Don Banks on new OC

[anger 82&95]

2. How will the fit be between Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and new Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Todd Haley?

"Haley's in-your-face style isn't for everyone, but my hunch is it's exactly what Roethlisberger needs right now. The Steelers quarterback openly lobbied for Pittsburgh to retain offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, who he was admittedly very close to and comfortable with. But comfortable isn't always a positive in the NFL, and the Steelers apparently are looking to light a bit of a fire under Big Ben and get him out of his comfort zone in the quest to take his game to a higher level.

Haley will challenge his players, prodding and pushing them to extract their best. Sometimes he can go overboard with that approach, but usually he gets results. He coached a top-five passing attack in Arizona under former Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt (who won a Super Bowl with Roethlisberger at QB), and he led a top-rated running game when he took Kansas City to the playoffs in 2010. In Pittsburgh, he's going to be tasked with reviving the Steelers running game to a degree, bringing it a bit more in balance with a passing game built around Roethlisberger and those talented young receivers. I think the new marriage in Pittsburgh has a great shot to work."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/w ... xid=cnnbin (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/don_banks/02/09/offseason.questions/index.html?xid=cnnbin)

[Eich]

I don't think Ben will like it. I think he will openly complain about it at some point (he complained about Whiz yelling at him) but I also think it will make him better. People are naturally driven to prove other people wrong and do better when it's "me against the world". That's magnified for an athlete.

For most positions on the team, there is someone competing with you to drive you harder. Ben has no competition. Arians was happy with Ben. Ben was happy with Arians. As long as Haley isn't actually insane, I think Ben will work harder for an offensive coordinator who challenges him and isn't openly or easily impressed by him. To this day, Belichick gives Brady grief when he has a less than stellar practice. Brady has talked about it on more than one occassion that, "I won 3 rings and they're on me like I'm a rookie".

Ben has always had a little chip on his shoulder that helps drive him. That chip just got bigger.

[anger 82&95]

I don't think Ben will like it. I think he will openly complain about it at some point (he complained about Whiz yelling at him) but I also think it will make him better. People are naturally driven to prove other people wrong and do better when it's "me against the world". That's magnified for an athlete.

For most positions on the team, there is someone competing with you to drive you harder. Ben has no competition. Arians was happy with Ben. Ben was happy with Arians. As long as Haley isn't actually insane, I think Ben will work harder for an offensive coordinator who challenges him and isn't openly or easily impressed by him. To this day, Belichick gives Brady grief when he has a less than stellar practice. Brady has talked about it on more than one occassion that, "I won 3 rings and they're on me like I'm a rookie".
B. Ben and Arians relationship was a bit like a cheesy song by The Turtles… Hopefully a new OC will shake things up a bit and motivate some positive change.
Ben has always had a little chip on his shoulder that helps drive him. That chip just got bigger.