3 reasons Ben Roethlisberger is holding the Steelers offense back
By Tommy Jaggi
Roethlisberger just doesn’t have the same arm
Ben Roethlisberger has been a tremendous upgrade over Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges, but it’s clear that he doesn’t possess the same football talent he once did. While his decision-making has gotten better in his old age, the 38-year-old quarterback just doesn’t have the same arm that he used to.
There is a noticeable lack in the velocity on his football – something that was a stand-out trait of his early in his career. This is completely understandable, as he is coming off major elbow surgery that required repairing three torn ligaments in his throwing arm. Unfortunately, he just doesn’t have the same zip on the ball that he used to.
In addition, the overall arm strength is lacking as well. Ben used to have one of the biggest cannons in the NFL, but he has only hit receivers in perfect stride down the field a few times this year, while many of his passes are a bit behind.
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I’m not saying all of this to harp on Big Ben; we are still talking about one of the best players in the history of the franchise. However, his advanced analytics show that he just hasn’t been very efficient in many areas of his game this year. Let’s hope he can make improvements in these areas before playoff time.