Getty Ben Roethlisberger.
The Pittsburgh Steelers need a jolt to their offense, and former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger knows one small tweak the team can make to come out of the gates hot.
On the October 9 episode of his “Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger” podcast, the future Hall-of-Famer harped on the Steelers playing with more speed.
“I’d like to see the Steelers go into a game with the mentality and the approach of, if we get a first down, the first time we get a first down we’re going right to the line and doing no huddle and hurry up offense,” Roethlisberger said. “Change up the tempo. Go with it. Pick up the pace. Do something to catch them off guard.”
Roethlisberger has yet to see the Steelers put together a drive at the beginning of the game and the second half, as he pounded his fist in expressing.
Save their Week 2 pick 6 to open the game against the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh has allowed each of their opponents to draw first blood on the scoreboard.
The San Francisco 49ers put together a 7-play touchdown drive to kickoff their Week 1 matchup. The Las Vegas Raiders got their own 7-play drive going early in the first in Week 3 leading to a score.
Their worst blunder came when the Texans swallowed up 6 minutes of clock and marched down the field on a 12-play TD drive on the way to a 30-6 rout of the Mike Tomlin-led ball club.
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Roethlisberger also voiced dissatisfaction with the variation in the Steelers’ offensive play calling. He and his co-host briefly touched on the Matt Canada blowback (who hasn’t?) that has festered in Pittsburgh for several weeks.
Beyond that, Big Ben is looking for uniqueness in how they go about getting their wide receivers open. He suggested running more wide receiver screens in order to get the offense rolling.
“That used to be one of our staples. Catch, throw, get it to the outside when there’s not the big guys in the middle. Throw some wide receiver screens to get the ball moving. Maybe an alley screen. Something coming in. But get the ball out of Kenny’s hands quick.”
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Kenny Pickett has the highest aggressiveness percentage among all quarterbacks at 25.8%. The Steelers are forcing the ball into tight coverage more than any other team and Roethlisberger’s suggestion is a creative way to distance receivers from their defenders and decrease the 2.95 seconds it takes Pickett to release the football.
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Roethlisberger was one of a handful of quarterbacks who you knew were good for around 4,000 passing yards every year during his time in the NFL. Pittsburgh thrived off of play-action passing and with his dominant arm, Roethlisberger excelled at throwing dimes to receivers for big yardage.
Pickett brings a different skillset to the table a mobile quarterback that can scramble well and use his quick feet to keep secondaries on their toes and make something from nothing.
The Steelers march into SoFi Stadium on Sunday, October 22, to take on the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams are a middle-of-the-pack defense against the pass, giving Pickett and the Steelers a prime opportunity to move the chains.