GREEN BAY, WI (93.7 The Fan) – Second straight week, different receivers. Ben Roethlisberger and the receivers just not on the same page with deep passes. That has to change if the Steelers are to turn this around at all.
"We have to take shots," Roethlisberger said. "Right now we are a little bit off. I will look at the mirror and start pointing the thumb at me. Figuring out how to make it better."
"There is not enough splash that will get us out of stadiums," said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. "We had our opportunities. We had opportunities to get behind them. We didn't take advantage of it."
Last week it was a missed deep pass to James Washington and miscommunication with Chase Claypool. Against Green Bay, midway through the second quarter, Roethlisberger had Smith-Schuster running open down the seam. Ben with too much zip, the drive stalls and they settle for a field goal instead of tying the game.
"Just missed the throw," Roethlisberger said. "I'll take it. You get caught between putting air on it and letting him run under it and taking some air off 'cause you don't want to get him hit. Either way, that's on me. I will take those and those are big plays that we need."
"I make those balls," said receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. "I make them in practice. I fell short. I take full responsibility and blame."
"I knew it was going to be a quick ball that was coming. Kind of took my eyes off of it. Went up and tried to grab it. Didn't make the play. Something I have to get better at."
It's not just JuJu and Roethlisberger not on the same page, as mentioned earlier. It's the quarterback and multiple receivers struggling to make those big plays, with the exception of the first touchdown of the game.
"It's a little bit of both of us," Roethlisberger said. "The receivers and the quarterback. In order for a deep ball to be successful. Both parties need to be on the same page. They have to understand the coverage and what is going on."
"At the end of the day, I'm the one throwing it. I'm the one that has to make it happen. I'm the one that has to hit the guys. Regardless of where they are on the field. Regardless of what the coverage is. It comes down to me to get them the ball."
Roethlisberger added that some of what we saw Sunday was mechanical.
"I missed a couple of throws tonight," Roethlisberger said. "I was dropping my elbow down. When you drop your elbow. The ball isn't as accurate. That's just on me to make the better throws."
"We had some plays. We had some guys open on the sidelines early. I probably throw it faster than I want to at times. At the end of the day, you have to make the throws."
"There were close plays," Smith-Schuster said. "Plays that should have been made. Those are game changing plays. I think the momentum of the game changes. We just got to make those plays. I have to make those plays. Just frustrated. I'm frustrated because those are plays a usually make down the field."
Cameras caught Smith-Schuster visibly upset on the Steelers bench as the team drops to 1-3 on the season.
"I'm human and have feelings," Smith-Schuster said. "I was on the sidelines. I got upset with myself because I make those plays. I never show no emotions on the sidelines because I know I'm always being watched."
"Game like this. In a critical time and moment. I'm frustrated with myself. I'm not mad at the team. I'm not mad at the play-calling. I'm not mad at Ben for making the throw. It's all on me."
"We got to have those plays," Tomlin said. "Particularly when we are not playing as well as we like. Chunks eliminate a lot of execution. We are not playing clean enough. We are not getting enough chunks to offset it."
"This year has been a lot of little shorter routes," Smith-Schuster said noting the lack of deep opportunities. "Whatever they got me doing. I'm just going to do it. I'm a team player. We got guys that can run deep. We have guys that can run short."
"We have to get back in the lab of me and Ben working. It just takes practice."
We've heard a lot that it takes time. At 1-3 on the season and with a rough stretch to end the year, time is already starting to run out.
