Ben Roethlisberger says he doesn’t want to be the Steelers next offensive coordinator, but he’s happy being an “armchair offensive coordinator.”
So what would Big Ben do to fix the offense?
“I’m throwing the ball deep on first, second and third down, like I’m just saying I’m letting it go, I’m not throwing the five-yard pass, I’m not throwing the three-yard pass,” said Roethlisberger on his “Footbahlin” podcast.
Former Steeler Chris Hoke and former head coach Bill Cowher said the Steelers need to be a run team, especially with a rookie, but Roethlisberger says “it’s time you got to start doing something different.”
Roethlisberger is right. Looking at Kenny Pickett’s passing chart, too many passes are thrown at or behind the line of scrimmage.
Roethlisberger says the Steelers need to use the bye week to figure out what is working and what isn’t working.
“The plays that aren’t working, throw them out,” said Roethlisberger. “Sometimes less is better.”
He adds that sometimes simple is better and the Steelers should utilize plays they know won’t lead to penalties and can get off fast.
Roethlisberger also talked about the Steelers lack of using the middle of the field, something that has been noticed by man Steelers critics.
“You got to start working the middle a little bit,” said Roethlisberger. “Run some in routs or dig routs or basics or whatever you want to call them. Get guys crossing, get guys running shallows, get those playmakers the ball running.”
Joe Starkey said on The Cook & Joe show, he thinks it would be smart of Mike Tomlin to come in a few times a consultant since he’s familiar with Matt Canada’s offense.