I Promise to Move Forward After Getting This Out of My System
by maryrose on Jan 21, 2012 11:53 AM EST
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PrintThere are times in our lives when we all want to be wrong. For me, this is one of them. I want the new offensive coordinator to come in and make things better. I want him to stay for three years until he is so good he gets a head job somewhere. I want to win more Super Bowls. But I also believe, looking back, that offensive coordinator Bruce Arians took way too much of a beating in Steeler Nation. I believe the worst curse to be inflicted upon an OC is to have outstanding skill people, shiny toys to play with, but playing behind an awful offensive line. It's like a '65 Mustang sitting in your driveway with a beat up engine. It looks good from a distance, but get in and drive it and it putters down the road making noises and leaking fluids.
When I think about the offensive line of a football team, I am reminded of the joke about different body parts getting into an argument about which one is most important. The eyes claimed that without them, you couldn't see to get around. The legs claimed that without them, you'd need a wheelchair to get around. The arms staked their claim, the ears, hands etc. Finally the rectum chimed in: "If I shut down, you all shut down." The offensive line isn't pretty. It doesn't consist of those shiny toys that rack up statistics and make highlight films. It's not on ESPN. It is not graceful or fluid to the average fan whose eyes look elsewhere on every play. But make no mistake, when it shuts down, everything shuts down.
The last two years have been absolute disaster for the Pittsburgh Steelers when it comes to the offensive line. Steeler Nation buys all of Mike Tomlin's stock when he claims that "the standard is the standard." It's good stock to buy. It's life in the NFL. To one extent or another, every NFL teams deals with adversity and injuries. Those (good teams) who deal the best usually end up the last man standing. But while slogans and mantras are good bars to set and live by, there is also another component of life in the NFL, and that is called reality. The reality in this case is that no team in the NFL, in my opinion, has had to deal with as much adversity, injury woes and calamity on the offensive line as the Steelers over the last two years. The standard can be the standard, but reality is reality and sometimes you reach a point when it crosses the line.
I won't spend much time on 2010 (old news), other than point out that the Steelers lost both tackles early on and replaced them with a guy from the scrap heap and another from the geriatric home. They drafted a really good center, but one who was unavailable for the biggest game of the year. Add pedestrian guards to the mix and you have one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. Both Sports Illustrated and ESPN declared the 2010 Steelers line as one of the league's worst. They ranked 32nd, in a 32-team league, in offensive hog index by Cold, Hard Football Facts. Same with the Prudential Protection Index and anyone else who paid attention to various aspects of offensive line play. They did lead the league in one thing - penalties.
Just when it didn't seem possible for matters to get worse in 2011, they somehow did. The rent-a-tackle went back to the nursing home. Colon came back, only to go down in the first game, again lost for the season. They force-fed a rookie who showed promise, but really wasn't ready and was inconsistent at best all season. The left tackle from the scrap heap went down and back came Starks after back surgery. Four different left guards started in the first five games, simply unheard of. Legursky gets replaced by Foster on the right side. Scrap-heap Scott goes over to right tackle when the rookie gets banged up or sleeps during meetings and gets benched. The only bright spot, Pouncey, goes down again and misses the two most important games down the stretch, San Francisco and Denver. When all the musical chairs finally came to an end, the Steelers used 10 different starting offensive lines in 17 games, again, simply unheard of.
I am not making excuses here. Excuses are like the rectum I referred to earlier, everyone's got one. I am stating facts. If Bruce Arians was still around, I wouldn't even be writing this. We lost, we lost. Life in the NFL is cruel. But ask anyone who knows anything about offensive line play and they will tell you that the two most important components are cohesion and consistency. The Pittsburgh Steelers were the antithesis of cohesion and consistency. I used to joke at banquets about my basketball skills saying "I lacked size, but made up for it by lacking speed also." The Steelers offensive line lacked talent, but made up for it by also lacking cohesion and consistency.
To those who say that "the offensive line has not been that bad," I beg to disagree. Watch a playoff-caliber team on a passing play and count..."one...two...three,...four" before the quarterback needs to unload or scramble. Then watch the Steelers..."one...two...maybe three and less maybe four." That is night and day in the NFL. All it takes is one blown assignment, one missed block, one missed blitz pickup or stunt and a play that might have been a critical gain has turned into a critical failure. That has happened too many times in the last couple years. Same thing on running plays. I don't care what play is called or what scheme is devised. if the offensive line doesn't do its job, the play shuts down. Fortunately, Ben can shake off tacklers and improvise on the fly when he has two good feet, or we would really be in trouble.
Three things need to happen in 2012 with respect to the offensive line. One, a couple new parts must be brought in, hopefully earlier in the draft than later. Second, the parts that are incumbent must stay at least relatively healthy. I am not asking for perfect health - that is not normal in the NFL. I am asking for average health, something we haven't seen in a while. Third, the parts need to play together, each improving a notch and achieving that cohesion and consistency that is so vital. If those things happen, the new OC will be given a much better engine than Bruce Arians has had the last two years. He might even get in the car and drive down the street with less noise and less fluid leaking. Let's hope that happens, and let's hope I am wrong about Bruce Arians.
One last thing, whether you agree or disagree, we should all thank the man for his contributions in helping the team to back-to-back 12-4 seasons, winning campaigns in all five of his seasons and two trips to the Super Bowl with one ending with a Lombardi Trophy.
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then why was there NEVER any interest in arians from another team?
no arians defender hes ever been able to answer that question. “solid” is not exactly a glowing review . . .. rectum. the steelers offense was too often constipated, true . . . but arians had no laxatives or enemas in his medicine chest . . .
He was too old
Everyone knew he was in his twilight. Yes, LeBeau is older, but he is an abberation. generally, people like to hire up-and-comers, not guys thinking about retirement.
Thoughtful discussion with a sense of history
ummmmm . . .
the rooneys made him think about retirement . . . see ppg. and, there was NEVER any interest in arians – even after he lead the steelers to two super bowls!
regarding your points around the o line.....they are definitely applicable
But think back to the Titans game. Banged up o line and BB with a hurt foot. So, BA implements, appropriately, a quick passing game. The pistol and the shotgun, quick slants, quick curls, 3 step drops and sling it, etc. Ben had a huge game. Steelers rolled. Other than some of this against NE we never really saw that again.
When you have holes you build game plans to cover those holes up. He never really consistently did this along with below average game time adjustments.
Agree with you that he took too much blame and yes, we should thank him for his service. Him leaving represents something larger to me. That, Tomlin/front office realize that sometimes you have to throw in the towel on stubbornness and blind loyalty and make some tough decisions that ultimately lead to even more winning.
Absolutely agree
you have to throw in the towel on stubbornness and blind loyalty and make some tough decisions that ultimately lead to even more winning
"Everytime NE Patriots lose, Football wins", myself
an israeli friend summed it up well
“it’s like they didn’t learn anything from the Patriots game”
not that the steelers even put up that many points vs. the pats this year, but man, they owned the clock and the tempo…
Thank you Bruce, enjoy your retirement.
Appreciate all your efforts, now please, fix the OL and let’s get back to playing Steeler football!
Great article Mary, enjoyed the read and could not agree with you more!
mary
you seem like a very nice person. if i were ever arrested i would want you to be the judge. however i disagree with your opinion that arians takes too much blame. we have a top 5 QB, a top 10 RB, a top 10 TE, two top ten WR’s, and an all pro C. if that type of talent ranks 21st in the NFL in points scored, the fault is not the bus, it’s the bus driver. an OC’s job is to call plays. more specifically his job is to be a field general. to evaluate his soldiers, evaluate his opponent’s soldiers, predict how the battle will unfold, devise a plan of attack that maximizes his army’s strengths while exploiting his opponent’s weakness, and make strategic adjustments during the course of the conflict. bruce does not do any of these things well. and the result is our entire army suffers. it’s not like we’re burning his house down. we just don’t want him running our army anymore.
by StarSpangledSteeler on Jan 21, 2012 12:21 PM EST reply actions
disagree
BA was not a great coordinator but he was at least a solid one. We could have had worse. He had some games where the gameplan worked great and a lot that kept the steelers in the game enough for a chance for BB magic in the 4rth.
It seems half the people want steelers to be more of a passing team and half the people want to go to the cowher rush for 3.5 yrds/play cowher offense. A great offense can do what they want even if the defense knows what they are doing. This happens from having a great oline. If you can’t run block you will get stuffed on 3rd an one. If you don’t pass block well you will not often convert 3rd and long.
The great offenses have great olines. Think houston, colts(pre2011), pats and saints.
I am an advocate of drafting at least two tackles(tackles can move to guard but not the other way around) and signing some guys that have no injury history. Starks works only if he is at a minimmum bc he WILL. Get injuried. I hated not resigning starks last year. He is hands down better then any tackle we had, but the FO knew he wouldn’t last a whole season. So they went with scott hoping he could be average and not get injuried.
The ONLY big need this year is oline. We may not be great and or young at every position, but oline is a necessity for offensive greatness. The coordinator makes a difference but he can’t block
by Unleashed on Jan 21, 2012 12:45 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
What makes Bruce "solid" in your opinion?
In general, does he game plan to exploit other teams weaknesses?… no. that would be what a “solid” OC does.
In general, does he alter our play calling when we have players injured?… no. that would be what a “solid” OC does.
In general, does he make strategic in game adjustments?… no. that would be what a “solid” OC does.
These are just three basic traits you want in the director of your offense and he does none of them regularly. So what makes him so “solid” in your opinion? I seriously would like to know.
But let’s get to the real issue. We have a very weak OL. I think we can all agree on that. That hinders a lot of your play calling right? So what would a “solid” coordinator do to adjust to that weakness? Does he call plays that will get the ball out quick, so our OL only has to block for 3 seconds?… of course not. He calls 7 step drop/40 yard fly patterns when he knows the blitz is coming.
We saw one game this year (vs. Patriots) when he called an excellent game (at least in the first half). It was one of our most productive outings. A “solid” OC would’ve used that recipe again in subsequent games. Arians chose not to do that.
What about the red zone? Have you actually watched the plays he calls when we are close to the goal line? Many many many times they make no logical sense. Corner end zone fade routes to the slow 6’ tall Hines Ward. Reverses to Mike Wallace. Running the ball up the up the middle 3 straight times, against a huge Ravens goal line D, even though we have one of the weakest OL’s in the league. That cannot be classified as “solid” IMO. That is called “poor”.
by StarSpangledSteeler on Jan 21, 2012 4:56 PM EST up reply actions
He did not do the obvious thing to help the O-line
Although I would argue that Bruce Arians is not without blame for the construction and make-up of this weak offensive line, he failed to do the one thing that any good offense would do to compensate.
He de-valued and eventually eliminated the use of a fullback in the backfield. The fullback is the number one option to create good preliminary holes in the running game. Larger than typical backs they are more adept at blitz and rush blocking to help keep the QB upright. Lastly, they are a constant option for flare outs in the flat in the event of a line breakdown. The consistent lack of those 3 elements in our offensive game plan under Bruce Arians can not be underestimated.
by masterchiefnavy on Jan 22, 2012 5:28 AM EST up reply actions
To Bruce’s credit, he did produce the only steeler season in history to have a 4,000 yard passer, 1,000 yard RB, and two 1,000 receivers….and he is very adept at scripting the opening drive…thats about it. His results always looked great at the end of the season when all the stats are counted, but in the middle of the game, when me and my girlfriend can predict (with scary accuracy) which plays are coming next, that says to me that his success as an OC had more to do with the players on the field than with his coordination
maybe hes average maybe not
My point was more about our troubles the last two years. This team has been at the cap limit both years. It is clear the front office was trying to save money on the oline. I feel Oline is the MOST underrated position on offense. With an oline average runners(slaton, ivory,starks, the lawfirm, woodhead) can be an effective and efficient ground game. Average QBs (flacco, shaub, cassel, orton) can have probowl seasons.
I’m interested who devalued oline soo much in the FO, bc that’s an issue steeler nation has been concerned about for 2+ years. If BA said he didn’t need oline and that jonathen scott should start at LT, then he is truely mistaken.
Don’t forget he coached the new browns to their best ofeensive season ever. With derrick anderson
by Unleashed on Jan 22, 2012 11:37 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
BA was OC at Cleveland in 2002 when the Browns had no talent, a QB named Kelly Holcomb, and BA turned that offense into something special. They made the playoffs and no one hardly knew who was on their team. They should have beaten the Steelers in the playoff game, but Dennis Northcut dropped a game-clinching pass (BA’s fault, I’m sure). I think the Browns scored 3 touchdowns and 4 field goals on us that day, at Heinz Field, 33 points I think. BA then got ousted when the Butch Davis regime was booted, and we picked him up.
Thoughtful discussion with a sense of history
good luck BA.....
….I just hope he takes those bubble screens with him!!! I never liked them at all
by moonsteeler on Jan 21, 2012 12:29 PM EST via Android app reply actions
Brucie's retirement
has been filed under “Be careful what you wish for” in my book. At least until about this time next year.
Bound to cover just a little more ground.
I say this time in two years
my guess is that we’re in for whopping changes this off season and will need to cut our boys some slack ‘til Sep 2013. wouldn’t be surprised if we compete for top of the AFC north again next year but also wouldn’t be surprised to see another 9-7 season. unlike the Pirates, if this is a rebuilding year, it’ll actually be that.
You're definitely more patient than I
Of course, most fans will either be saying “I told you so, thank God Bruce is gone” or “Oh my Lord, this new guy sucks, we are screwed” after the first preseason game.
Bound to cover just a little more ground.
The key word is "Coordinator"
In general, and looking back, I’m not sure I’d classify Arians as a “bad” coordinator. But, it looked to me as if he couldn’t coordinate when things got tough. Meaning, in the red zone. His plan seemed to break down the closer the Steelers got to the endzone. In fact, Arians’ offense looked very close to the Run and Shoot offenses of the late 80’s, early 90’s. Complete hellraisers between the 20’s but couldn’t score points to match the yardage covered. Sure, the O line was a problem but it didn’t seem to be a problem at the 50, only at the 20. As the field got shorter, and there was less field for defenders to cover, his coordinating broke down. I mean, if you can’t score TD’s with Ben, Heath, Antonio, Mike, Rashard, Hines, Jericho, Isaac, John, and Emmnauel . . . who CAN you score with? It was time for him to go.
O line stinks. But
How about game plan with that in mind! Don’t telegraph runs into 9 and 10 man fronts. Have a tight end chip the good rush ends. I may not be an expert, but with a poor line why would you ever go empty? We do it all the time. How about some max protect and see if the defense can cover Wallace and brown for 4 seconds?
Playcalling is easier with a great line. Arians wouldnt adjust to the talent. J Scott got no help at all against freeny and it almost cost us. Time to move on
and for the love of all that's holy
please have the next guy get rid of the empty set during short yardage.
That was my biggest issue with Arians. It’s short yardage, and he goes empty backfield. Way to go in telling the defense that they don’t have to even consider the run! Then he typically has 1 or maybe 2 at most short to medium routes that are covered (because there’s nobody stopping the run) while the others go deep and Ben gets killed.
This is not a perfect team, but he was a bad OC. No meaningless stats about compiling yardage between the 20’s changes that for me one bit.
agree
I know fans all over the country complain about their OC, but two facts that convince me that we are right. Empty on 3rd and 4 or less, and keeping Mendenhall in on goal line when anyone can see Redman will be more successfull. Anybody can see that. Except Arians and Tomlin.
Agree completely Rose
Now the question is who will replace Arians, not as OC but as scapegoat? My guess is that the front runners will be Tomlin, LeBeau or Ben, with Art Rooney II as a dark horse.
by Ivan Cole (RickVa) on Jan 21, 2012 1:22 PM EST reply actions
Yeah, who'll be the whipping boy now?
I LOVE Dick Lebeau, but I don’t recall Arians calling the defensive schemes when Joe Flacco led the Ravens what? 92 yards? to win in our second matchup. I also don’t think that it was Arians who installed the formation in the first play of OT against the Broncos.
I LOVE Big Ben’s play, but I’m pretty sure that Arians didn’t call for 14 interceptions in the regular season (only 3 less than he threw during the last two seasons combined). Nor did Arians throw two interceptions in the Super Bowl or fumble the ball or allow a crucial 3rd and long conversion.
Were there plays that had me scratching my head? Sure! But that’s always going to happen. Believe it or not, it even happened during the Whiz era.
Oh, well. What’s done is done. Bruce wasn’t the best OC in the league but he was far from the worst. If we manage to land someone better, then obviously its a good move. But its not a given that the new guy will be any better if we don’t get the OL in better shape.
by Chileburger on Jan 21, 2012 1:36 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
so the number one defense still wasn't good enough?
Offense had a chance to win the Broncos game at the end of regulation and looked pitiful. The defense can’t win them all especially in today’s NFL where the passing game rules.
by Dr. Spaceman on Jan 21, 2012 3:04 PM EST up reply actions
Nor did Arians throw two interceptions in the Super Bowl or fumble the ball…
But he did call the exact same running play time after time in the SB to the point where Clay Matthews knew exactly what the play call was and read it perfectly. He said he recognized it before the snap.
by Dr. Spaceman on Jan 21, 2012 3:16 PM EST up reply actions
If Lebeau had the #22 scoring defense
then rest assured we’d all be calling for him to be removed. Since he’s been top 5 in that every year, then calling for his head would be mental.
The blame goes all around in my eyes
I was talking to my dad about this and he made a good point: Ben holding the ball like he does, while making for some great plays, could be one of the main reasons why we’re seeing all these injuries to linemen. If they’re trying to make blocks for the 7 seconds while Ben’s on the move, they’re going to be exposed to injury for a longer period of time.
Arian’s mistake was giving Ben too much free reign. I understand he’s the franchise quarterback, but when his style of play is a danger to himself and his teammates, it needs to be changed. I’m not against Ben pulling the gunslinger act, I just think he needs to become more of a pocket passer. He’s going to be 30 in March, and eventually even his body wont be able to take the beating he endures yearly.
My hope is whomever we bring in works with Ben to tweak his game. He doesn’t have to reinvent himself but limit the damage he takes.
I agree that we do need some fresh blood on the offensive line. Pouncey and Gilbert are there for the long haul but everyone else is upgradeable.
Good post.
by Tim Mullhaupt (HSS) on Jan 21, 2012 1:25 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I agree
Never was a BA fan, but it does fall on a multitude of factors. The injuries to the O-line, Ben holding on to the ball to long at times, execution and predictability in play calling. All in all I think it was time for change.
Change, as we all know can turn bad and the new O.C. will have his hands full. Dealing with Ben will be a job in itself. Trying as you stated “tweak his game” while at the same time trying not to step on his toes. It’s going to be a tricky balancing act. This new marriage (so to speak) relies on Ben as much as the new O.C. I still believe that a new voice of reasoning(and some help on the O-line) will elevate Ben and this O.
"you will hardly know who I am or what I mean"-Walt Whitman
by Pittsblitz56 on Jan 22, 2012 12:12 PM EST up reply actions
"Arians mistake was giving Ben too much free reign"
Disagree – his mistake was not game planning appropriately for his teams strengths and weaknesses.
Running up the middle with a weak O-line and no FB vs Ngata is stupid. Going empty set in short yardage is stupid. Calling 7 step drops constantly with a weak O-line is stupid.
The mark of a good OC is covering for your team’s weaknesses, matching your strengths vs the other team’s weaknesses, and when you find something that works WEAR IT OUT.
Arians had the habit of calling a failed play several times during the game, but when something worked well you wouldn’t see it again for weeks. If you find something that works during the game, then call it again and again until they prove they have adjusted to stop it. Arians made the adjustment for the other team time and time again by never even calling the play again.
With our O-line this year, our base package should have featured the short passing attack every week with some wrinkles sprinkled in. Adjust during the game if the other team cheats up to take that away and burn them deep with Wallace. Instead, it only was featured a couple of games this year.
Always repect Maryrose's opinions.
One thing though – this feels like much more of a FO decision than a personal preference by Arians, because Arians is damn stubborn.
Our front office is one of the classiest organizations, and I feel like they gave him the option to retire rather than firing him. The more level-headed group of posters around here always cling to the mantra, “Trust in the front-office since they’re very good at their jobs and know things that we cannot.” Well, I’m guessing the FO doesn’t like what they’re seeing either.
I believe that if/when Lebeau mentions retiring, they immediately steer the conversation away to adding a bigger hot tub to his house.
Part of that is to blame on Arians
Maryrose, agree 100% that the poor play/injuries on the offensive line is ultimately why we got bounced. To Arians credit, he was able to adapt to that poor play pretty effectively in some years, i.e. having Heath stay back in the shotgun for rush pickup, and using screens in our SB run. My knock on Arians is the fact that he and the coaching staff didn’t address those issues for several years. Pouncey was a high draft choice, but aside from him (and maybe Gilbert), the oline was an afterthought in the draft. How many times in the past 3-4 years have the Steelers gone for those shiny new toys instead of a lineman?? We all know the line has been terrible for years, so this isn’t an issue that just snuck up on us.
I’m a die-hard Steelers fan, that’s why I’m actually happy we got bounced early this year. Why you ask? We have most of the important pieces in place for SB runs in the next couple years- great QB, 3 great receivers, 2 good RBs, couple good TEs, a young but growing Dline, the best LBs, 2 great safeties. We weren’t going to win it all this year, maybe not even make it to the AFC championship. So I would rather have us lose in the first round and get the 24th pick then get the 28-30th pick. And those 4-6 slots make a huge difference when you look at who we could’ve drafted
+ extra months rest + extra chip on the shoulder
It’ll be a nice dynamic against the ravens next year. Remember 2007 when they were pissed off about 2006?
"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."
Franco Harris:
"If I had to choose today between the moral integrity and character of Joe Paterno and the politicians and commentators criticizing him, I would pick Joe Paterno, hands down, no contest every time."
The BLAME game
after a Steeler’s loss, or a failed season (one in which they didn’t win the Super Bowl), the word BLAME gets used a hell of a lot . But in professional football, it’s never about one person; it’s really a team game, and that includes the offensive players, the defensive players, the special teamers, all of their coaches, the head coach, the scouts, the front office people that make personnel decisions, etc. etc . Add to that the fact that there is an opponent out there, and sometimes they play pretty good football.
IMO Bruce Arians wasn’t the best OC out there, but he wasn’t the worst either. Being a good OC requires a lot more than just play-calling. It’s communication, scouting, overall game-plannning, knowing your players and their tendencies, adjustments during the game and so on. Arians seemed to be very good at some of these; not so good at others, but you could say that about every other OC as well.
I do wish Bruce well; he seems like a good guy and a hard worker, but I doubt he’ll stay “retired” long.
" I think this is probably the best team ever assembled. They talk about the Vince Lombardi Era, but I think the Chuck Noll Era is even greater. " - Mel Blount
After Carnell Lake, maybe the Steelers can hit another homerun at OC ...
Whether Bruce Arians was overrated or underrated, the bottom line is he’s gone. I doubt that Tomlin will bring in anyone who wants to install a new offense. Considering the youth on offense and the fact Ben is comfortable with this O, it’s probably better to promote Fincher and hire a new QB’s coach.
MR, I agree that it is time to address this OL. I am in favor of taking NT Dontari Poe with the team’s first pick (if not him, then Wisconsin C Konz and let him start at LG) but the Steelers need to spend 2 or 3 draft picks on the OL this year. If Starks proves healthy, I’d resign him to a one-year deal. J. Scott just needs to be cut. You can do better than that, particularly at $2.5M for a bad tackle. But it is high time that the Steelers fix this OL. I believe that the team can find a ILB that can run in the third through fifth round. Rooney came close to firing Arians two years ago and he skated then by the skin of his teeth. After a disappointing year on the offensive side of the ball and with the skilled weapons that team has, someone had to take the fall and Arians was the sacrificial lamb. Who is going to step and demand Ben to “tweak” his style to stay on the field more? Looks like the only person who had the courage to say that was Rooney himself.
by datruth4life2.0 on Jan 21, 2012 3:16 PM EST reply actions
I wish Bruce the best as well. I’ve given him the benefit of the doubt during his time as OC, and I do think the continually OL issues were more to blame than anything.
But, I do look forward to a fresh look at OC…fresh face, new ideas, shake things up, tweat things here and there…but as always, the key is the right person…
Tom Clements…would be a great hire but he most likely will be named GB OC and I can’t see him leaving that job for Pittsburgh
Todd Haley…no way! Too much drama!
Caldwell…Colts old head coach…I would rather have Arians
Randy Fichtner…seems like the logical choice, but how much of a change will he be from Arians.
Clements
Isn’t he from Pittsburgh? I would think it has more to do with how much he enjoys working with his current staff vs. how much he would like to move back home. Prestige wise, I don’t see a difference between the teams. Rodgers may have bigger window than Ben at this point though.
by WolfpackSteelersFan on Jan 21, 2012 4:03 PM EST up reply actions
Add Ron Prince to that list
Pittsburgh Steelers fan - nuff said.
Miami Hurricanes fan - nuff said.
Georgetown Hoyas fan - nuff said.
Cleveland Cavaliers fan - um yeah, about that...
by StoneColdSteel on Jan 21, 2012 5:57 PM EST up reply actions
Randy Fichtner…seems like the logical choice, but how much of a change will he be from Arians.
- I would presume that it would be made crystal clear to Mr. Fichtner, that if he wants to keep this position as OC, that his game plans had better show marked improvement in variety, quality, innovation (etc, etc, etc.) than his predecessor’s, or his tenure will not be nearly as long.
United we Stand, melded like Steel
To Roger Goodell, We'll never Yield.
production
basically, we can all agree we need to see more production. We can also agree that all he variety, innovation, etc means nothing without quality OL play. We simply need more capable, young bodies along the OL. It’s as simple as that.
Did you see how much time Brady had last week in the pocket? Tons. Even in the red zone, I was amazed to watch how he had time to look one way, pump, and then wait some more, for one of his TE’s to come free. And I will say this…NE has had injuries to deal with along the OL but it obviously hasn’t effect them.
Ben's style
It will be interesting to see if Ben can “tweak” his style of play. The reference to his “style of play” obviously refers to him getting rid of the ball quicker and not always holding on to the ball for a big play (of course, when he does hold on to the ball far too long and it results in a big play, we’re all happy he didn’t dump it off to the running back :)
This talk of players “changing their style” is very common around this time of year as we start to hear of the draft. Draft experts talk of players changing their release points, shortening their throwing motions, becoming tougher, more physical. or more fluid etc etc.
However, I’m not sure how much of that is possible. Some changes can happen of course but I think the good coaches do far more for the player from a mental standpoint than a phyical one.
I’ll use myself as an example. Many moons ago I played 1AA football. I ran between a 4.5-4.55 forty. However, my form was absoultely horrible. My arms would sway too much from side to side and not nearly enough in the smooth vertical motion you will see with true sprinters. I have vivid memories of working with our strength and conditioning coach on correcting this…and I could…when we simply were doing drills. I would exaggerate this smooth vertical motions when we were going one half or even 3/4 speed…aslo when we did our explosive drills…it felt good….I looked good on video when we watch our speed drills until…
we went full speed or we raced…I would unconsciously drift back into my old form…it was too ingrained…it may have been the more natural form for me even though it wasn’t the most fluid.
My point for Ben is this…we may hear talk the whole off season about his “tweaked” form…he may pay lip service to the reporters about how he knows he has to get rid of the ball sooner…he may do it come training camp and the preseason games…but my feeling is, when regular season games are on the line, important games, he will simply and unconsciously revert back to the style of play that is ingrained in him.
I’m not saying a ‘tweaked" style wouldn’t benefit him…I’m saying I don’t know how much he can change, even if he wants to. I know first hand.
Michael Vick
Mornhinweg did wonders bringing him along and making him more disciplined in the pocket and in making decisions. The only obstacle with Ben is his own stubbornness.
But you keep pulling out your "refs-threw-the-game" card if that’s what you need for catharsis. You can use that card after every loss. It is a lifetime pass. Get it laminated. -Maryrose
It was time for a change.
Bruce, thank you for the time spent, and also for putting up with the critics.
That being said, I’m not sorry to see the change. I saw a few comments about the Titans and Pats games above, and agree with those sentiments 100%. Fabulous game planning, going to the “take-what-they-give” and quick passing attack. Um, where did it go after that? Especially after BB got hurt, if we chose to play Ben in those games, why didn’t we bring that back?
I know it’s not a fair comparison for a number of reasons…Bruce didn’t do so well as the HC at Temple (way long ago) in part because he tried to put square pegs of talent into the round holes of his system. He did much the same with the Steelers, and in my opinion, we ended up having to rely way too much on playing playground-ball to win too many games on the last drive.
Hate to pick on a guy who is heading off to the sunset, but I’m ready for the change.
Not from my point of view.
…Bruce didn’t do so well as the HC at Temple (way long ago) in part because he tried to put square pegs of talent into the round holes of his system. He did much the same with the Steelers…
I recall BA responding to a critique about Big Ben holding the ball too long. BA said something about ruining a young QB early in his career by pushing him too hard into ‘the mold". He wasn’t going to do that with Ben. Watching the Steelers during the BA era, I don’t see that problem. If anything, he gave Ben too much latitude.
I’m a car enthusiast and I get MR’s analogy about the ’65 Mustang, though I would adjust it a bit. The o-line is not the engine. Big Ben is the engine that drives the offense. He is a rare combination of displacement and efficiency. Our receivers are the contact patches. They put the power down to the pavement. The O-line is the chassis. And as long as the chassis is floppy, the car will never perform to expectations.
People want to Bruce to draft up gadget plays and roll-outs, but you can’t do that when there are linebackers in the backfield and tackles coming through the A gap. They had to play a fairly vanilla offense because the talent in the line didn’t allow for much more. The best he could do was get the ball out quickly, so the defense had to respect the full length of the LoS. That’s probably why we saw all those bubbles.
You have your parts mixed up
Ben is not the engine, he is the transmission. The offensive line is the engine. They are what is going to drive the offense whether its passing or running. If they dont block, we cant do either.
I agree that the line has been a stumbling block (pun intended with all the car talk)...
Engine block that is. Sorry, couldn’t resist a stupid attempt at humor.
The point that I was trying to make, and clearly failed at, was that he doesn’t seem willing to, or has trouble with making adjustments with what he actually has. At Temple, he didn’t come to grips with the type of talent they could get – not a lot of it in those days, granted. The team was unable to play to his system and yet he kept running it anyway. He didn’t dummy it down, reign it in, make it easier…none of those things. (Ironic sidebar – I was friendly with one of the QB’s back then, I clearly remember how beat up he used to look in classes early in the week – he got pounded with no line. Not to blame Arians for that, just something I recalled just now).
With the Steelers, I felt as though we often failed at making adjustments these last few years. I’ll concede the BB point, and I’m sure BB is partly at fault for not always taking what was in front of him and/or not always following the script he was given. Yet I can’t help but wonder if we could have been more explosive if we went to the quick passing game more often and especially when BB was hurt. It looked great against TN and NE, so I’m not sure why we didn’t at least do more of it, if not go to it primarily.
I don’t know how much it’s related, but I also was very confused why Heath disappeared so often after the 1st Q – there were some games that looked like he was going to be an absolute monster, and then he was barely seen after half-time. Look at the TE’s the last few years – don’t you think Heath could be putting up some of that also?
As I said elsewhere...
…if Mr. Arians receives credit for the performance of the wide receivers, he deserves the blame for the performance of the offensive line. I don’t know for a fact how much input, influence, decision making, the Offensive Coordinator has in the drafting of players, but since the offensive line falls under his “jurisdiction”, if he was being ignored as he pleaded to improve it, then he should have been more forceful, or at the very least, adjusted his game plan to account for the weaknesses he identified. Since we all saw empty sets with a line that acted more like a colander, then I would argue Mr. Arians either accepted it at face value (thus opening himself up to deserved criticism), or he was culpable for the line’s selection and performance, which again, makes him culpable.
I was by no means a “BA Hater”, but the offense just wasn’t performing up to its capabilities, and had not done so, even in the SB years. It was time for a change. Now, some of the questions I’ve posed above, will be answered in the following draft and next year’s season. May not be answered fully, but we will see evidence of where the fault truly lies.
United we Stand, melded like Steel
To Roger Goodell, We'll never Yield.
Very good points
Arians took a lot of flak, I for one, threw some of it out there. Maybe not all of it was deserved.
But as an OC it is his job to make up for the weaknesses of our team. More often then not he created a gameplan that didn’t take the weak offensive line into account. Thats the problem I had with him. Not his love of passing the ball, not his obsession with throwing it deep…..but rather his inability to help the O-line. Ben in a no back set on 3rd and short is crazy to me…but thats just me.
Anyway, I look forward to what waits over the horizon.
Great point about the many different offensive line combinations.
Fact is, if any other position on the team had that much upheaval, it would be very noticeable. For whatever reason, somewhere along the line (no pun intended), people started believing that you could use just anyone on the offensive line and things should still run smoothly. Nope, you need thoroughbreds on the offensive line just like you do anywhere else on the football field. Offensive lineman have Hall of Fame careers, too.
Fortunately, they’ve drafted two linemen pretty high the last two years after not picking anyone higher than the third round from 2003-2009. Hopefully, it’s still a work in progress.
Great point
People keep talking about the skill position players and judging Arians by the team’s strength and flash. A flashy car can’t move without the motor inside and I don’t think alot of people realize how bad our motor was.
Thoughtful discussion with a sense of history
by maryrose on Jan 21, 2012 9:02 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I agree on most of your points...
…and you’re one person whose opinion I trust way more often than not. Add to that, you know how to spell, use punctuation, and you never needlessly over-hyphenate.
Regarding the offensive line, I believe he needed to assess his pieces along the line, add that to his QB’s tendencies & skill set, and adjust. Draw up a strategy and technique that suits what you’re working with. You could argue, “Dug, how can he do that when what you work with is constantly changing?” A) that’s part of the game, and B) It’s pretty obvious 7 weeks into Arian’s tenure that this would be the norm. Lots of time to figure out how to get it done.
The car analogy was great! But when you’re faced with a broken down clunker, fix it up. Make it run. It doesn’t have to be able to drive across the country or run in a NASCAR race; it’s a high schoolers car. It just needs to get you to school and the occasional cruise with friends. Tweak it. Duct tape it. Dent? Rust? Paint some flames over it. It’s not a Bentley.
I was pretty vocal in my disdain for Arians style. I have lots of reasons why he rubbed me the wrong way. It has nothing to do with him personally, as he’s probably a pretty cool guy. But the offense simply needed to be more efficient. A lot of the success in prior years, especially playoffs, was when Ben called a drive. Arians love for the pass was not balanced with appropriately placed runs to set the pass up in the first place. And his aversion to the trick play let defenses get comfortable.
I wish him all the happiness and good fortune in his future. I’m just glad we’ll be at least heading in a new direction. At least, that’s what I’m hoping…
Thanks for an excellent write-up. You always communicate so clearly!
Mountainbiking the Continental Divide in 2012 to raise awareness of human trafficking. more info: http://tr4f.wordpress.com
by Fifty-Eight on Jan 21, 2012 11:23 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Excellent as usual
While not exactly a huge fan of BA, I think he did a darn good job. I’d like to see less emphasis on the big play and more on the short pass, but that’s about it. And as you say without a good OL we will never really have a good offence. Just look at how well Manning, Brady, were Smith protected last weekend. I can’t imaging how good our offence would look if Ben ever had the kind of time Eli did last weekend.
With luck as we turn over much of our team to meet cap requirement the nucleus of a competitive OL will be brought in. The is undeniably the only ingredient missing from having a championship team.
"Kompromise, my friend, is the essence of diplomacy, and diplomacy is the kornerstone of love... sweeeeeet looooOOOve"
O-line
While it is hard to argue that the o-line is a top priority for an upgrade, I think any o-line would have had trouble blocking with our playcalling. They never received any help, nor did BA do anything to throw a defense off balance or slow down a pass rush, if anything he put an even greater amount of pressure on an already suspect line. Using formations where it is obvious what play is being run does not help the line, hiking the ball at 1 sec on play clock everytime lets the D get off very quickly, obvious pass formations like the empty set leaves a defense only having to defend against the pass and with only 5 blockers trying to block for 7-8 seconds would not be succesful unless you call plays to slow defenses down and get them off balance. Across the front, the Saints start a 4,5,UD,4, and 7th round picks, GB starts a 2,4,7,4, and 1 across theirs. None of these teams are using high picks on their lines, atleast no more than we do already, and they seem to perform ok. Thats because their OC’s keep defenses guessing, and off-balance and call plays to keep the chains moving. They only throw deep after they establish the run and short passing game to open up those deep throws. You never see any of those things with BA’s playcalling. There are a lot of things you can do to help your line out and BA called more plays that put added pressure on the line than he did calling plays to help the line out.
I completely agree
Nobody in this league is dominant enough to be successful when the other team knows what you’re going to run. That empty set might put an extra person into a route, but it takes all guessing out of the equation.
If Arians wanted to have the extra target, then perhaps he could have sent Mendenhall out on a route more than a handful of times this season.
O line
IIRC, we had a healthy offensive line with Starks at tackle one game — and Dwyer ran through a hole so big a cruise ship could have motored through it and totaled a 100 yard rushing game. The other 16 games (and part of that one), two much better backs (Mendy & Redman) spent their days building ‘yards after contact’ stats on 3 yard gains. Unless Arians wanted to step in there and block himself, I find it hard to blame him for the sluggish Steeler running game.
The championships
Interestingly its the new pass happy teams against the old guard running teams with a tough defense. Perhaps the Giants are the only balanced team, with a top notch passing quarterback.
by ibygeorge on Jan 22, 2012 9:01 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Three thoughts on Arians
I understand the reluctance to blame Arians for the offense based on the offensive line, but I have to make three points in that regard:
1. Doesn’t the OC have a say in the selection of the offensive line? If BA didn’t feel he could effectively run his offense with the line he had, isn’t it his responsibility to communicate that to MT and lobby for changes? When a team goes year after year with the same issues on the line, someone, somewhere has to take notice and make a move to fix what’s broken. I’m not going to try to be an expert, but I know what I see and if I see it, and the posters see it, whose responsibility is it to also see it and change it?
2. A good OC should be able to adjust his game plan to the strengths (and weaknesses) of his players. If the offensive line was unable to perform to the level expected of them through the game plan, then the OC needs to create a plan that works to their strengths. Has anyone considered that a lot of the injuries to the OL were due to the players being expected to perform tasks they were not talented enough and/or physically capable of performing? The times I saw players getting injured appeared to me to be when they were getting either overwhelmed by a defensive player, playing out of position, or just looking lost in trying to follow the offensive scheme. Consequently, you consistantly saw someone falling on the legs of someone else. Pouncey’s ankles are being crushed because he gets landed on by an O-lineman more than should happen.
3. Often times in games I see the offense start out with what looks like a strong game plan. They start throwing quick passes; making plays that generally take less time to develop and run plays that keep the defense off balance. Then, lo and behold, at some point they switch back to slow developing plays where Ben is looking too far down field for a play that isn’t going to happen because the line can’t hold up. Is that Arians or Ben making that conscious decision? If it’s not Arians, and I suspect this to be the case, then we need an OC who is willing to reel Ben in and make sure he sticks to the plan. As well, we need an OC who is willing to tell Ben, and evidently Tomlin, when Ben is too injured to play. They had 10 days to prepare a game plan for San Francisco. It’s pathetic that they could not utilize Batch or Dixon to develop a more feasible plan for playing SF than to have Ben as a sitting duck in the pocket, unable to move. Ben’s condition caused half the playbook to be thrown out the window in a game that they could have won if Tomlin really believed he credo of “The standard is the standard.” As well, Ben needs a coach who’s willing to ask him what he’s looking at when he throws an interception right into the hands of a Terrell Suggs in the red zone. Ben needs a coach, not a buddy.
Anyway, that’s my main reasoning for needing a change. Hopefully, Tomlin will choose wisely. I thing Art Rooney II feels the need to really see what his head coach is made of as opposed to living off the left overs from the Cowher era. Like him or not, BC did go through the coordinators. If he didn’t get what he wanted, out with the old and in with the new.
I agree with you and many others that Arians should have responsibility with the O-line, but is he really responsible for Colon going down TWICE, Pouncey’s ankle at crunch time TWICE, Starks’ back surgery and every other weekly ding?
Thoughtful discussion with a sense of history
by maryrose on Jan 22, 2012 10:50 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
If the reason for these injuries was, as others have mentioned, because the linemen were trying to hold their blocks longer, than they would have to for any other QB, then yes. It was his fault.
"They timed it perfectly, they just went too soon." - Darrell Waltrip commenting on an illegal restart.
Seems like a pretty wild stretch to me, concocted by someone trying connect BA to every possible fallout. Then again, that’s par for the course,
Thoughtful discussion with a sense of history
I know we've seen a couple examples in this thread
but have many people really said that the OL injuries were BA’s fault? I am asking because I don’t know.
by WolfpackSteelersFan on Jan 22, 2012 12:37 PM EST up reply actions
No - I don't think he's responsible for those injuries
but he is responsible for calling plays and formations where he didn’t adjust to his players weaknesses. Nobody on this planet can convince me that calling an empty backfield during short yardage situations isn’t idiotic. Likewise – calling plays to gain 40 yards when all you need is 5 behind that line is suicidal.
Bad play calling
We can argue about how he used who where, why he would not run the ball, but the main thing it all comes down to is BA was a terrbile play caller. He could script plays with the best of them, could create innovative plays that would work. But the man could not call a game to save his life and we were always predictable, so much so.
Im happy to see him go, but grateful for helping us get to 2 SBs.
“To those who say that “the offensive line has not been that bad,” I beg to disagree. Watch a playoff-caliber team on a passing play and count…“one…two…three,…four” before the quarterback needs to unload or scramble. Then watch the Steelers…“one…two…maybe three and less maybe four.” That is night and day in the NFL"
People see what they want to see. I’ve seen Brady, and others, counted the seconds and the ball is usually gone by three. Most good QBs do the same especially when they are knowledgeable enough to realize pressure is coming. The offensive line needs to hold the defense for the 3 seconds and for the most part have done that. Even in the second half of the Denver game, Ben started throwing quicker passes for much of the half…until near the end when he should have.
When Ben is under obvious pressure, your 4 seconds is usually because he, Arians or both wants to throw 30 yards down field instead of a quick pass. Whose fault is that? Both, but the onus is on the OC for not making an adjustment KNOWING heavy pressure is coming. We have receivers who have shown they can get extra yardage if they get the ball. I’d bet they could collect some of that yardage even on short passes under pressure.
Chances are, though, I’m not one of the 200,000 truck drivers, accountants and school teachers who use the magic of hindsight to think they can call plays better than the people who study this for a living. I just look at results.
It’s just that maybe some of us see things differently than others as do writers and commenters here. Whether we’re correct or not makes for interesting discussions.
Do the saints have a bad line?
I think they’re pretty good, but SF made them look sick. Even with the constant pressure, they managed to put up points and almost won the game. The reason wasn’t a dominant performance by their players, but unpredictable play calling that made San Fran guess if it was a run or pass. They also didn’t leave Breese a sitting duck and called plays to get the ball out quickly.
Our line isn’t good, but there are still ways to put up points when you’re losing individual battles. The key is calling plays designed for the team you HAVE, not for the team you WISH you had.
spot on
And Arians didnt adjust to this. He did it for the Patriots game and it showed, other than that, didnt happen.
I know I'm getting blasted for this...
Bruce shouldn’t have been calling the plays in the first place. Ben should be calling this offense, and I’d be willing to bet next year he will be most of the time. The majority of the drives that they were really effective last season were when Ben was calling the plays. I’m sure the Rooneys and Tomlin were keeping track of that. I know it’s out of style for QBs to run an entire offense these days but…
Curious, how many years did it take Terry to learn enough to call all of his own plays?
Sounds a lot like making excuses to me.
If your OL isn’t making the grade, you need to take care of that via the draft or trades. The trade option, though, was closed off for the Steelers mainly because of their salary cap issues. Then we drafted some higher-round OL guys (e.g. Urbik) who never played for us. Perhaps none of this was BA’s fault but, strictly in terms of the offensive strategy he employed in critical game situations, he needed to go.
If you know that your OL is shaky, then why keep dialing up deep passes that punish your $100 million QB and take you out of scoring territory? BA did this continually and the Steelers’ coaches never insisted that Ben learn to dump the ball to save big losses in field position. When you’re running the ball successfully, why stop your momentum by throwing the ball in the RZ? BA also did this consistently.
You can make all the excuses you like, but the bottom line is: Arians failed at his core duty to develop an unpredictable offense that could keep opposing defenses on their heels. Why is it acceptable for an OC to consistently dial up plays that the opponent knows are coming?
I’ve read the same explanations in the Post-Gazette. Dick Hoak claims that an OC can’t win because, anytime a play backfires, everyone automatically blames the OC. But what about the teams whose offensive strategies consistently seem to click? Look at the Pats’ or Saints’ offenses, where 4 or 5 different receivers are used during a game. Look at the Packers offense that consistently puts 30+ points on the scoreboard. Arians has had comparable or better talent to work with, but hasn’t produced at this level.
Will everything suddenly be great now that BA is gone? Of course not. But at least now we’ll have a chance that the new OC might learn from his errors. Unfortunately, BA has never done that. What’s more, he’s ready to implement the same flawed system in Indy that never worked in Pittsburgh.
If you’re an OC in the NFL, there’s absolutely no excuse for an underperforming offense. If you have personnel issues, then you’d better make sure they’re addressed. This situation reflects equally on Coach Tomlin, of course, but BA was responsible for the offense, so he had to pay the price. Just because a coach has been around for a long time doesn’t mean he’s doing a good job.
Or you might prefer Joe Greene's opinion of the Steelers offense:
“If it doesn’t feel good, you have to change it and, basically, it wasn’t feeling good. It wasn’t feeling good in 2009 and it wasn’t feeling good in 2011.”
“I don’t like the imbalance. We had Terry Bradshaw, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann; we had Jimmy Smith, we had the tight end. We could throw the ball when we had to, and we could run it when we had to. That’s football!”
“It’s not all one way. I think that’s what we didn’t get (i.e. from Arians).”
“You don’t just call the run because you get tired of throwing it or because someone wants you to.”
When a guy like Mean Joe is saying essentially the same things that many fans have been saying, you can’t just blow it off as Monday morning quarterbacking.
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