Steelers: Todd Haley Deserves More Time

• “Todd Haley is trying to change Ben Roethlisberger’s style.”

My biggest problem with the first year and most of the second year of Haley’s tenure is that they seemed to be asking Ben Roethlisberger to completely quit doing what he does that makes him “Big Ben.”  Haley only seemed to unleash him when it was third and way long with a sort of “OK Ben, do your magic!”

However, to be fair, Ben was taking far too many hits in the seasons leading up to Haley’s hiring.  You can blame the offensive line, and the o-line has had many, many problems, but Ben was asking a lot of them.  He extends plays like very few other quarterbacks.  That’s Ben being “Ben.”

However, he paid for it.  He ranks among the most-sacked quarterbacks.  According to the Team Rankings website, here is what Roethlisberger’s sack numbers look like:

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The Steelers hired Haley because they were really concerned about their investment.  Roethlisberger had received (or earned, if you prefer) one of the largest contracts in Steeler history.  This is an organization well known to not pay their players high salaries.  Suddenly, the star player is getting knocked around a lot.  The front office was a bit concerned.

I’m not suggesting that Haley’s offensive has solved the problem of Ben getting sacked. Far from it. Quarterbacks get sacked.  But this year, the offensive line had some great moments.  When they did, Ben stayed upright. Career-wise, he’s been sacked a lot, but I think with the addition of Mike Munchak, this area has improved.

I also think Haley is now realizing Roethlisberger’s strengths and trying to give him targeted help. It no longer seems he is hindering Ben’s abilities and I think we need to see where this goes next year.

Next: Todd Haley Stays With The Run