Blast from the past

[shellwagnerblount]

I somehow had this in my archive of Steeler stuff.

Peter King from 2007...

There are varying theories about Big Ben's jump from 20 interceptions,
total, in 2004 and '05 to 23 last year: He wasn't right physically,
after wrecking his motorcycle in an accident six weeks before training
camp and then undergoing surgery to remove his appendix shortly before
the season opener; opponents had gone to school on him and learned to
play his intermediate pass routes more aggressively; he was too
fixated on living the good life away from the field. Roethlisberger
calls all of that nonsense. In his opinion, he was just too impatient
too often, trying to make plays when they weren't there; a study of
'06 game tape bears him out. "Here's my little secret about last
year,'' Roethlisberger said in training camp. "It was bad play by me.
My fault. It's not the accident. I was fine. I didn't make an excuse
last year, and I'm not making one now."

A moment later Roethlisberger cut off a question about the shaky
rookie year of wide receiver Santonio Holmes, the deep threat who was
supposed to elevate the passing game. "He would have had a lot better
year if I had been any good," Roethlisberger said.

One veteran Steeler, who did not want to be named, attributed
Roethlisberger's drop-off to "too many hands in his cookie jar," with
then coach Bill Cowher, offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and line
coach Russ Grimm all involved in scheming and game-planning. They are
all gone, and Arians, in addition to preaching patience, is giving his
passer more responsibility while adding a few wrinkles to the
playbook. Big Ben will be calling more audibles this year,
experimenting with the no-huddle and commanding a more versatile
offense, particularly on first down. "We'll still be primarily a run
team,'' says wideout Hines Ward, "but you'll see us in formations on
first down that you haven't seen, like four wides. We'll try to be
more unpredictable."

[CoolShades]

Man, I miss Arians. Imagine a coach actually trusting his QB to audible!

I also miss Cowher and his hiring philosophy. He said he always looked for guys who could one day become a head coach. He wanted motivated guys who wanted more (unlike Tomlin’s philosophy of hiring guys who would most likely be out of the NFL if he didn’t throw them a lifeline, and then repaying him by never questioning or challenging him.) It’s quite the deal for everyone on the coaching staff, although for players and their development, not so much.

I’m sure It still chaps Tomlin’s ass that Rooney forced Canada out. Mediocre Mike never saw that one coming.