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Uh..Fitchner isn't as good as Todd Haley. I don't care if Ben didn't like Haley, Haley was better than this guy.Comment
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Not impressed with Fichtner but in his defense, the QB is ignoring his play calling. Roethlisberger admitted "maybe I should go with the play that is called more often". And you are not going to bench a franchise QB for not running the plays that were called. TBH, not sure whether those plays would have made a difference anyway. When you lose in the trenches, you look bad all around. You need to remember what CIN and CLE have looked liked for the better part of two decades. Those teams had some terrible lines.Comment
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Roethlisberger Says He’s ‘All For’ Running Plays Under Center
By Alex Kozora
Posted on December 16, 2020
Few teams have operated out of shotgun as often as the Pittsburgh Steelers have over the past few seasons. It’s one reason why the Steelers habitually have one of the lowest playaction rates. As the offense has suffered through the last three games, Roethlisberger said he’s open to adding new elements to the gameplan. Including running more plays under center.
Roethlisberger told reporters Wednesday said he’s willing to do anything that helps the offense get back on track.
“We did a series or two of kind of no-huddle under center runs,” he said about the gameplan against Buffalo. “We ran a couple left and rights, some things like that. We had a little bit of success, not probably as much as we would have liked. I’m all for it. I think that’s a great mix-up you can do. If it helps, then absolutely why not. I’ll do whatever we need to do to help win.”
Against the Bills, Pittsburgh ran eight plays from under center. Six of those were runs, averaging 2.7 yards per carry. The two passes were successful. Both completed to JuJu Smith-Schuster for gains of eight and 20.
For the season, the Steelers have run 180 plays – 21.0% – under center. That is slightly down from last season, albeit a year largely without Roethlisberger, which stood at 24.1%. Here are the under center rates for the past five seasons.
2020: 21.0%
2019: 24.1%
2018: 22.5%
2017: 30.6%
2016: 36.2%
There’s a noticeable dip after the 2017 season. The Steelers have never outright confirmed why they aren’t under center as often. One conventional thought has been Roethlisberger’s preference not to. A lack of mobility in his older age has made getting away from center more difficult and the general thought QBs prefer to work from the shotgun. Easier field of vision, never having to turn your back to a defense on playaction, never having to combine getting away from center while trying to read a defense post-snap.
But Roethlisberger’s comments at least speak to an openness and willingness to do it. Will that solve all the team’s problems? Almost certainly not. Working under center isn’t going to stop receivers from dropping passes or the o-line losing blocks. It could help the run game with a more downhill run style, that’s why Pittsburgh has slightly used more pistol this season.
Despite his answer, it’s improbable the team will return to working under center much in the Roethlisberger era. That’s a reality most fans have gotten used to.
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This seems kind of like how he's OK doing QB sneaks.
As long as it's in games against teams with former coaches he obviously doesn't like on the sideline.Comment
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Sometimes Ben's comments are just weird. We tried a little bit of this and a little bit of that. If it helps, I'm in. What??
I feel like we have a coordinator without any strong feelings of his own and half the time, it's Ben out there wingin' it.Comment
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True. But every QB does it. I guess the question is... how often is Ben doing it and why?
What comes next is on Fichtner. Right now, we know with good certainty, exactly how opposing defenses will play us. Maybe we're just saving the counter until the playoffs? I don't think our coaches are that crafty. But it could work. Play the same way we've been playing until the playoffs. We're already in. Switch things up in the playoffs.Comment
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An uncertain future for Steelers OC Randy Fichtner in Pittsburgh
Allison Koehler
December 17, 2020
The offense of the Pittsburgh Steelers could have a new look next year. The contract of Randy Fichtner, the team’s current coordinator, will expire at the end of the 2020 season.
The question becomes, will the Steelers offer an extension or send him packing?
Cleveland-born Fichtner has been in Pittsburgh nearly as long as Big Ben. In 2007, Fichtner hit the lottery when he came from the college ranks to coach a couple of NFL wide receivers named Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes. He retained the role for three seasons when, in 2010, he was promoted to quarterbacks coach.
As QBs coach, Fichtner formed a close relationship with Steelers franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. So, in 2018, when offensive coordinator Todd Haley’s time was up in Pittsburgh, it was natural to promote Fichtner.
The offense has had its share of ups and downs under Fichtner’s direction.
2018
Points: 6th; yards: 4th
2019
Points: 27th; yards: 30th
2020
Points: 12th; yards 23rd
In his first season as OC, Fichtner had the luxury of one of the best wide receivers to play the game in Antonio Brown. In his second season, Fichtner had the misfortune of conducting an offense without its franchise QB.
This season, Fichtner’s playbook is stale and predictable, much like it was in 2019, only for different reasons. While his gameplan was initially innovative, it’s clear Fichtner was not prepared for when the short passing game hit a wall, and now he’s back to the drawing board.
It doesn’t help that the offensive line is one of the oldest in the league and can’t run block to save their lives. But this is nothing new. The Steelers have been in the bottom half of the league in rushing since 2018.
We’ll see if Fichtner can right the ship. But whether he does or not may not change his offseason status. The Steelers are a team of tradition, and even though they’re struggling offensively right now, I don’t see Fichtner going anywhere as long as Ben Roethlisberger is around.
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