Ben Roethlisberger says Steelers offense won’t be predictable
By Tommy Jaggi
Pittsburgh’s offense fell apart in 2020, but here’s why Ben Roethlisberger said the Steelers won’t be predictable this season.
Early in 2020 things were off to a rocking start for the Pittsburgh Steelers – and not just on the defensive side of the ball. Mike Tomlin’s team started 11-0 on the season for the first time in the history of the franchise, and a creative offense had a lot to do with it.
In fact, Pittsburgh scored 29.8 points per game over the first 10 contests of the year, according to Pro Football Reference. In three of those games, they scored upwards of 36 points. However, the offense came to a screeching halt late in the year. Over the final 6 games of the season, the Steelers managed to score a dismal 19.6 points per game.
What was the reason for this change? It’s really quite simple: There were fewer of Matt Canada’s fingerprints on the offense and more of Randy Fitchner’s.
This could be partially Ben Roethlisberger’s fault. The star quarterback voiced to the media last year that he didn’t like running play-action, pre-snap motion, or anything that had to do with him turning his back to the defense. Some have interpreted this as he didn’t like anything that had to do with him moving a lot during the play (which is why he always wanted to run plays out of shotgun).
As the pre-snap motion and creativity were sucked out of Pittsburgh’s offense late in the season, it appeared to be a direct cause to the effect of what came next. Pittsburgh’s once-perfect record was very much tarnished by the end of the season as the Steelers finished the final six games (counting the playoffs) with a record of 1-5.
Why Ben Roethlisberger believes Steelers offense will improve
Teresa Varley of the Steelers official website said that Ben Roethlisberger believes “The Steelers offense will look completely different this year and it won’t be predictable.” With Matt Canada now running the show, there’s plenty of reason to believe that this will be true.
When Randy Fichtner was hired, many believed it was in an effort to appease Big Ben and give him more control of the offense – something that former offensive coordinator Todd Haley did not afford him. It’s about finding the right combination of both.
Fitchner seemed to be loo lax in his coaching method, while Haley was too headstrong to let Roethlisberger make some changes. Canada will have the difficult task of finding the right balance. His fingerprints need to be all over Pittsburgh’s new offense while still playing to Ben Roethlisberger’s strengths. If he can do this, he will be successful with the Steelers.
Assuming that Ben is willing to give in and run more play-action, pre-snap motion, and plays that require him to go under center, this offense is going to look a whole lot more creative than it did just a season ago.
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I am a really big fan of Matt Canada’s offenses during his time in college, and I hope he brings much of that to the table with the Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger seems to be optimistic about the direction the offense is headed, and we have a valid reason to buy into that.