Ron Cook: Time for the offense to step up

[drprwnap]

Some interesting comments by the beloved Bruce Arians.

Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said Thursday what Steelers Nation has been thinking all week.

"We talked a lot of talk about the offense in training camp. It's time we start backing it up."

An offense that scored 7 points against the Baltimore Ravens, 16 against the Indianapolis Colts and 10 against the Houston Texans isn't what Arians had in mind when he delayed his retirement after the Super Bowl last season at the urging of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. "Even [in the 24-0 win] against Seattle, we left 14 points on the field," he said.

No one saw this coming.

Wasn't it just a month ago that some predicted the Steelers offense would be the most prolific in franchise history?

It has been anything but.

A lot of people are quick to blame Arians. It's funny, hardly anyone criticizes defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau even though his men are just as much at fault for the 2-2 start because they haven't stopped the run, haven't gotten sacks and haven't forced turnovers. But no one is afraid to blast away at Arians. Many truly believe they can call the plays better.

"That's fine, point all the fingers right here," Arians said. "Send all the cards and letters to me."

Arians' thinking is sound:

The more criticism for him, the less for Roethlisberger, the offensive line, running back Rashard Mendenhall ...

Of course, Arians doesn't have to actually read his, ah, fan mail to know what the would-be play-callers would do if they had his position. He addressed a few of the suggestions:

• Throw more slants and quick passes.

"We've thrown a bunch of 'em. Mike Wallace has gotten a ton of his yards after slants. We've missed on other plays that have hurt us because the young wide receivers have missed a few [hot reads]. Antonio [Brown] missed one the other day that Ray Charles could have seen. It was truly a young guy mistake."

• Use tight end Heath Miller more as a receiver.

"You'd love to have him own the middle of the field, but teams are very aware of him. He always gets a lot of attention."

• Use Miller less as a receiver and more as a blocker to protect Roethlisberger.

"We're probably 50-50 with Heath staying in and going out. In a perfect world, you'd love to have him never in and always out. But it's not a perfect world. We've keep him in to help a tackle and kept the back in to help the other tackle ...

"You talk about max protect. But if you keep everyone in to block and only send out two receivers, it's not going to help you. They'll get to the quarterback sooner or later because no one is going to be open."

• Have Roethlisberger roll out more to avoid pressure.

"The problem with sprinting out is you shut down half the field. You might win on first down once in a while doing that, but you're never going to win on third down because teams will roll their coverage. You're begging for interceptions."

• Instruct Roethlisberger to get rid of the ball quickly and not hold on to it trying to make a big play.

"You can't change who you are. I don't want Ben to change. He's the most successful young quarterback in the history of the game. Three Super Bowls in six years. No, I don't want him to change."

• Run the ball more with Ike Redman and less with Mendenhall.

"Red has done a good job with his opportunities. He hasn't failed us yet. But [Mendenhall] is the guy. It all starts with him. He's a feature back in this league ...

"One thing people don't realize is that, by the time Red comes into a game, we've figured some things out with the run game and he's taken advantage of it. The same thing with Mewelde [Moore]. People underestimate his value to us, but all he does is win games. He comes in with fresh legs and you can see that burst. Coach [Bear] Bryant taught me a long time ago that you always save fresh legs for the end. Mewelde gives us that. I'm really going to miss having him this week [because of an ankle injury]."

• Run the ball more, period.

"We've got to play better in the run game, I agree with that. That's why it was nice the way we ran the ball in the second half [against the Texans]. But then we broke down in our play-action protection. That was the most disappointing thing to me. We should have done a better job there and taken advantage of the way we were running the ball."

At this point, it's worth noting that there is nothing wrong with Arians' offensive philosophy. It was good enough to get the Steelers to the Super Bowl last season. It was good enough to help them win the Super Bowl after the 2008 season. But, clearly, the execution needs to be better.

"It all starts with the run game," Arians said. He expects the Steelers to be successful Sunday against the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field with some combination of Mendenhall, who has a hamstring injury, Redman and Jonathan Dwyer.

The wide receivers have to be better. "They have to work a little harder and get open a little quicker," Arians said. "And if they double-cover one, the guy in single coverage had better win because the quarterback is going to be looking for him."

Obviously, the line has to do a better job protecting Roethlisberger. "I think you'll see a big difference with us being at home this week," Arians said. "People don't understand how difficult it is to pass-block on the road. When you have to use a silent count because of the crowd noise and you're even a fraction of a second off, you're beaten. It happened once to [tackle] Marcus Gilbert [against the Texans]. He had no chance on that play. I'm eager to see how those guys play this week. I'm eager to see what the offense can do."

Arians grinned when asked if he had any regrets about postponing that retirement. "Absolutely not. I love working with this group. It's a great group. It's a long season. We still can be the offense that we expect to be."

Just in case you're still thinking Arians maybe has lost confidence in his offense or his play-calling ...

Check this out.

"I won't be retiring until after the Super Bowl."

So the talk continues.

It really is time to back it up



Read more: [url="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11280/1180315-87-0.stm#ixzz1a7D45LJp"]http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11280/11 ... z1a7D45LJp[/url]

[Flasteel]

Re: Ron Cook: Time for the offense to step up

Of course, Arians doesn't have to actually read his, ah, fan mail to know what the would-be play-callers would do if they had his position. He addressed a few of the suggestions:

• Throw more slants and quick passes.

"We've thrown a bunch of 'em. Mike Wallace has gotten a ton of his yards after slants. We've missed on other plays that have hurt us because the young wide receivers have missed a few [hot reads]. Antonio [Brown] missed one the other day that Ray Charles could have seen. It was truly a young guy mistake."

• Use tight end Heath Miller more as a receiver.

"You'd love to have him own the middle of the field, but teams are very aware of him. He always gets a lot of attention."

• Use Miller less as a receiver and more as a blocker to protect Roethlisberger.

"We're probably 50-50 with Heath staying in and going out. In a perfect world, you'd love to have him never in and always out. But it's not a perfect world. We've keep him in to help a tackle and kept the back in to help the other tackle ...

"You talk about max protect. But if you keep everyone in to block and only send out two receivers, it's not going to help you. They'll get to the quarterback sooner or later because no one is going to be open."

• Have Roethlisberger roll out more to avoid pressure.

"The problem with sprinting out is you shut down half the field. You might win on first down once in a while doing that, but you're never going to win on third down because teams will roll their coverage. You're begging for interceptions."

• Instruct Roethlisberger to get rid of the ball quickly and not hold on to it trying to make a big play.

"You can't change who you are. I don't want Ben to change. He's the most successful young quarterback in the history of the game. Three Super Bowls in six years. No, I don't want him to change."

• Run the ball more with Ike Redman and less with Mendenhall.

"Red has done a good job with his opportunities. He hasn't failed us yet. But [Mendenhall] is the guy. It all starts with him. He's a feature back in this league ...

"One thing people don't realize is that, by the time Red comes into a game, we've figured some things out with the run game and he's taken advantage of it. The same thing with Mewelde [Moore]. People underestimate his value to us, but all he does is win games. He comes in with fresh legs and you can see that burst. Coach [Bear] Bryant taught me a long time ago that you always save fresh legs for the end. Mewelde gives us that. I'm really going to miss having him this week [because of an ankle injury]."

• Run the ball more, period.

"We've got to play better in the run game, I agree with that. That's why it was nice the way we ran the ball in the second half [against the Texans]. But then we broke down in our play-action protection. That was the most disappointing thing to me. We should have done a better job there and taken advantage of the way we were running the ball."

At this point, it's worth noting that there is nothing wrong with Arians' offensive philosophy. It was good enough to get the Steelers to the Super Bowl last season. It was good enough to help them win the Super Bowl after the 2008 season. But, clearly, the execution needs to be better.

"It all starts with the run game," Arians said. He expects the Steelers to be successful Sunday against the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field with some combination of Mendenhall, who has a hamstring injury, Redman and Jonathan Dwyer.

Uhhh...how 'bout that no-huddle Bruce? Maybe the screen? The draw play?

We've already gone a little max protect and have employed more quick passes (as mentioned), so rolling Ben out was the only legitimate logical counter to a heavy rush that was even mentioned. I don't know if those were Cook's offerings or Arians, but it was definitely Arians who said that you should roll the pocket on first down once and a while.

Well...then why haven't we at least mixed that in?

Ron Cook either knows little about the game he covers, or he doesn't have the balls to ask the serious questions concerning BA's play-calling. I would at least like to know his philoshopies on employing such basic tactics...or why he refuses to mix them in.

"I won't be retiring until after the Super Bowl."

The urgency to win our next Super Bowl has never been greater.

[DukieBoy]

Re: Ron Cook: Time for the offense to step up

• Have Roethlisberger roll out more to avoid pressure.

"The problem with sprinting out is you shut down half the field. You might win on first down once in a while doing that, but you're never going to win on third down because teams will roll their coverage. You're begging for interceptions."


Let's be nice and predictable. Wouldn't want to keep anyone guessing.

[Pahn711]

Re: Ron Cook: Time for the offense to step up

I'm a big fan of Ron Cook, always sensible. He asked the right questions and to me, Arians proved the solution is much more complicated than what fans around here have been suggesting for weeks.

• Throw more slants and quick passes.

"We've thrown a bunch of 'em. Mike Wallace has gotten a ton of his yards after slants. We've missed on other plays that have hurt us because the young wide receivers have missed a few [hot reads]. Antonio [Brown] missed one the other day that Ray Charles could have seen. It was truly a young guy mistake."

This point is too often overlooked. The inexperience of our wide receivers is a crutch when the goal is for Roethlisberger to get rid of the ball faster

• Have Roethlisberger roll out more to avoid pressure.

"The problem with sprinting out is you shut down half the field. You might win on first down once in a while doing that, but you're never going to win on third down because teams will roll their coverage. You're begging for interceptions."

"You can't change who you are. I don't want Ben to change. He's the most successful young quarterback in the history of the game. Three Super Bowls in six years. No, I don't want him to change.

This seems contradictory to me. Arians says he doesn't want Roethlisberger to change the way he plays the game, but wasn't rolling out to avoid pressure and making plays down field Ben's bread and butter?

• Run the ball more with Ike Redman and less with Mendenhall.

"One thing people don't realize is that, by the time Red comes into a game, we've figured some things out with the run game and he's taken advantage of it. The same thing with Mewelde [Moore]. People underestimate his value to us, but all he does is win games. He comes in with fresh legs and you can see that burst. Coach [Bear] Bryant taught me a long time ago that you always save fresh legs for the end. Mewelde gives us that. I'm really going to miss having him this week [because of an ankle injury]."

Well, this theory is gonna be tested on Sunday if Redman starts. He can no longer make this excuse for Mendenhall if Red has a big game.

[Pahn711]

Re: Ron Cook: Time for the offense to step up

"I won't be retiring until after the Super Bowl."

The urgency to win our next Super Bowl has never been greater.

That quote doesn't necessarily imply that Arians meant he'd have to win another Super Bowl before he would consider retiring. I do think Ron Cook chose to spin it that way, but without the proper context who knows.

[feltdizz]

Re: Ron Cook: Time for the offense to step up

I don't buy the Redman adjustment excuse. Is BA Mendenhall's agent?

[Starlifter]

Re: Ron Cook: Time for the offense to step up

BA isn't a moron and he has some logical excuses in that article. my issue is while I freely acknowledge I'm an amateur and would never try to pretend I understand the offense more than the pros - it's a results business. at the end of the day I believe we have talent and have had considerable talent on offense in the past. yet for some reason, in the BA era we have not been an elite offense. we have not been explosive. we have been the kind of offense that in an era that really favors scoring, we struggle to put points on the board.

it's easy to point to a specific play and say why it didn't work. I'm looking at BA's entire body of work as OC. yes, we won a SB and appeared in another - but I still think his offense has underachieved.

[Pahn711]

Re: Ron Cook: Time for the offense to step up

it's easy to point to a specific play and say why it didn't work. I'm looking at BA's entire body of work as OC. yes, we won a SB and appeared in another - but I still think his offense has underachieved.

The Steelers offense was ranked 14th in 2010 and 7th in 2009, and when you look at stats like total points and yards per game, they were pretty comparable to most of the teams ranked better (aside from the two or three top ranked teams). Thats my problem with your statement, how do you determine whether a team is underachieving or not?

As fans we have high expectations of what we think the offense can do, but somehow we can disregard all the wins and championships because of a few bad losses. The bottom line is, even if you think they should be able to run or pass better, you can't argue with his entire body of work because there are proven results.

[SteelTorch]

Re: Ron Cook: Time for the offense to step up

it's easy to point to a specific play and say why it didn't work. I'm looking at BA's entire body of work as OC. yes, we won a SB and appeared in another - but I still think his offense has underachieved.

The Steelers offense was ranked 14th in 2010 and 7th in 2009, and when you look at stats like total points and yards per game, they were pretty comparable to most of the teams ranked better (aside from the two or three top ranked teams). Thats my problem with your statement, how do you determine whether a team is underachieving or not?

As fans we have high expectations of what we think the offense can do, but somehow we can disregard all the wins and championships because of a few bad losses. The bottom line is, even if you think they should be able to run or pass better, you can't argue with his entire body of work because there are proven results.

14th and 7th in YARDS you mean. Yards don't win games. Even then, 14th is not good. Sorry, but it just ain't. It's mediocre. 2009 was the closest we've come to fielding a "good" offense, and even then, it had problems. For example, they were ranked 18th in scoring efficiency. Plus, 2009 was only one season out of five thus far (since 2007 when he became OC to the present season).

Sorry, but there are NO results that BA can back himself up with. He stinks. That's all there is to it.

[Pahn711]

Re: Ron Cook: Time for the offense to step up

The Steelers offense was ranked 14th in 2010 and 7th in 2009, and when you look at stats like total points and yards per game, they were pretty comparable to most of the teams ranked better (aside from the two or three top ranked teams). Thats my problem with your statement, how do you determine whether a team is underachieving or not?

14th and 7th in YARDS you mean. Yards don't win games. Even then, 14th is not good. Sorry, but it just ain't. It's mediocre. 2009 was the closest we've come to fielding a "good" offense, and even then, it had problems. For example, they were ranked 18th in scoring efficiency. Plus, 2009 was only one season out of five thus far (since 2007 when he became OC to the present season).

Sorry, but there are NO results that BA can back himself up with. He stinks. That's all there is to it.

Well yes, those are the rankings for total yards, but interestingly enough those are also the "Game Stats" offensive rankings. I dunno if theres just no difference or if its a combined offense ranking (I doubt it). Regardless, sure theres more telling stats than yards, but the point is most of them aren't terrible, the BA offense is pretty decently comparable to most quality teams in that regard. Like I said, you guys just expect the team to be in the top 5 offense at all times, which is not realistic.

Yes there are results, you can't ignore their winning percentage and super bowl appearances. If you do, you aren't being rational, just another fair-weather fan. The defense has carried this team much, but the offense has won games, you can't deny that.

[SteelTorch]

Re: Ron Cook: Time for the offense to step up

The Steelers offense was ranked 14th in 2010 and 7th in 2009, and when you look at stats like total points and yards per game, they were pretty comparable to most of the teams ranked better (aside from the two or three top ranked teams). Thats my problem with your statement, how do you determine whether a team is underachieving or not?

14th and 7th in YARDS you mean. Yards don't win games. Even then, 14th is not good. Sorry, but it just ain't. It's mediocre. 2009 was the closest we've come to fielding a "good" offense, and even then, it had problems. For example, they were ranked 18th in scoring efficiency. Plus, 2009 was only one season out of five thus far (since 2007 when he became OC to the present season).

Sorry, but there are NO results that BA can back himself up with. He stinks. That's all there is to it.

Well yes, those are the rankings for total yards, but interestingly enough those are also the "Game Stats" offensive rankings. I dunno if theres just no difference or if its a combined offense ranking (I doubt it). Regardless, sure theres more telling stats than yards, but the point is most of them aren't terrible, the BA offense is pretty decently comparable to most quality teams in that regard. Like I said, you guys just expect the team to be in the top 5 offense at all times, which is not realistic.

Yes there are results, you can't ignore their winning percentage and super bowl appearances. If you do, you aren't being rational, just another fair-weather fan. The defense has carried this team much, but the offense has won games, you can't deny that.

It's just a combined ranking of all the passing/rushing yards the offense has gotten. That's it. Duh. Plus I'll say it again - yards DON'T win games!

And yes, the offense has won games, but far more often than not, it's the defense that has carried this team. It's a classic case of the exception to the rule. The only reason the offense isn't worse is because of Ben's talent at playmaking and the level of talented athletes we've had.

And screw you. Who the heck are you to call me a fair weather fan just because I don't agree? Shove off.

[Pahn711]

Re: Ron Cook: Time for the offense to step up

It's just a combined ranking of all the passing/rushing yards the offense has gotten. That's it. Duh. Plus I'll say it again - yards DON'T win games!

My point was, on the NFL stats page they have categories of rankings. And theres a category for Game Stats and a category for yards (with the Steelers being ranked the same for both), if they are the same, why have two separate categories? And again, I agreed with you that there are more telling stats than yards, but I also pointed out many other stats are comparable as well, maybe you should read my last post again.

And screw you. Who the heck are you to call me a fair weather fan just because I don't agree? Shove off.

I apologize if you took that as personal, what I really wanted to point out was that people on this board who post negative stuff like this tend to overlook the success the Steelers have had when the team isn't winning. I don't know you and was not intending to put out fighting words, so chill out.

Saying Arians needs to make some offensive adjustments is one thing (and I don't necessarily disagree with that), but saying he is entirely incompetent and unfit to be the Steelers offensive coordinator is taking it to a ridiculous level.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Re: Ron Cook: Time for the offense to step up

This is an unfortunate title for a post, as by all accounts Ben won't be able to step up, back or sideways very well this week.

I have noticed the missed hot reads by the young receivers, they were drive-stopping mistakes, and who knows how many points/games they cost us. I was just screaming in agony every time I saw them do that. I blame COACHING for that, PURE AND SIMPLE.

[feltdizz]

Re: Ron Cook: Time for the offense to step up

This is an unfortunate title for a post, as by all accounts Ben won't be able to step up, back or sideways very well this week.

I have noticed the missed hot reads by the young receivers, they were drive-stopping mistakes, and who knows how many points/games they cost us. I was just screaming in agony every time I saw them do that. I blame COACHING for that, PURE AND SIMPLE.

wait... you blame coaching for young WR's not making the HOT read in Houston's stadium?

The only thing I can blame the coaches for is leaving a guy in after making that mistake...

[Pahn711]

Re: Ron Cook: Time for the offense to step up

I have noticed the missed hot reads by the young receivers, they were drive-stopping mistakes, and who knows how many points/games they cost us. I was just screaming in agony every time I saw them do that. I blame COACHING for that, PURE AND SIMPLE.

Yeah the coaching has to take some of the blame, but maybe not all. Remember all the jokes from Tomlin and the coaching staff about Wallace being a one-trick pony? His first two years he was mainly a deep threat. It was only until late last year and early this season that Wallace is becoming more of a complete receiver and route runner. For Sanders and Brown, this is only the beginning of their second year, I expect they will get better and soon.