Ben questioning Haley play calling. ..

[flippy]

Well, maybe all the Haley bashers will have their way in 2013. The local media were talking coaching positions this morning and 2 interesting points were brought up.

1. Haley may get an interview in Arizona for the HC job and could be the odds on favorite for the position. If so, this could mean Kirby Wilson gets the promotion to OC.

2. Tunch Ilkin's name is being thrown around town as a possible OL coach replacing Kugler. He refused in the past, but his wife just passed away and his children are now grown.

Might as well make Hoge the RB coach in this scenario. And Brister or Kordell the QB coach. And Cedrick Wilson the WR coach. And Sean Morey the ST coach.

[winwithd]

Maybe if Haley leaves and Whisenhunt is let go by the Cardinals,... Whis as OC again, anyone??

[RuthlessBurgher]

Maybe if Haley leaves and Whisenhunt is let go by the Cardinals,... Whis as OC again, anyone??

We need a new OL coach too to replace Kugler, who's heading to UTEP to be their head coach. I wonder if Whis knows any OL coaches to come along with him. Hmmm...

[rockonsteel]

Who calls the plays when they go no huddle?

Ben blamed himself for this loss,When he was asked why they didn't use Miller more, he said..., "I don't think we called the right plays to get him the ball."
would impo
Ben said WE. He didn't say the coaches. He didn't say the offensive coordinator. He said WE.

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

[supersteeler]

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.

[Oviedo]

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.

Player execution is killing us not the play calling. I love the play calling but players need to catch and hold onto the football on offense and the defense actually needs to sack the opposing QB and take the ball away from the other team.

[steelfin]

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?

[DBR96A]

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.

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.

[flippy]

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.

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.

[DBR96A]

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.

[feltdizz]

If its player execution it's still falls on Haley. Obviously he isn't put the best players in the best position to execute...

I'm not watching these plays and being wowed by their design even though they aren't being executed. I haven't seen one running play that made me go "damn, Haley dialed up a winner"

[ikestops85]

Put me down as being in favor of Haley's offense. I think before Ben got hurt this offense was just starting to gel. We were controlling the ball for large blocks of time, the running game was revving up, and we were starting to score touchdowns instead of FGs. The play action passes were starting to work and I thought we could start to hit some of the deep routes off of it.

Then Ben got hurt and things went to crap. The defenses were stacked against the run game and our backup QBs were either rusty or hurt or both. We also lose a couple of linemen in that span. Then Ben comes back and he is rusty. He starts missing key short passes that had been converting 3rd downs for us but now we punt.

I think a few things need to happen on the offensive side:

1) Ben needs to regain his sharpness
2) Our skill players need to hold on to the frickin ball ... whether its via the run, pass or return.
3) Tomlin needs to smarten these guys up and get this team disciplined. I can't believe the mistakes this team is making.

[hawaiiansteel]

Big Ben sounds unhappy with Haley's calls

December, 17, 2012
By Jamison Hensley | ESPN.com

After throwing the game-changing interception in the 27-24 overtime loss in Dallas, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger accepted responsibility for the team's fourth loss in five games. "Absolutely, 100 percent, this is on me," he said.

Well, if you listen to Roethlisberger's comments that followed, he doesn't think he's totally at fault. He hinted that some of the blame should fall on offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

Roethlisberger was asked why tight end Heath Miller didn't have one pass thrown his way in the second half after catching six passes for 85 yards and one touchdown in the first half. “I just don‘t think we called the right plays to get him the ball," Roethlisberger said.

He then received a question about the lack of the no-huddle. After pausing for a few seconds, Roethlisberger said, "That‘s tough for me to answer right now. In the second half, we really didn‘t do much of it and that‘s disappointing.”

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Dejan Kovacevic called this "a 100-percent legitimate, non-manufactured quarterback vs. coordinator controversy."

I wouldn't go that far. I wouldn't call this a controversy or a feud yet. These comments are candid but not overly critical. He questions the play calling but doesn't really call out Haley. Roethlisberger clearly sounds unhappy, and it's true he never made the same type of remarks about his friend Bruce Arians. (Side note: Arians has the Colts sitting two games ahead of Pittsburgh and the Indianapolis offense ranked in the top 10.) But Roethlisberger should be unhappy. The Steelers are 7-7 and out of the playoffs if the regular season ended today.

Now, you might be wondering why Roethlisberger is questioning the play calling after he threw for 339 yards and two touchdowns. That's because Roethlisberger looked like the old Roethlisberger in Dallas. He was escaping pressure and spinning away from rushers before chucking the ball deep downfield. That's what happened when he hit Miller for a 30-yard touchdown at the end of the first half.

What Roethlisberger and the Steelers really need to ask themselves is whether they can get back on track. Despite all of the struggles lately, Pittsburgh can still make the playoffs by winning its final two games -- home games against the Bengals and Browns. This won't happen if the disconnect between Roethlisberger and Haley becomes a bigger issue.

[URL]http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/61483/big-ben-sounds-unhappy-with-haleys-calls[/URL]

[supersteeler]

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.

I'm not blaming Haley for the issues we have on offense, just pointing out he has the responsibility to make adjustments when our offense is underachieving. The drops, turnovers, execution, and lack of a run game hurt us as some pointed out here. IMHO, I feel we have the talent especially at the receiver positions and tight ends. Ben is a top tier QB and if you noticed even the FB is making plays for us.
It's difficult to get any continuity when your shuffling the OL, and our backs with injuries that hampered the run game, but we can't use that as an excuse for sub par play.
Personally, I would rather have one feature back and keep him in more instead of changing up with the three back system. If we are to use that system why is Rainey not utilized in the screen plays where he could do some damage to defenses with his speed? Why don't we try running outside for a change especially with Mendy who had great runs in the past running outside?
Obviously there is a combination of factors why we are playing sub par in the offense department, but IMO there is no reason why we shoudn't be scoring 24 to 27 points every game with the talent we have.
Our Steelers have a shot to correct these issues on offense this weekend, they will have the fans behind them, but we are tired of the lab talk, the lab is closed, time to execute like we are capable of.

[Slapstick]

Obviously there is a combination of factors why we are playing sub par in the offense department, but IMO there is no reason why we shoudn't be scoring 24 to 27 points every game with the talent we have.

Except the propensity to turn the ball over to the opponent. I'm fairly sure that isn't in the game plan...