Steelers OC Matt Canada will keep some familiarity for Ben Roethlisberger in 2021

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has expressed his dislike in play-action and pre-snap motion in the past. Here’s why Matt Canada is here to help.

Though he wasn’t the offensive coordinator last season, Matt Canada’s fingerprints could be seen in the Steelers offense early in the 2020 season. Through the first five games of the year, Pittsburgh was averaging over 31 points per contest and rushing for upwards of 136 yards per game, according to Pro Football Reference.

The reason for this success was evident in any given game you put on. While the starters and contributors on offense more or less remained the same throughout the course of the season, it was a healthy dose of play-action passes, pre-snap motion, and plays under center that helped Pittsburgh to a balanced offense early on.

Unfortunately, Ben Roethlisberger was not a big fan of this, and he voiced it to the media last year. In a nutshell, Ben proclaimed that he wasn’t a big fan of play-action, pre-snap motion, or anything that required him to turn his back to the defense. He also noted that he was most comfortable running plays out of shotgun.

It’s reasonable to understand why Ben felt this way. Whether this was due to not having complete trust in an ailing offensive line or not wanting to move as much due to his arthritic knees, both reasons are understandable.

Though many fans want the offense to change entirely under the direction of Matt Canada as the new offensive coordinator this year, this might not be exactly what’s happening. Nick Farabaugh of Pittsburgh Sports Now recently reported that Canada plans to keep some of each quarterback’s go-to plays in the playbook as a crutch to lean on. This could help Ben feel comfortable and give him some familiarity with the offense in 2021.

Why Canada is finding the right balance for the Steelers offense

I am one of those fans who would like for Pittsburgh to completely scrap their playbook from last year. Randy Fichtner’s approach was far too pass-happy and there was no creativity at all in the run game. As the result of being forced to pass 40.5 times per game in 2020, Roethlisberger’s arm looked completely shot by the end of the season.

Though I would like for Matt Canada to completely revamp this offense in 2021, I understand why he’s allowing Big Ben to keep some of his favorite go-to plays in the playbook this year. At 38 years old, it wouldn’t be easy for Roethlisberger to learn an entirely new playbook, and Canada wants to afford him the ability to call some of the plays that have worked for Ben in the past.

This relationship between the quarterback and the offensive coordinator is more important than you think. Despite boasting a 13-3 record and scoring nearly 30 points per game in 2017, Roethlisberger and Todd Haley just could not find a way to get along, and their relationship crumbles.

Haley’s successor, Randy Fichtner, leaned too far the other way. The former quarterback coach had a great relationship with Big Ben, but it appeared that he would sacrifice offensive creativity to please his aging quarterback at times.

Canada is here to offer the perfect blend to the Steelers. The innovative young offensive mind has been in charge of some very impressive college offenses, and he will attempt to bring some new offensive looks to an offense lacking creativity. At the same time, Canada will try to make sure Ben Roethlisberger is very comfortable in calling the offense this year.

I defiantly have high hopes for Matt Canada as the new offensive coordinator, and I hope he proves to be one of the NFL’s up-and-coming innovative offensive minds. So far, I like the way that things are sounding for Pittsburgh’s offense in 2021.