Steelers News: Roethlisberger, Moats, Tomlin
By Kim Myers
The Steelers new season starts Saturday night against the Bengals in the Wild Card game.
Beating the Bengals is the first order of business for the Steelers in this post season, hoping for a similar run to a decade ago that led to the Super Bowl XL win.
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While the Steelers get focused and ready we’ll be busy looking for mentions of your Black & Gold so we’ve got you covered. Here’s your Steelers Morning Huddle for Thursday, Jan. 7
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Big Ben not Bad Ben
The Steelers live and die on the arm of Ben Roethlisberger. There’s no secret there. Lately, that arm has been a scooch inaccurate. To win not just this Saturday in Cincinnati, but also if they want to keep advancing in the playoffs the Steelers are going to need Big Ben to be on point.
Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports points out the many factors that have contributed to Roethlisberger’s touchdown to interception ratio for the last month of the season including a decline in the running game and the figurative absence of Martavis Bryant.
You’d be hard-pressed to make a case against going for the Steelers in this matchup though, even with Roethlisberger’s inconsistency. The Bengals are starting A.J. McCarron in the hopes of earning their first playoff win since 1990 against a Steelers team that’s 14-3 against them in their own stadium.
The standard is the standard
Some people mock the popular Tomlin phrase, “the standard is the standard” but Teresa Varley explains that for the guys who actually suit up in the Black & Gold each week, it means a whole lot more to them. Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats comments on his feelings about the opportunity to contribute to the Steelers’ trophy case.
"“We take pride in it. Any time you are able to add to this legacy that is great here it’s great. You know what the standard is here. Any time you can add to it, to continue the legacy, is special. The Rooney family has done a great job of producing this type of football to have the right players here to do it. You don’t want to let those guys down. They paved the way for us. They started the whole legacy. We are just glad to be able to carry the torch.” – Arthur Moats"
Not exactly Blitzburgh, but on the way there
Tomlin gambled big on uprooting the Steelers defense last offseason when he essentially turned the reigns over from Dick LeBeau to Keith Butler, points out ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. It wasn’t a huge gamble because Butler had worked under LeBeau for so long but for a team that doesn’t change coaching personnel very often, even a little change is a gamble.
Next: Big Ben calls out Bryant
Fowler suggests that it’s time for the bet on the defense to pay off in the playoffs. While the Steelers are blitzing more and getting more sacks than they have in the recent previous years under LeBeau, they’re still giving up a ton of yards and are almost dead last in the NFL against the pass.
Tomlin’s gamble pays off for Pittsburgh’s defense when they’re able to generate takeaways, which they’ll need to do against not just Cincy, but any future potential opponent. The Steelers are 0-5 when they don’t win the turnover battle.