day threads you'll see me questioning calls;although, admitedly in the last season plus I've spent a lot of time poking fun at the sky is falling crowd. Regarding the empty backfield get over it. The empty set works fine for every other professional in the league, but one of them wants to hang onto the ball for 3+ seconds. It also happens far less than you think. It's really taken on a life similar to that of the bubble screen. We average that play under 3 times a game and it's good for a 1st down 50% of time. But according to the bashers we either run a bubble screen or a hail mary. Not using check downs to running backs is on Ben period. Look at the pick 6 in the SB, there's mendy wide open underneath. Ben's high ankle sprain, once again Mendy wide open underneath.

The offense was built for Ben, by Ben and Arians. Ben knows full fucking well that he needs to get rid of the ball in empty sets, but he decides to do it his way. No one friend or foe can force him to get rid of the ball from sidelines. Once the ball is snapped it's all on Ben period. Of course you'll say well Arians shouldn't call those plays which brings up the use of audibles yet once again. You can be a tool like someone who shall remain nameless and sya that an audible is circumventing the OC's authority, but that is bullshit. They are built into the offense for a reason and they are very effective.

Just as I thought. You can't say one negative thing about him. Arians is the greatest OC in the history of football. And Rooney is nothing but an idiot.

I guess you just ignored the second sentence.

I shouldn't have to go back through pages and pages of game day threads when you can just tell me at least one thing Arians has done that you disagree with.

Wallace108 wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

Yeah, you said you were done with Arians and then continued to post about him. If you go through some of the game day threads you'll see me questioning calls;although, admitedly in the last season plus I've spent a lot of time poking fun at the sky is falling crowd. Regarding the empty backfield get over it. The empty set works fine for every other professional in the league, but one of them wants to hang onto the ball for 3+ seconds. It also happens far less than you think. It's really taken on a life similar to that of the bubble screen. We average that play under 3 times a game and it's good for a 1st down 50% of time. But according to the bashers we either run a bubble screen or a hail mary. Not using check downs to running backs is on Ben period. Look at the pick 6 in the SB, there's mendy wide open underneath. Ben's high ankle sprain, once again Mendy wide open underneath.

The offense was built for Ben, by Ben and Arians. Ben knows full fucking well that he needs to get rid of the ball in empty sets, but he decides to do it his way. No one friend or foe can force him to get rid of the ball from sidelines. Once the ball is snapped it's all on Ben period. Of course you'll say well Arians shouldn't call those plays which brings up the use of audibles yet once again. You can be a tool like someone who shall remain nameless and sya that an audible is circumventing the OC's authority, but that is bullshit. They are built into the offense for a reason and they are very effective.

Just as I thought. You can't say one negative thing about him. Arians is the greatest OC in the history of football. And Rooney is nothing but an idiot.

I guess you just ignored the second sentence.

I shouldn't have to go back through pages and pages of game day threads when you can just tell me at least one thing Arians has done that you disagree with.

You've twisted my stance of Ben has as much to do with our problems as Arians if not more so into I love Arians. Why should I defend a stance I never claimed to have?

supytalpeht wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

Yeah, you said you were done with Arians and then continued to post about him. If you go through some of the game day threads you'll see me questioning calls;although, admitedly in the last season plus I've spent a lot of time poking fun at the sky is falling crowd. Regarding the empty backfield get over it. The empty set works fine for every other professional in the league, but one of them wants to hang onto the ball for 3+ seconds. It also happens far less than you think. It's really taken on a life similar to that of the bubble screen. We average that play under 3 times a game and it's good for a 1st down 50% of time. But according to the bashers we either run a bubble screen or a hail mary. Not using check downs to running backs is on Ben period. Look at the pick 6 in the SB, there's mendy wide open underneath. Ben's high ankle sprain, once again Mendy wide open underneath.

The offense was built for Ben, by Ben and Arians. Ben knows full fucking well that he needs to get rid of the ball in empty sets, but he decides to do it his way. No one friend or foe can force him to get rid of the ball from sidelines. Once the ball is snapped it's all on Ben period. Of course you'll say well Arians shouldn't call those plays which brings up the use of audibles yet once again. You can be a tool like someone who shall remain nameless and sya that an audible is circumventing the OC's authority, but that is bullshit. They are built into the offense for a reason and they are very effective.

Just as I thought. You can't say one negative thing about him. Arians is the greatest OC in the history of football. And Rooney is nothing but an idiot.

I guess you just ignored the second sentence.

I shouldn't have to go back through pages and pages of game day threads when you can just tell me at least one thing Arians has done that you disagree with.

You've twisted my stance of Ben has as much to do with our problems as Arians if not more so into I love Arians. Why should I defend a stance I never claimed to have?

I feel like a prosecutor. JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!

I think I can see what Rooney is trying to do if we are able to run the ball more we should be able to cut down on BB sacked total. I think for the longest time here I have been the only BA supporter and with this move I think we should be very careful with personality and egos could be offended.
I think all of us always had a feeling about Chan, Mike, Wiz and BA I know I did I always seem to hear about them before they became OC for the Steelers as the next in line. I was coming home from New Stanton the other day and listening to the morning show in Pittsburgh and the crew was talking to sean Kugler on how he was not interested in the job and no one on the radio knew how to say Randy last name. that as crazy as it sounds bothers me if they don't know who he is how are we going to except him .

blastfurness wrote:

I think I can see what Rooney is trying to do if we are able to run the ball more we should be able to cut down on BB sacked total. I think for the longest time here I have been the only BA supporter and with this move I think we should be very careful with personality and egos could be offended.
I think all of us always had a feeling about Chan, Mike, Wiz and BA I know I did I always seem to hear about them before they became OC for the Steelers as the next in line. I was coming home from New Stanton the other day and listening to the morning show in Pittsburgh and the crew was talking to sean Kugler on how he was not interested in the job and no one on the radio knew how to say Randy last name. that as crazy as it sounds bothers me if they don't know who he is how are we going to except him .

I think we'd accept Fichtner just fine as long as the offense improves. But if he's unable to get Ben to change his style of play and insists on trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, then he'd be met the same criticisms as Arians.

Wallace108 wrote:

blastfurness wrote:

I think I can see what Rooney is trying to do if we are able to run the ball more we should be able to cut down on BB sacked total. I think for the longest time here I have been the only BA supporter and with this move I think we should be very careful with personality and egos could be offended.
I think all of us always had a feeling about Chan, Mike, Wiz and BA I know I did I always seem to hear about them before they became OC for the Steelers as the next in line. I was coming home from New Stanton the other day and listening to the morning show in Pittsburgh and the crew was talking to sean Kugler on how he was not interested in the job and no one on the radio knew how to say Randy last name. that as crazy as it sounds bothers me if they don't know who he is how are we going to except him .

I think we'd accept Fichtner just fine as long as the offense improves. But if he's unable to get Ben to change his style of play and insists on trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, then he'd be met the same criticisms as Arians.

You're really going out on a limb there. He's been playing the same way for 8 years under multiple coaches etc, but blame lays upon someone else.

supytalpeht wrote:

You're really going out on a limb there. He's been playing the same way for 8 years under multiple coaches etc, but blame lays upon someone else.

Ben was still a young QB under Whisenhunt. And Arians has always believed in letting Ben be Ben. Has anyone even TRIED to make him change?

Rooney said that Ben needs to "tweak" his game.

And here's Ben's comments today about changing the way he plays:

Quote :

"From what I understood from that was, just not get hit to so much," said Roethlisberger, who was sacked 40 times in 15 regular-season games in 2011. "I think some of that's on me; some of that's on linemen. It's on everybody, so I'll put it on me and try to make those adjustments."

Read more: Steelers quarterback Roethlisberger wants an answer from Rooney - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_778590.html#ixzz1kdH3bTPO

Up to this point, no one was demanding that Ben change his style of play. Let Ben be Ben. So yes, Arians deserves some of the blame.

I think Randy Fichtner will make a great OC and him and Ben will be like two peas in a pod.

got to love the drama

I'm inserting my female opinion on this male dominated conversation. (no, I'm not going back to the kitchen)

I tend to agree with Supy. Ben hasn't changed his way of play under various OC's. I'm not completely sold on the idea of even being able to change his style of play at this point. But really - isn't it pretty simple? We don't have the greatest O-line, our quarterback constantly tries for the "big" plays (i.e. bombs) and the OC coach wasn't really that effective as a coach. Far as I can tell, it's a matter of the sum of the parts equaling the whole. I happen to trust Rooney. You pretty much just have to look at the history of the Steelers organization to realize that it is a hell of a franchise, especially when you compare it to all of the other franchises in the NFL. Having said that and risking many bombs being thrown my way, I don't see the Steelers making a trip to the Superbowl for the next few years. I hope to hell I am wrong, but I think there are going to be too many adjustments (which have to be made) in order for the team to fully click.

Gingerchip wrote:

I tend to agree with Supy.

There's no shame in being wrong.

OK, let me address some of you points.

Gingerchip wrote:

Ben hasn't changed his way of play under various OC's.

Under Whisenhunt, Ben was pretty much just a game manager. His first season, he threw 295 passes. He threw 268 his second season. By way of comparison, he threw 513 passes this season. Early in his career, he wasn't dropping back and throwing the ball 30 yards down the field every play. His main job was to hand the ball off to Bettis and not do anything to lose games. It wasn't until Arians took over that they opened up the passing game and allowed Ben to be a downfield passer. There wasn't much need for Whisenhunt to change Ben's style of play, and Arians, by his own admission, believed in letting Ben be Ben. So I don't agree with the premise that different OCs haven't been able to change Ben ... they haven't even tried (at least Arians didn't).

Gingerchip wrote:

I'm not completely sold on the idea of even being able to change his style of play at this point.

I would agree with you if Ben's problems were in his mechanics. If you have a QB who has been throwing the ball a certain way since he was a kid, it's extremely difficult for him to change his mechanics. That's a problem Tebow is having right now. But Ben doesn't have a problem with his mechanics. His problem is things like holding onto the ball too long and not throwing it away when he's pressured. Those kind of problems can be fixed a lot easier than trying to fix the way a QB throws. The problem is that early in his career, Ben got the reputation of being able to escape pressure, shed off tackles, and make something out of nothing. And for the past 5 seasons, Arians enabled Ben to continue that style of play. Getting Ben to throw the ball away when he's pressured or hit the short route instead of forcing the ball downfield is a lot easier than if they had to change his throwing motion or his footwork. Again, the reason Arians was unable to change Ben is because he didn't want Ben to change.

Gingerchip wrote:

We don't have the greatest O-line, our quarterback constantly tries for the "big" plays (i.e. bombs) and the OC coach wasn't really that effective as a coach.

I agree. And the common denominator in those problems was Arians. The reason Ben constantly looked for big plays is because Arians allowed him to. Arians loves the big play just as much as Ben. And our O-line is bad ... but it wasn't helped out by having to block for a QB who needs half an hour for a long play to develop and an OC who allows that play to happen.

Gingerchip wrote:

Far as I can tell, it's a matter of the sum of the parts equaling the whole. I happen to trust Rooney. You pretty much just have to look at the history of the Steelers organization to realize that it is a hell of a franchise, especially when you compare it to all of the other franchises in the NFL. Having said that and risking many bombs being thrown my way, I don't see the Steelers making a trip to the Superbowl for the next few years. I hope to hell I am wrong, but I think there are going to be too many adjustments (which have to be made) in order for the team to fully click.

I'm not really sure what to expect next season. It's hard to even speculate until we see the team that takes the field. There could be quite a few changes this offseason. And right now, I'm more concerned about what's going to happen with our defense.

BS one of the knocks on Ben coming out of college was his slow release aka holding the freaking ball. Why don't you go find the Tomlin vids on youtube where he's yelling "get rid of the ball Ben" or he's telling Ben "if you stay clean I'll leave you in the game" to which Ben replies "I only play the game one way". This notion that anyone can change what he does once the whistle blows is a big fat pile of steaming crap. Of course they could bench Ben until he figures it out, but then y'all would have Fire Tomlin threads in every nook and cranny of the internet.

OFfensive plays are designed with receivers at different levels, deep, middle, short. They don't send everyone deep as to alleviate congestion on the field. IF you send all the receivers on deep patterns then all the plays start to look like hail marys. The same holds true if you send everyone on short or intermediate routes. The onus is on the QB to identify the blitz, coverage, and find the open receiver. Ben chooses to run around and force the ball downfield repeatedly, this is on him and no one but him. Also I love the way you've spun the Arians quote into full on blame for Ben's bs. Just because Arians doesn't change everything about the way a qb plays doesn't mean that he hasn't told him 10,000 times that he can't hold onto the ball and do pump fakes. Ben even admits that a lot of the sacks are on him. If you need a translation he knows that he holds the ball too long, but he doesn't care.


"His situational play calling..."

YOu don't even know if we ran the play he called.

Roethlisberger could be making a power play for Fichtner
Posted by Mike Florio on January 28, 2012, 10:07 AM EST

So why is Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger planning to park his rear end on the other side of Art Rooney’s desk and ask hard questions about the future of the offense?

It could be that Roethlisberger wants to ensure that quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner replaces Bruce Arians as the next offensive coordinator of the Steelers.

“When I get back, I’m going to go up to Mr. Rooney’s office and ask him what he wants from me, what he wants from this offense, because I think that’s a viable question for him,” Roethlisberger said recently. “He’s our owner and our boss, so I really would like to know kind of what he wants and where he sees our offense going because I’d like to tell him where I see us going.”

Roethlisberger surely sees the offense going toward Fichtner, who has joined Ben in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl and who has worked with the quarterback since 2007, when coach Mike Tomlin hired him. Fichtner previously ran a spread offense at Memphis, and Peter King explained last night on NBC SportsTalk that Fichtner was instrumental in helping Roethsliberger reintegrate into the roster after a four-game suspension to start the 2010 season.

And so the deeper question is whether Rooney wants to change the offense, or whether he simply wanted to change the coordinator. If it was a matter of dumping Bruce Arians and promoting Fichtner, the move probably would have happened by now.


(Read More:) http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/28/roethlisberger-could-be-making-a-power-play-for-fichtner/

supytalpeht wrote:

BS one of the knocks on Ben coming out of college was his slow release aka holding the freaking ball. Why don't you go find the Tomlin vids on youtube where he's yelling "get rid of the ball Ben" or he's telling Ben "if you stay clean I'll leave you in the game" to which Ben replies "I only play the game one way". This notion that anyone can change what he does once the whistle blows is a big fat pile of steaming crap. Of course they could bench Ben until he figures it out, but then y'all would have Fire Tomlin threads in every nook and cranny of the internet.

OFfensive plays are designed with receivers at different levels, deep, middle, short. They don't send everyone deep as to alleviate congestion on the field. IF you send all the receivers on deep patterns then all the plays start to look like hail marys. The same holds true if you send everyone on short or intermediate routes. The onus is on the QB to identify the blitz, coverage, and find the open receiver. Ben chooses to run around and force the ball downfield repeatedly, this is on him and no one but him. Also I love the way you've spun the Arians quote into full on blame for Ben's bs. Just because Arians doesn't change everything about the way a qb plays doesn't mean that he hasn't told him 10,000 times that he can't hold onto the ball and do pump fakes. Ben even admits that a lot of the sacks are on him. If you need a translation he knows that he holds the ball too long, but he doesn't care.


"His situational play calling..."

YOu don't even know if we ran the play he called.

Having a slow release isn't the same thing as holding onto the ball too long. A slow release is a mechanical problem. Holding onto the ball too long is a decision problem.

Supy, what will you be saying next season if Ben DOES change his stye of play and our offense is clicking? I'm putting money on that you'll blame Ben for getting Arians fired. "If only Ben had changed sooner, Arians would still be here."

Wallace108 wrote:

supytalpeht wrote:

BS one of the knocks on Ben coming out of college was his slow release aka holding the freaking ball. Why don't you go find the Tomlin vids on youtube where he's yelling "get rid of the ball Ben" or he's telling Ben "if you stay clean I'll leave you in the game" to which Ben replies "I only play the game one way". This notion that anyone can change what he does once the whistle blows is a big fat pile of steaming crap. Of course they could bench Ben until he figures it out, but then y'all would have Fire Tomlin threads in every nook and cranny of the internet.

OFfensive plays are designed with receivers at different levels, deep, middle, short. They don't send everyone deep as to alleviate congestion on the field. IF you send all the receivers on deep patterns then all the plays start to look like hail marys. The same holds true if you send everyone on short or intermediate routes. The onus is on the QB to identify the blitz, coverage, and find the open receiver. Ben chooses to run around and force the ball downfield repeatedly, this is on him and no one but him. Also I love the way you've spun the Arians quote into full on blame for Ben's bs. Just because Arians doesn't change everything about the way a qb plays doesn't mean that he hasn't told him 10,000 times that he can't hold onto the ball and do pump fakes. Ben even admits that a lot of the sacks are on him. If you need a translation he knows that he holds the ball too long, but he doesn't care.


"His situational play calling..."

YOu don't even know if we ran the play he called.

Having a slow release isn't the same thing as holding onto the ball too long. A slow release is a mechanical problem. Holding onto the ball too long is a decision problem.

Supy, what will you be saying next season if Ben DOES change his stye of play and our offense is clicking? I'm putting money on that you'll blame Ben for getting Arians fired. "If only Ben had changed sooner, Arians would still be here."

The same thing I've said all along which is that our issues are with execution and Ben is the only person that can make this change. There's not a OC/HC in the world that can affect what he does once the whistle blows. They can't force him not to take the deep route or to use his check down receiver. Which he frequently ignores or waits so long to use that their efficacy is negated. THe fact there's video evidence of coaches telling him to get rid of the ball and his response being I only know how to play one way proves that. If spinning this into me having a love affair for Arians helps you sleep at night feel free.

Sept 26th

Quote :

But you're making the assumption that it's BA's play calling and not an execution thing. I'm not a huge fan by any means and there are times when I'm truly puzzled by a call. However, when the team actually executes and we get rolling you start too see how he sets things up. Look back at the SB and the 2 point conversion play, that was a beautiful call and it worked because the team had been executing. Unfortunately all too often we have a hold here, a missed block there, a late hit by kemo, or Ben starts holding onto the ball for a month of Sundays and suddenly we're going backwards and then the masses start blaming Arians. Last night we had two bubble screens where Miller completely whiffed on his blocking assignment. Of course nobody says shit about Miller whiffing, it's all Arians' stupid play calling.

Wallace108 wrote:

I think we'd accept Fichtner just fine as long as the offense improves. But if he's unable to get Ben to change his style of play and insists on trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, then he'd be met the same criticisms as Arians.

Right, somehow the new coordinator has to get Ben to understand that on 3rd&2 it might be better to hit one of the two wide open TEs on 20 yard routes, than throw a 50 yard pass into tight triple coverage just because Wallace is fast. Or maybe Rooney's looking for an OC that has an offensive package that can get 1 yard running the ball.