Maybe if Haley leaves and Whisenhunt is let go by the Cardinals,... Whis as OC again, anyone??
Steeler teams featuring stat-driven, me-first, fantasy-football-darling diva types such as Antonio Brown & Le'Veon Bell won no championships.
Super Bowl winning Steeler teams were built around a dynamic, in-your-face defense plus blue-collar, hard-hitting, no-nonsense football players on offense such as Hines Ward & Jerome Bettis.
We don't want Juju & Conner to replace what we lost in Brown & Bell.
We are counting on Juju & Conner to return us to the glory we once had with Hines & The Bus.
Well, Ben did state that he was disappointed they didn't use more no huddle in the second half. Which, according to your opening line, Ben would be then calling the plays. Which sounds to me like he would rather control the play calling than whatever the OC was dialing up. Hard to read that any other way. And if you're heard/saw the video, it's even more apparent. He was pissed and didn't try to hide it. He was clearly not happy with offensive gameplan/playcalling.
Rockon
With Todd Haley as O.C. we only scored above 30 points 1 time, and that was against the hapless Raiders. Clearly this offense underacheived, however the drops and turnovers killed us this season.
"My team, may they always be right, but right or wrong...MY TEAM!"
I agree that execution is killing us...but I think that play calling has also been extremely questionable...
The one that that really sticks out last week was a 2 and 18 play with about 1:30 to go....Ben lines up behind center with a single back and we go play action....The play goes for no gain...a wasted down...
Not one single person playing in the game, in the stadium or watching on TV thought it was going to be a run....Put Ben in shotgun and let him throw the ball....
It is not a coincidence that the entire AFC west beat us (aside from KC) this year....
Oh yeah, and how come on offense its not the play calling but on defense is always the fault of DL?
The offense has underachieved because of the drops and turnovers, plus the terrible running game. Altogether, this is why the offense has only topped 30 points once. It's not necessarily Todd Haley's fault. Has he called some bad games? Yes. But I'd rather have an offensive coordinator who calls a few bad games per season than one who calls a few good games per season like Bruce Arians.
If the running game was even average, then the scoring output would improve. As it is now, Roethlisberger is the alpha and omega of the offense. The Steelers rank 8th in TD passes, with Roethlisberger throwing all but one of them this season. Conversely, they rank 25th in TD runs, and 19th in average starting field position. Altogether, this puts the weight of the entire offense squarely on Roethlisberger's injured throwing shoulder.
Pittsburgh, PA: City of Champions.
Haley was brought in to run the ball and keep Ben upright. And he seems to be working within those guideline. The only difference between Haley and BA is BA didn't work within those guidelines because he knew we couldn't run block. So it was in this team's best chances to play the percentages and have Ben make throws downfield because that's what we have the best shot of doing successfully.
I think BA and Ben were on the same page and realistic about what it is they're working with. Haley's been asked to square peg round hole this offense. Ben seems a little resistant and not because he's a jerk but he knows what he's working with. But Haley has to force the system. And we haven't yet given him time to get the players he wants to run the system.
This is why I've said that Todd Haley's system of offense is a work in progress, because he's had to figure out this season which players are capable of being assets in his system. Roethlisberger is already doing well with it, but the rest of the offense is incomplete. There's youth on the offensive line now; there only needs to be health at this point. Add a strong WR and a tough RB, and all the pieces will be in place.
Pittsburgh, PA: City of Champions.
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