TE has gone missing in post-Miller offense
From 2005-15, the Steelers had the great luxury of employing Heath Miller as their starting tight end. He had at least 500 yards receiving in each of his final eight seasons with the team before he retired. For quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Miller was old reliable. Whenever a play broke down, Roethlisberger knew where he could find No. 83.
In the 25 games Roethlisberger has played since without Miller, the quarterback had a difficult time finding the same chemistry with Miller’s replacements. The tight end hasn’t totally disappeared from the offense, but it’s on the endangered species list.
In the past four games, tight ends have caught just nine passes for 109 yards. That used to be one good game for Miller.
“Youdevelop that relationship with Heath over years and years in practice,” Roethlisberger said Wednesday morning. “Plus the type of personand teammate he was. He was probably the best teammate I’ve ever played with and one of the best men I’veever known in my life.
“Those things combined into becoming a great football player and comfort for me. I think the more you play with someone, the more repetition you get, the more times you practice, the more you communicate, those all help. And the tight end position is just kind of naturally that spot, too.”
Roethlisberger is hoping he can develop that kind of chemistry with Jesse James and/or Vance McDonald, but it hasn’t happened yet. Tight ends had one reception Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Through six games, tight ends have just 19 receptions for 177 yards. James has 18 of those receptions for 151 yards. McDonald, acquired in a trade just before the start of the regular season, has the other — a 26-yard catch against the Chiefs.
McDonald was brought in to challenge James and was expected to help most in the passing game after a 2016 season in which he caught 24 passes for 391 yards and four touchdowns in 11 games with the San Francisco 49ers.
Roethlisberger has connected with McDonald once on six targets, but he said the rapport with his new tight is getting better.
“He has a lot of confidence,” Roethlisberger said. “He’slearning this offense every day, getting more and more reps, more practice time, more communication with me. I’ve seen steps every day,every week.”
The timing of the McDonald trade was not ideal. He arrived in Pittsburgh just a couple of days before the final preseason game. He also missed the second game of the season against the Minnesota Vikings with a back injury and missed practice timethat week.
McDonald’s catch was not insignificant. It came when the Steelers were backed up on their 1 midway through the second quarter. Offensive coordinator Todd Haley called for a play-action pass on first down, and Roethlisberger was able to find McDonald open down the seam.
“I missed him a little bit on that one deep ball early,” Roethlisberger said. “I know he can run. I put it out there probably an inch or two too far. But we connected later in the game on a big coming-out play. I think repetition really helps both of us.”
McDonald has been seeing his snap count increase almost every week. Against the Chiefs, he played a season-high 32 snaps. He had played fewer than 20 snaps in four of the first five games.
“Anything I can do to help us win ballgames,” McDonald said. “My relationship with Ben is something that has built ever since I got here. It’s something that will always continue to build. It’s always going to progress.”
James remains the starter and has played nearly 90 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. He just hasn’t been as productive as Miller.
Since catching six passes and scoring two touchdowns in the opener against the Cleveland Browns, James has just 12 catches in the past five games and went without a catch against the Chiefs. That was just the third time that has happened in his 22 games as the starting tight end.