Submissive appearance
Big Ben, Pats ‘D’ not what we expect
FOXBORO — The list is, well, what’s the opposite of daunting?
Unimpressive? Emboldening? Reassuring? Encouraging? No, not quite that. So what is the right word to describe the previous eight quarterbacks the Patriots defense has faced during its surge from maligned to magnificent? Ah, here it is. Submissive.
Colin Kaepernick, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jared Goff, Joe Flacco, Trevor Siemian, Bryce Petty (isn’t he a country singer?), Matt Moore and Brock Osweiler. That’s the collection of quarterbacks the Patriots defense has opposed since it was disemboweled by Seattle’s Russell Wilson two months ago. What describes them best? Submissive.
Truth be told, the Patriots have yet to face a top10-rated quarterback all season, (Wilson is 14th) and won’t tonight either when it stares back at the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger, who is 11th in passer rating at 95.4. The assumption though is this is a different kind of cat than the list of backups and backdowns the Pats have been confronted with and that is understandable considering Roethlisberger has won two Super Bowls and been to three in 13 years leading the Steelers.
Roethlisberger is far from submissive, as anyone who has ever watched him knocked around like a pin ball and then emerge to rifle a pass down field for a completion would attest. He plays quarterback with a linebacker’s aggression. But, then again, maybe that’s his downfall?
There are times for aggressiveness at quarterback and times for cunning retreat, living to fight another day without having led your troops into the valley of death. Tom Brady is the master of that, which is why his team is in its sixth straight AFC Championship Game while Roethlisberger hasn’t been in this position in six years. It is also why Roethlisberger is 2-6 against Brady headto-head.
The questions then are when push comes to shove tonight is Roethlisberger really that much better than his predecessors who have come against the Pats this season and is the defense he will face as formidable as it now appears to some?
Truth be told they may both be a mirage.
Let’s look at the defense first. Since Wilson threw for 324 yards in a 31-24 win over the Pats, the defense has allowed more than 300 total yards only three times and only Flacco passed for over 300 yards on them. More significantly, a defense that up to Week 11 had forced only nine turnovers suddenly blossomed, creating 17 turnovers in the last seven games. Was it them or the Submissives?
“We were doubted early in the year and called out by the media publicly, so we just felt like we were going to ignore the noise and keep doing our job and working hard,” cornerback Logan Ryan opined. “We play who is on our schedule. I don’t really control that, and I see a good quarterback every day in No. 12. So, at the end of the day, I see a pretty good one daily. So, I think that’s an advantage.”
Fine, but it’s a lot easier to do your job against the Submissives than it is No. 12. A string of quarterbacks all but two of whom either lost their job at some point this season or began as a backup to someone else is no No. 12. Or No. 7 for that matter.
Since coming back from a torn meniscus that kept him out of the first meeting between the two (and thus continued the parade of the also-rans), Roethlisberger has led Pittsburgh to nine straight wins including two in the playoffs. He is the best quarterback the Pats have faced, although frankly not in a league with Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan this season.
So what is he? Well, if one looks at his last 11 seasons one sees more of a resemblance to Flacco than Brady. Roethlisberger was 27-4 as a starter after his first two years, including 5-1 in the playoffs with an AFC Championship Game loss to the Pats his rookie year and a Super Bowl victory the next season among those games.
Since then he’s gone a respectable 101-57 in the regular season but 8-5 in the playoffs with three one-and-dones in seven tries. Those numbers are admirable but Flacco is 10-5 in the playoffs, a slightly better winning percentage, with a Super Bowl victory and two AFC Championship Game losses as well (including once to Roethlisberger, it should be pointed out).
What is troubling about Roethlisberger is not only that trend or his 2-6 record against Brady but that he has thrown at least one interception the last five times he’s faced the Pats and this year has more interceptions (three) than touchdown passes (two) in his two playoff wins. So what are we talking about here?
Roethlisberger is a tremendous competitor, as tough as rawhide and someone who can make great throws in the most pressurized situation, as he did when he won Super Bowl XLIII with a touchdown pass so perfect to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds to play it may be the best in Super Bowl history.
So what we’re saying here is not that Roethlisberger is the latest member of the Submissives. The question being asked is does his penchant for throwing interceptions and his poor track record against Brady and Bill Belichick hint that he may be a bit less formidable than some suggest?
Let’s look at another factor. Although the Steelers were 5-3 on the road this season, Roethlisberger was well below par. At Heinz Field he was a 70.8 percent passer with 20 touchdowns, five interceptions and a passer rating of 116.7. On the road he was a 59.4 percent passer with nine touchdowns, eight interceptions (what?) and a passer rating of 78.4. Hmmm.
Now let’s look at this year’s playoffs. Against the Dolphins at home the Steelers mostly pounded the ball with Le’Veon Bell but Roethlisberger still heaved two picks (and two TD passes) in only 18 throws. Last weekend in Kansas City, he was back to what he’d been all season when away from home cooking, throwing a pick and no touchdowns and going 0-for-7 in the red zone. The Steelers settled for six field goals and barely survived, 18-16.
Their seventh trip to the red zone? That ended in an interception on first down at the Chiefs 5 when Roethlisberger checked to a hot read to Antonio Brown, missing the fact linebacker Frank Zombo would be unblocked and hence free to leap up and tip the pass, as he did. Hmmm.
So who, exactly, will the Patriots face tonight and what, exactly will he be up against? In both cases a little less formidable a challenge than it appears.
How will that work out? Hmmm.