Report: There’s ‘Bad Blood’ With Ben Roethlisberger And The Steelers Over How His Career Ended

[BethlehemSteel]

The burg media want their new Bradshaw story to pound on for 10 years

The afternoon team on the fan are just tickled to entertain the drama

[SteelerDayTrader]

The Ben haterz club in full force as usual……lol

The facts are this

Ben is still a very good QB and the Steelers have spent the last 3 OCs and 10 ish years actively working against him

Do the math

[Kodiak.]

Ben is still a very good QB and the Steelers have spent the last 3 OCs and 10 ish years actively working against him

Not many people understand this. This year is going to be rough.

[Jobu]

Ben is still a very good QB and the Steelers have spent the last 3 OCs and 10 ish years actively working against him

Not many people understand this. This year is going to be rough.

I’m afraid so…

[Professor Half Wit]

Ben is still a very good QB and the Steelers have spent the last 3 OCs and 10 ish years actively working against him

Not many people understand this. This year is going to be rough.

My guess is that plenty of people will be totally unsurprised by a rough season, however.

The notion that Ben did not have input into the offense (that does not equate to total control, veto power etc) strikes me as incredible (that means not credible).

Randy Fichtner was a dumb af OC hire that I cannot understand.

Canada’s system did not fit Ben so no clue why they hired him.

[Mick]

Ben is still a very good QB and the Steelers have spent the last 3 OCs and 10 ish years actively working against him

Not many people understand this. This year is going to be rough.

My guess is that plenty of people will be totally unsurprised by a rough season, however.

The notion that Ben did not have input into the offense (that does not equate to total control, veto power etc) strikes me as incredible (that means not credible).

Randy Fichtner was a dumb af OC hire that I cannot understand.

Canada’s system did not fit Ben so no clue why they hired him.

Fichtner was kind of specifically a “hire to best fit Ben”, so not clear that hiring to fit Ben would have been a solution after Fichtner, particularly when Ben was likely to retire.

In retrospect, while Fichtner and Canada were/are viewed as having very different systems, but in practice they looked like pretty much the same.

That’s pretty suggestive that the issue was the personnel, not the desired scheme. I saw an analysis of all the plays we ran last season, and the conclusion was pretty much:
(1) Almost all the passing plays were very quick developing, which is easy defend and doesn’t help the run game at all
(2) On the rare occasion they tried anything with a double move etc. to keep a defense honest, the protection collapsed after two seconds and the play died horribly.

Which reads to me like “we ran a crappy playbook because there wasn’t a choice”.

Not to say either Fichtner or Canada are any good; they certainly didn’t make any lemonade out of those lemons, and it doesn’t take brilliant coaching talent to churn out bottom of the league production.

[Professor Half Wit]

Not many people understand this. This year is going to be rough.

My guess is that plenty of people will be totally unsurprised by a rough season, however.

The notion that Ben did not have input into the offense (that does not equate to total control, veto power etc) strikes me as incredible (that means not credible).

Randy Fichtner was a dumb af OC hire that I cannot understand.

Canada’s system did not fit Ben so no clue why they hired him.

Fichtner was kind of specifically a “hire to best fit Ben”, so not clear that hiring to fit Ben would have been a solution after Fichtner, particularly when Ben was likely to retire.

In retrospect, while Fichtner and Canada were/are viewed as having very different systems, but in practice they looked like pretty much the same.

That’s pretty suggestive that the issue was the personnel, not the desired scheme. I saw an analysis of all the plays we ran last season, and the conclusion was pretty much:
(1) Almost all the passing plays were very quick developing, which is easy defend and doesn’t help the run game at all
(2) On the rare occasion they tried anything with a double move etc. to keep a defense honest, the protection collapsed after two seconds and the play died horribly.

Which reads to me like “we ran a crappy playbook because there wasn’t a choice”.

Not to say either Fichtner or Canada are any good; they certainly didn’t make any lemonade out of those lemons, and it doesn’t take brilliant coaching talent to churn out bottom of the league production.

Randy was so awful.

But no one can convince me that Ben friggin' Roeth did not have a large role in shaping the offense. Get real people.

[Jobu]

IDK…I saw an aging, statue of a QB be single-handedly responsible for seven of this teams nine wins last season.
I watched an offense fiddle fuck around, trying to establish a below average run game and accent that with 2-3 yard dink passes, for three fucking quarters each week. Then and only then we’re the shackles unlocked, and that aging QB allowed to play his way. If the game was able to be saved, he saved it. No way he was on board with the “get to third down” shit offense that Tomlin wants to run.
SPOILER- Tomlin is going to continue to run it, no matter the QB. Attrition football bay-beeeeee!

[JackLambert58]

SPOILER- Tomlin is going to continue to run it, no matter the QB. Attrition football bay-beeeeee!

This statement is the trump card for this entire thread.

BECAUSE TOMLIN.

It's amazing that there are still people that don't get that.

[Kodiak.]

No way he was on board with the “get to third down” shit offense that Tomlin wants to run.

This. Ben had to practically beg to come back, and had to learn Canada's plays AND terminology. Plainly obvious that was all Canada's offense. Ben was basically neutered, until "we don't live in our fears" NHALS got uncomfortably nervous with losing and turned Canada's headset off in Q4.

I have extremely low expectations for this offense. Adding motion and getting the QB moving doesn't do a whole lot to mask poor play design and calls, unless you have a special QB like prime Ben.

I hope the OL coach can make lemonade, because it doesn't appear that working with Tomlada is all that coveted of a position.

[Professor Half Wit]

There is nothing incommensurate with Ben having fingerprints on the offense and bombs away fourth quarters. Nothing whatsoever. That is not to say you guys are wrong.

[El Kabong]

Randy Fichtner was a dumb af OC hire that I cannot understand.

My recollection is that Ben didn't like Haley but did like Fichtner. I remember a game or two seeing Ben come off the field and go to talk to Fich rather than Haley who was also on the sideline.

[Professor Half Wit]

Randy Fichtner was a dumb af OC hire that I cannot understand.

My recollection is that Ben didn't like Haley but did like Fichtner. I remember a game or two seeing Ben come off the field and go to talk to Fich rather than Haley who was also on the sideline.

Yes, that is correct. Ben liked Randy. But it was a dumb reason to hire Randy.

[Jobu]

Randy Fichtner was a dumb af OC hire that I cannot understand.

My recollection is that Ben didn't like Haley but did like Fichtner. I remember a game or two seeing Ben come off the field and go to talk to Fich rather than Haley who was also on the sideline.

Yes, that is correct. Ben liked Randy. But it was a dumb reason to hire Randy.

He had been on the staff for 11 years. He was promoted from within, like the Steelers frequently do. He wasn’t hired to appease Roethlisberger.

[Kodiak.]

He had been on the staff for 11 years. He was promoted from within, like the Steelers frequently do. He wasn’t hired to appease Roethlisberger.

I don't think people remember just how many times the last two years we saw Ben noticeably disgusted with the play, or heard about him drawing plays up in the dirt.

Of course he had input, but nothing like the latitude he enjoyed in previous years. It was obvious he was running plays he thought sucked, because it was what the OC called. People think if he didn't approve of the call he would change the play, and that's just not how it works. It was only no-huddle/hurry-up where Ben had that kind of leeway.

[zeke5123]

He had been on the staff for 11 years. He was promoted from within, like the Steelers frequently do. He wasn’t hired to appease Roethlisberger.

I don't think people remember just how many times the last two years we saw Ben noticeably disgusted with the play, or heard about him drawing plays up in the dirt.

Of course he had input, but nothing like the latitude he enjoyed in previous years. It was obvious he was running plays he thought sucked, because it was what the OC called. People think if he didn't approve of the call he would change the play, and that's just not how it works. It was only no-huddle/hurry-up where Ben had that kind of leeway.

This is basically it. When Ben clearly was the one calling plays, the offense moved (and moved not in garbage time but when the game was still in doubt). When the OC was calling plays, the offense didn't move and looked different. What is more reasonable? That Ben was all on board with Q1-3 OR that Ben was preferring to run something more like Q4 offense but coaches didn't want that?

I think going back Haley helped Ben a little bit (i.e., you could see in hurry up that Ben would be more comfortable throwing short compared to early years, but he did that once he had stretched the field so he could pick up cheap yards). But the problem wasn't Haley per se, but Tomlin. As a philosophical matter, Tomlin doesn't understand offensive football. If you could wed Haley and Arians and give them a 30 year old Ben, you'd win a lot of games.

[Professor Half Wit]

He had been on the staff for 11 years. He was promoted from within, like the Steelers frequently do. He wasn’t hired to appease Roethlisberger.

I don't think people remember just how many times the last two years we saw Ben noticeably disgusted with the play, or heard about him drawing plays up in the dirt.

Of course he had input, but nothing like the latitude he enjoyed in previous years. It was obvious he was running plays he thought sucked, because it was what the OC called. People think if he didn't approve of the call he would change the play, and that's just not how it works. It was only no-huddle/hurry-up where Ben had that kind of leeway.

This is basically it. When Ben clearly was the one calling plays, the offense moved (and moved not in garbage time but when the game was still in doubt). When the OC was calling plays, the offense didn't move and looked different. What is more reasonable? That Ben was all on board with Q1-3 OR that Ben was preferring to run something more like Q4 offense but coaches didn't want that?

I think going back Haley helped Ben a little bit (i.e., you could see in hurry up that Ben would be more comfortable throwing short compared to early years, but he did that once he had stretched the field so he could pick up cheap yards). But the problem wasn't Haley per se, but Tomlin. As a philosophical matter, Tomlin doesn't understand offensive football. If you could wed Haley and Arians and give them a 30 year old Ben, you'd win a lot of games.

But we can grant all of this and it does not entail that Ben did not have input into the nature of the offense. The play calling was often awful and bad play calls are not on Ben. Still, the type offense that was installed with Haley, Randy, Canada.....have a hard time believing Ben did not have major input (which is not the same thing as saying total control, veto power, etc). I cannot conceive of any NFL franchise in which the starting QB does not have some say in the kind of offense that is installed.

[Ice]

Also hard to believe that there's a modern NFL franchise running an offense with the stated goal of "getting to 3rd down," but there you have it.

[Professor Half Wit]

Also hard to believe that there's a modern NFL franchise running an offense with the stated goal of "getting to 3rd down," but there you have it.

Hahahaha

So fair....

[El Kabong]

Also hard to believe that there's a modern NFL franchise running an offense with the stated goal of "getting to 3rd down," but there you have it.

Did they actually say that?

[Ice]

Attrition football, baby. Gotta chew up that clock. Can't score too quickly or you lose the ability to apply time pressure to your opponent. In short, yes.

[Dan Smith--BYU]

Ben left on bad terms, the Penguins just lost a series in overtime and the Pirates are getting beat 9-0 at the moment.

Pittsburgh is starting to look a lot like Cleveland.

[RemoAZ]

Ben left on bad terms, the Penguins just lost a series in overtime and the Pirates are getting beat 9-0 at the moment.

Pittsburgh is starting to look a lot like Cleveland.

The Pirates are eliminated from World Series contention on day one of every season. Unless there's revenue sharing and a cap or they get bought by a gazillionare, they'll never be worth a damn. At least there's always hope with the other two and the Pens had a pretty damn good run the last decade.

[Ice]

Ben left on bad terms, the Penguins just lost a series in overtime and the Pirates are getting beat 9-0 at the moment.

Pittsburgh is starting to look a lot like Cleveland.

The Pirates are eliminated from World Series contention on day one of every season. Unless there's revenue sharing and a cap or they get bought by a gazillionare, they'll never be worth a damn. At least there's always hope with the other two and the Pens had a pretty damn good run the last decade.

Two decades, really.

[anpsteel]

Enjoy the family, and in a few years, the gold jacket, 7. They say living well is the best revenge.

There’s no revenge here
No woes Ben
The Steelers did not wrong Ben Roethlisberger
Comical

The Steelers paid him 100s of millions of dollars
Won 2 of 3 Super Bowl appearances
Stood by him during not one but two rape allegations
and a shit off stupid motorcycle accident

The poor Ben fan club is a nauseating group

Ben will enjoy his mansion and boats with his family on beautiful Lake Oconee down here in Georgia

He’ll be way too fat and happy to give one rip about how his time ended in Pittsburgh

Exactly

They did him a favor, by letting him come back for, one more lap around the track, because Covid eliminated fan attendance the prior year.

Ben had been limiting the Offense for more than a few seasons, with his inability to run play action, play execution from when under center, and general significantly declining abilities.

[bradshaw2ben]

IDK…I saw an aging, statue of a QB be single-handedly responsible for seven of this teams nine wins last season.
I watched an offense fiddle fuck around, trying to establish a below average run game and accent that with 2-3 yard dink passes, for three fucking quarters each week. Then and only then we’re the shackles unlocked, and that aging QB allowed to play his way. If the game was able to be saved, he saved it. No way he was on board with the “get to third down” shit offense that Tomlin wants to run.
SPOILER- Tomlin is going to continue to run it, no matter the QB. Attrition football bay-beeeeee!

This x 1,000,000

[bradshaw2ben]

Enjoy the family, and in a few years, the gold jacket, 7. They say living well is the best revenge.

There’s no revenge here
No woes Ben
The Steelers did not wrong Ben Roethlisberger
Comical

The Steelers paid him 100s of millions of dollars
Won 2 of 3 Super Bowl appearances
Stood by him during not one but two rape allegations
and a shit off stupid motorcycle accident

The poor Ben fan club is a nauseating group

Ben will enjoy his mansion and boats with his family on beautiful Lake Oconee down here in Georgia

He’ll be way too fat and happy to give one rip about how his time ended in Pittsburgh

Exactly

They did him a favor, by letting him come back for, one more lap around the track, because Covid eliminated fan attendance the prior year.

Ben had been limiting the Offense for more than a few seasons, with his inability to run play action, play execution from when under center, and general significantly declining abilities.

The OL limited play action by not being able to sustain blocks long enough for the QB to turn around and not find a defender in his face. And Ben with declining abilities somehow took a POS offense to the playoffs twice.

[Ice]

It will all become painfully obvious when it's Mitch Trubisky trying to drag the team back from behind after three quarters of schlock this season how valuable "eroded skills Ben" was to the team the last couple of years. For all his warts, I at least think Pickett is a little bit more of a gamer than Mitchell, but either way, clutch and "it" will be missed.

[jewelsongs]

It will all become painfully obvious when it's Mitch Trubisky trying to drag the team back from behind after three quarters of schlock this season how valuable "eroded skills Ben" was to the team the last couple of years.

This is really the point I am anxious to see. If the offense is worse, then Ben led us to victory despite the shackles put on him by the coaches. If our offense is better, then maybe Ben was the problem.

[Ice]

My hope is that Pickett can begin to show an NFL version of his NCAA glimpses of "it" by season's end, and build on it, but the looming spectre is that he is what he is, at this point. I hope, as always, to be pleasantly surprised.