By Alan Robinson
Published: Sunday, September 2, 2012, 12:01 a.m.
Updated 10 hours ago
Admit it. A week away from the first real game of the Steelers season, and you’re still waiting for The Blowup.
You’re certain it’s going to happen, perhaps the very first time Ben Roethlisberger discards a play call to improvise, but his wide receivers are blanketed and he takes one more sack to add to the body-punishing 261 he’s had the last half-dozen seasons.
As soon as it happens, offensive coordinator Todd Haley’s face turns an Arizona Cardinals shade of crimson, and you just know he’ll start screaming. This isn’t Bruce Arians’ offense, and there’s no more pampering Big Ben. Roethlisberger isn’t 23 any longer; he’s 30, and he needs to understand that extending his career is more important than extending a few plays.
But has anyone considered this possibility: Haley, the same coach who brought out the best in Kurt Warner, Keyshawn Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald, just might enhance Roethlisberger’s career, and without the anticipated tumult and the shouting?
“Nobody on that ship is bigger than the Steelers’ brand,” said Jamie Dukes, the longtime offensive lineman and NFL Network analyst. “Not to get too philosophical, but the volatility from Haley is a nonfactor. This is something that is much bigger than he is.”
Dukes also doesn’t buy into the prevailing theory that Haley was hired to keep the Steelers from becoming another one of those throw-it-whenever-possible teams and transform them back into a more conservative, run-oriented team like they were in the Jerome Bettis days.
“Haley represents the best of both worlds — with Kurt Warner, he threw it 45 times a game and wouldn’t blink, and with Kansas City he ran it 45 times a game,” Dukes said. “It’s a concept of flexibility.”
The Steelers were run-heavy during their sixth consecutive 3-1 preseason under coach Mike Tomlin, but that’s hardly a surprise. Wide receiver Mike Wallace held out until two days before the preseason ended, and Roethlisberger and the other starters simply didn’t get enough continuous on-field time to develop the timing, rhythm and precision needed for a sophisticated passing game to evolve.
But if anyone thinks Roethlisberger is suddenly going to become a game-managing quarterback rather than a game-altering quarterback, that is not going to happen under Haley.
“I haven’t had any of those talks with the organization,” Haley said. “We’re going to play to his strengths but, at the same time, give him a chance to succeed on a down-in, down-out basis.”
In other words, throw the ball when it needs to be thrown, and run the ball when it needs to be run — and the game plan won’t be based on philosophies, run-to-pass ratios, quarterback ratings or statistical quotients.
“We’re a fundamental group, and we’ve been working hard on fundamentals,” Haley said. “We’re a game-plan offense, and we’re going to try to tailor our strengths against their weaknesses. And that’s using the stuff that we have, that we’ve been practicing for the last five or six months.”
Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2483787-85/haley-steelers-game-roethlisberger-run-ball-offense-coach-offensive-quarterback?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tribunereviewsteelers+%28Steelers+Stories%29#ixzz25Jx5yIu1
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook
_________________
F@(k Wallace.. Throw it to Miller
