Ben Roethlisberger: “I let the guys down”

[stillthere]

https://sports.yahoo.com/ben-roethlisberger-let-guys-down-101901850.html

There was little Ben Roethlisberger couldn’t do in the first half against the Ravens last night. There was little he could do at all in the second half.

And the Steelers quarterback was clear after the 26-14 loss to the Ravens where the blame should lie.

“I let the guys down,” Roeethlisberger said, via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com.

He only passed for 50 yards in the second half, wasting his good work getting them back to a tie at the break. But the Steelers were just 2-of-12 on third downs, which kept them from sustaining anything after the Ravens turned up the defensive pressure.

“I’m not on the same page with anybody right now,” he said, when the question was specific to Antonio Brown.

“I’m not playing well enough,” he added. “I need to play better. Today was just a bad day at the office. I promise I’ll be back to play better.”

Without Le'Veon Bell, he has no choice but to be, because the Steelers have nothing resembling approach to their offensive plan right now.

Maybe practicing all week will help get timing and spacing and chemistry issues resolved. We are now only two and a half months into training camp. Maybe the Vet day off needs to go along with the ping pong paddles.

[Orangesteel]

It will tell me a lot about Ben if he takes the “vet day” off this week.

[Legacy User]

It will tell me a lot about Ben if he takes the “vet day” off this week.

As soon as he stopped taking them after the Jax game last year he started balling out for the rest of the season.
Brady, Brees and other Veteran QBs don't take them. WHY DOES BEN?

[AirRescueFF]

I still think something is up between Ben and AB. Not a lack of reps thing.

[stillthere]

I still think something is up between Ben and AB. Not a lack of reps thing.

I understand what you are saying but they have probably had 10 practices maybe 15 since July together at full speed. I remember when we had 8to8's 8am to 8pm 3 practices a day and slept on the gym floor. That is more practice in a week than those 2 have had together in 10 weeks.

[V DUB]

Ben is saying words & in the end he hopes it makes sense.

[beerbrother]

Anyone else notice Ben just standing by himself on the sidelines ready to go back in?

He has no QB coach and TV didn’t show the backups looking at footage with him.

They need someone helping Ben out.

[fritzthecat]

It will tell me a lot about Ben if he takes the “vet day” off this week.

As soon as he stopped taking them after the Jax game last year he started balling out for the rest of the season.
Brady, Brees and other Veteran QBs don't take them. WHY DOES BEN?

Very telling!

[Stosh-67]

I still think something is up between Ben and AB. Not a lack of reps thing.

I understand what you are saying but they have probably had 10 practices maybe 15 since July together at full speed. I remember when we had 8to8's 8am to 8pm 3 practices a day and slept on the gym floor. That is more practice in a week than those 2 have had together in 10 weeks.

All the more reason that the Vet days off been detrimental to Ben, AB and the team.

[955876]

I still think something is up between Ben and AB. Not a lack of reps thing.

I understand what you are saying but they have probably had 10 practices maybe 15 since July together at full speed. I remember when we had 8to8's 8am to 8pm 3 practices a day and slept on the gym floor. That is more practice in a week than those 2 have had together in 10 weeks.

The amount of allowable practice time is regulated by the CBA. Sure, Ben could skip his veteran day off or could have played a few more series in the preseason but relatively speaking it’s unlikely his time spent with receivers is drastically less than other QBs. Could be wrong here without knowing exact time spent. Now what is taking place during practice is a big ?? IMO.

With that being said, Ben & Brown have played together for going on 9 seasons now. So while they might be a bit light on reps together at present, it’s safe to say they have more reps together than most if not all QB/WR combos in the league.

Plenty of duos out there with ONLY this preseason together and somehow they are managing.

I think the problem lies between Ben’s ears along with his lackadaisical approach to prep.

[FortyThree]

I still think something is up between Ben and AB. Not a lack of reps thing.

Rumor I heard was AB was close with Haley and blames Ben for him being fired.

[bradshaw2ben]

I still think something is up between Ben and AB. Not a lack of reps thing.

Rumor I heard was AB was close with Haley and blames Ben for him being fired.

That has the ring of truth.

[Orangesteel]

So if that’s true, then are we to believe that AB and Fitchner aren’t close and maybe don’t like each other, which would shed some light on the sideline blow up against the Chiefs?

I mean, is it possible for these idiots to just play football and try and win another ring, and not get bagged down in more drama than a Bravo network reality show?

[bradshaw2ben]

Ben said today that the crosser to AB that was behind him was his fault... JuJu got re-routed a little deeper than planned and Ben hesitated on the throw. Said the deep ball thrown out of bounds to AB on 3rd and 3 was a good look but he was being too careful with the throw-- "my guy or nobody". He said the out pattern miss to AB (also on 3rd), AB got re-routed (and held) so he cut it more shallow than usual which made it a tougher throw but (Ben) also implied that if his throw was a little better, AB would probably have gotten to it, anyway. One of the others he mentioned was James Conner miss where Conner had one arm held and that threw off the timing (no call).

Ben said (and I paraphrase), 'there's never a good day for the QB to have a bad day at the office, because everyone knows it and it affects the whole team' but 'after viewing the film, I guess it wasn't quite as bad as it seemed to him during the game. Said 'Baltimore did an excellent job taking the deep ball away and still creating traffic for the underneath routes'.

When asked about Conner and run game/throwing it a ton, he said (paraphrasing), 'We had opportunities to run and didn't do good enough with it... if it's a tight game and you can control things by running it more, we need to be able to do that but, if you look around the league, it's all about scoring more points and doing whatever you have to do to score more.'

[Legacy User]

I'm getting the idea that it's not really the best thing for Ben to be slinging it 40 times a game, that he does need a complimentary running game to be successful. A good defense wouldn't hurt either.

[Orangesteel]

Well when our moron of a head coach can beat it into this team that starting down 14-0 early in the first quarter won’t help our “game plan”, then maybe we will stand a chance.

I don’t understand what has happened to this team but man oh man we look like everyone was taking a collective nap before kickoff. What in the hell is Tomlin good for if he can’t get his troops fired up, especially in front of a home crowd?

If y’all don’t want Ben throwing 40+ times a game, then we need to build a lead and control the clock. Starting FLAT won’t help that cause. If everyone else is supposed to do their job, then Tomlin needs to as well. That’s probably why his message isn’t getting across; players don’t believe in him anymore and they don’t like the double standard.

[Baltostiller]

Anyone else notice Ben just standing by himself on the sidelines ready to go back in?

He has no QB coach and TV didn’t show the backups looking at footage with him.

They need someone helping Ben out.

I have said it before, they need to hire Batch as QB coach

[Legacy User]

Well when our moron of a head coach can beat it into this team that starting down 14-0 early in the first quarter won’t help our “game plan”, then maybe we will stand a chance.

I don’t understand what has happened to this team but man oh man we look like everyone was taking a collective nap before kickoff. What in the hell is Tomlin good for if he can’t get his troops fired up, especially in front of a home crowd?

If y’all don’t want Ben throwing 40+ times a game, then we need to build a lead and control the clock. Starting FLAT won’t help that cause. If everyone else is supposed to do their job, then Tomlin needs to as well. That’s probably why his message isn’t getting across; players don’t believe in him anymore and they don’t like the double standard.

Around these parts that is known as turtling, and it is hated. People want Ben to keep slinging it in order to score as many points as possible. Sunday night was the first time it occurred to me that he may not be up to that, and we may need to run the ball at times to take pressure off of him.

[Alibe]

Anyone else notice Ben just standing by himself on the sidelines ready to go back in?

He has no QB coach and TV didn’t show the backups looking at footage with him.

They need someone helping Ben out.

I have said it before, they need to hire Batch as QB coach

How about Landry Jones? Ben has often mentioned that he can see things that Ben doesn’t.

[Orangesteel]

Well when our moron of a head coach can beat it into this team that starting down 14-0 early in the first quarter won’t help our “game plan”, then maybe we will stand a chance.

I don’t understand what has happened to this team but man oh man we look like everyone was taking a collective nap before kickoff. What in the hell is Tomlin good for if he can’t get his troops fired up, especially in front of a home crowd?

If y’all don’t want Ben throwing 40+ times a game, then we need to build a lead and control the clock. Starting FLAT won’t help that cause. If everyone else is supposed to do their job, then Tomlin needs to as well. That’s probably why his message isn’t getting across; players don’t believe in him anymore and they don’t like the double standard.

Around these parts that is known as turtling, and it is hated. People want Ben to keep slinging it in order to score as many points as possible. Sunday night was the first time it occurred to me that he may not be up to that, and we may need to run the ball at times to take pressure off of him.

Im not really talking about turtling. I’m talking about playing smart football, designing an offense that utilizes our weapons, outsmarting our opponents with scheme and not relying on jump balls and running the rock up Pouncey’s asshole to win games.

I know, it sounds foreign because it’s been a while since we’ve seen it. Haley was a great play designer but poor play caller. I don’t know what to think of Fitchner at this point; some of it looks OK, other parts look stale and the 1-on-1 jump ball crap that doomed a lot of drives the last few years.

My mind is made up about Tomlin. Dude is a joke.

[JPPT1974]

Really it seems the Big Ben and Tomlin era is finally wearing out it's welcome. But he is not all at fault!

[Legacy User]

Players play. Coaches coach. There is plenty of blame for both.

Cam eluded to not all the defense buying in to the system and doing their individual parts for the success of the collective. Per Cam, that's on the players.

But a coach is there to make sure that happens. A coach puts players in the best position to be successful. That isn't happening. That's on the coaches.

Ben has more control of the offense than he ever has. His poor decision making and inaccurate throws are his fault and his alone.

But we have an OC for a reason. Using the excuse of being new and green for not executing at the NFL level simply does not cut it. Fitch is being paid to do a job and is not getting it done.

The players are simply not prepared and are not performing up to anyone's expectations. They CAN do a better job.

But it is on the head coach to make sure that not only are the players prepared, but the assistant coaches are prepared and doing their jobs as well. When a team isn't prepared for 60 minutes of showtime, they have only the head coach to blame.

Mike Tomlin has let this team down. He has squandered the talent he has been blessed with. He lets them run the show. It can't work that way. Our record is his doing. He has to own it.

[jewelsongs]

Players play. Coaches coach. There is plenty of blame for both.

Cam eluded to not all the defense buying in to the system and doing their individual parts for the success of the collective. Per Cam, that's on the players.

But a coach is there to make sure that happens. A coach puts players in the best position to be successful. That isn't happening. That's on the coaches.

Ben has more control of the offense than he ever has. His poor decision making and inaccurate throws are his fault and his alone.

But we have an OC for a reason. Using the excuse of being new and green for not executing at the NFL level simply does not cut it. Fitch is being paid to do a job and is not getting it done.

The players are simply not prepared and are not performing up to anyone's expectations. They CAN do a better job.

But it is on the head coach to make sure that not only are the players prepared, but the assistant coaches are prepared and doing their jobs as well. When a team isn't prepared for 60 minutes of showtime, they have only the head coach to blame.

Mike Tomlin has let this team down. He has squandered the talent he has been blessed with. He lets them run the show. It can't work that way. Our record is his doing. He has to own it.

Very well said.

[Orangesteel]

I agree well said. I was talking about this the other day with my brother and my dad. The problem with Tomlin’s coaching style is that nobody wants to be “buddy buddy” with anyone, let alone their coach, when the team is losing and dudes are pissed off about their performances on the field.

When the team is winning, oh hell yeah let’s fist bump and high five and come up with awesome orchestrated touchdown celebrations and fake selfie poses and blah blah fucking blah.

But when the team is getting trounced at home, what the hell is the coach going to do or say to these players if he is just “one of the guys”? THAT is why coaches need to coach and be an authoritarian. I totally agree that Tomlin is letting this team down. And I think some of the veterans (like Ben) are irritated that there is a serious void of discipline on this team and it is affecting outcomes.

[bradshaw2ben]

Haley was a great play designer but poor play caller.

Andy Reid and Sean McVay are great play designers.

Arians is pretty good at borrowing a lot of other ideas.

Todd Haley is a scheme guy, not a play design nor playcalling guy. I think you can tell a lot about the imagination and play design chops inside the red zone, where it matters most and you can't just run off the safeties with a deep threat and have loads of space to work with underneath.

[Ice]

Think pretty soon we can go ahead and add Matt Nagy to that group, and whichever of the pair of Pederson/Reich you'd prefer to credit for last year's Iggles offense.

[Orangesteel]

I agree about Nagy. I’ve seen two Bears games this year and was impressed with the offense they ran considering Trubisky is very average.

[Ice]

I wouldn't mind starting to troll the Chiefs, Bears, Rams, maybe even the Niners' staffs for the next Steelers OC right now for next season.

[Orangesteel]

Bumping this. The guy who admittedly “let the guys down” took a leisurely day off yesterday.

[K_C_]

Tomlin's a piece of shit.

Those with working brains understand this but I'm far more concerned with Roethlisberger now.

He's been up and down. More often down these days.

Veteran days off are okay if you're 4-0 or 3-1. Not if you're 1-2-1.

Some folks are down on James Washington. I'm not down on him at all.

Ben and James Washington didn't establish ANY chemistry during the preseason. I'm not even sure Washington caught a single pass from Ben in August.

Now they're trying to work through their difficulties when the real bullets are flying.

That isn't the time to gain chemistry.