PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Growing up in Homestead, you could hear the passion for the team in his voice as former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch made some pointed comments about the state of the organization. Batch joined the Fan Morning Show Friday after the loss in Minnesota.
Offensive coordinator
Batch questioned many things about the offense, starting with saying the lack of no-huddle is Matt Canada not wanting to give up control of the play-calling.
“It comes down to ego, that essentially comes down to the coordinator,” Batch told the Fan Morning Show. “You know how Ben Roethlisberger feels as it relates to his no-huddle. If the coordinator is not willing to do that, either the conversation is happening outside of Ben-between Tomlin and Matt Canada or Matt Canada’s decision all together. It’s 100% on him as why they don’t start the game in no-huddle.”
Batch said Roethlisberger warned all of us the offense would be a work in progress before the season started. He called it frustrating all around, telling 93.7 The Fan what we saw Thursday night could be a coordinator looking to impress to a national TV audience on what success he could have.
“Do you put the team first in its perspective?” Batch questioned. “Obviously it’s not happening and it just becomes frustrating because as we are all sitting here watching it, we all have the same questions.”
Batch said the success Roethlisberger had when they don’t huddle is not making up plays, but doing a better job of knowing what plays work. Putting them in the correct sequence.
“When I do get the opportunity to call the plays, it’s not like I’m drawing things up in the sand,” Batch said of what Roethlisberger is thinking. “All I am doing is taking the game plan that the coordinator put together and understanding certain packages-I will call these plays that are a part of this week’s game plan. That’s what I’m talking about, not drawing stuff up in the dirt.”
“The problem is, this playbook is not as expansive as what everybody thinks. What you see is what you get. I’ve been around coordinators that pride themselves on not calling the same play. In this particular offense, what you see in the first quarter, you will see a little bit in the second and you will guaranteed see it in the third.”
“So they are not mixing it up. So they have a package and they probably have three or four plays off that you are running on a consistent basis. That’s why this offense seems stagnant.”
“That’s why I made a comment a couple of weeks ago as it relates to talking to players around the league, former players, staff, coaches-all of those guys say it’s one of the easiest offenses to defend against because there is no complexity to it.”
Open prairies
As a former NFL player, Batch said he knew Minnesota’s running back would return from a shoulder injury to play Thursday night.
“When I look at Dalvin Cook and everybody is like, ‘oh he’s not playing this week’ and then all of a sudden we get to the 11th hour and he’s playing,” Batch told Colin Dunlap, Chris Mack and Jim Colony. “Why? Because he realizes there is some good eating out here. This run defense stinks. I have a chance to get 150-plus yards. I was wrong, he had 200.”
“He was on pace at one point to break the all-time rushing record in a game. Dalvin knew that there were some holes in the defense. When you can run 20-30 yards before being touched, that lets you know there are issues.”
Ben future
Roethlisberger has a decision coming at the end of the year if he will return or retire. Cam Heyward confirmed Ben has talked to him about his future. Batch tells the Fan Morning Show, there is a reality check Roethlisberger must realize.
“They just don’t have the talent on this roster,” Batch said Friday. “If you turn around at the end of the season and Ben says he wants to come back. This will be the first time, maybe second because he may have thought it this year, it will be the first time in his career where he would say I’m not part of a Super Bowl caliber team.”
“They better make an overhaul in the offseason and do something unprecedented under Kevin Colbert, spend tons of money in free agency and not fielding through the draft in the manner that they’ve done.”
Will the Steelers make a wholesale philosophy change or accept a rebuild potentially without its Hall of Fame quarterback?
Accountability
Batch said a hard look at this team will start with Tomlin and he believes Tomlin will take accountability for their issues. Batch said internally they know what’s really wrong, but they aren’t going to say it to all of us.
The 12-year NFL vet says the guys need to take it upon themselves to continue to give effort, even if the playoffs are a fantasy.
“These players better understand you are not just playing for this season, but you are being evaluated for next year,” Batch told 93.7 The Fan. “However this whole thing unfolds, you better put your best performance out there because there are going to be some major changes on both sides of the ball.”
Lowered Expectations
A Steelers fan, then player and now fan again, Batch frustrated at a bar seemingly being set of just not having a losing season (which Mike Tomlin has never had in 15 years). Or being satisfied with just getting into the playoffs, and then losing in the first round.
“That’s why ‘the standard is the standard’ was created, because of the expectation levels that we have around here,” Batch said. “Right now, it’s not being met.”
“I’m frustrated, everyone else is frustrated. It just gets to the point of where we are, mediocre, that’s where we are. If anyone were to ask you ‘where are you at with Steeler nation?’. We are just average because that’s what our record says and it’s shown that for a long time now.”