When the Steelers hired Matt Canada as their new offensive coordinator, he said they would follow Ben Roethlisberger's lead on offense. But that does not seem to be happening.
In an interview Friday with "The Fan Morning Show," former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch, who played with Roethlisberger for seven seasons, says he doesn't think Big Ben has the freedom to run what he wants.
"When I'm watching it — and I was one of the first to say — he does not have the flexibility at the line of scrimmage," Batch said. "People were like, 'That's crazy. Why would you say that?' I've been there. I know what it's like. I know he gets frustrated at this point, because he only came back for one reason, and that was to win a championship."
At 6-6-1, the Steelers are far from a championship, and Roethlisberger deserves part of the blame. He's struggled to move the ball downfield and has been sacked 30 times, though that's partially the offensive line's fault as well.
The fact is, the Steelers are playing like a mediocre group. Since Roethlisberger came back to win a championship, that must be frustrating.
"When you are a quarterback, and you know the criticisms that you're going to get if things don't go well," he said. "You're like, 'Listen, I don't want to have that, because I'm here to win a championship. So I understand people may say, 'Yeah, we haven't gotten anywhere,' but when you look at this team, this team is just not as talented as it once was."
Batch says Roethlisberger and Canada's apparent differences only intensifies the problem.
"When you sit back and try to get your criticisms across, and it's hitting a brick wall, sometimes you choose to just not say anything and go with the flow," Batch said. "Hopefully the ship isn't sinking. But you also want to be supportive from a quarterback's standpoint, to make sure the coordinator is at his best, because everybody is trying to win. It's just unfortunate when you have egos at the top."
Listen to the full interview below:
