Big Ben: Everyone must get physical
Offensive line does not get all blame
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger agrees with his head coach — the Steelers need to be more physical, play more with the style on which their reputation has been built. And he agrees it should be exhibited in a number of different ways.
But he also thinks it’s unfair to say the brunt of those criticisms should be directed at the offensive line.
And, by the way, he wants everyone to know his knee is fine, he’s not hanging it up, and those who are beginning to panic after back-to-back losses should take a deep breath.
“I don’t think we are being as physical as we should be and need to be all the time,” Roethlisberger said Wednesday. “It’s something we always took pride in, the Pittsburgh Steelers being physical.
“But physicality isn’t just about the line. I think people think that’s where it is. But really it’s about picking up blitzes. It’s about getting the tough yard. It’s about blocking on the perimeter. All those things combined can hopefully turn this thing around and [we can] hit the plays that are there to be had.”
Mike Tomlin said Tuesday he thought the Buffalo Bills were the more physical team “in all elements of play” in their 26-15 victory Sunday against the Steelers, though he said the lack of physicality could be
“The season is not over. I want everyone out there to just take a deep breath. I know it’s kind of crazy right now. Take a deep breath. We got time.”
— Ben Roethlisberger
highlighted on the offensive line and his team’s inability to run the ball.
A week earlier, offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said “there comes a time” when his offensive line has to match the “physicality” of the opponent’s defensive line.
Roethlisberger said the offensive line takes the criticism personally, but he doesn’t believe all the attacks should be directed at them. Never mind the Steelers are averaging just 45.6 yards rushing and 2.6 yards per carry in six of the past seven games.
“When you talk about physicality, that’s where everyone automatically looks. Your eyes go to the offensive line, defensive line, so naturally it falls in that area. I don’t think all the fingers should be pointed there by any means. When we talk about physicality, the line takes it personal because they want to be physical. But being physical doesn’t always mean, ‘I’m just going to go blow him off the line of scrimmage or overpower him.’
“It’s all of us. As a runner sometimes there’s guy in the hole, an unblocked guy, sometimes you got to put your head down and get the tough 1 or 2 yards. Sometimes receivers have to put their head down instead of stepping out of bounds and getting those tough yards. Collectively, we all need to be more physical. I hate that the finger gets pointed at the offensive line.”
JuJu Smith- Schuster, who is 12th in the league in receptions (79), is one of the most physical wide receivers in the league, a player who always fights for the extra yard. He said the reputation of the Steelers as a physical, blue- collar team is “something we haven’t been doing the last three games, something on both sides of the ball.”
Whatever the issues confronting the offense, Roethlisberger said the Steelers have three games to correct them before the postseason.
And they have issues beyond their inability to run the ball. They have scored just five touchdowns and failed to score more than 19 points in the past three games, a drastic departure from when they were the only team in the league to score at least 26 points in every game.
Their previous big outburst came in their first meeting Nov. 15 against the Cincinnati Bengals, when Roethlisberger passed for 333 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. They get a chance to do it again Monday night when they face the 2-10-1 Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.
“It’s not the end of the world,” Roethlisberger said. “We have three games left. We guaranteed ourselves a chance in the playoffs. We’re in the postseason. We have three weeks now to get it going, turn it around, to give ourselves the best chance of achieving our ultimate goal, which is winning the Super Bowl.
“If we’re starting the postseason tomorrow, maybe there’d be a little more panic on our part, like we’ve got to get it figured out right now. We need to get it figured out now, but the good thing is we know we’ve got games after these next three.”
Roethlisberger said national reports that a knee injury is affecting his ability to throw are “phony,” saying the only problem with his knees are age (38), usual wear and tear and some chronic arthritis. He also said his throwing arm “feels really good” and he is “encouraged” his post-surgery elbow is not wearing down like it typically has this time of year.
He also had a word of advice for those who are beginning to panic over backto-back losses:
“The season is not over. I want everyone out there to just take a deep breath. I know it’s kind of crazy right now. Take a deep breath. We got time.”