Let's take a look at several of the well designed plays and good reads made by Ben Roethlisberger during the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens Week 14 match up in Maryland.
Play #1
This play is going to Heath Miller in the seam. Mr. Ray Ray is getting a little too aggressive with all his pre-snap maneuvering. The result will be him being just slightly out of position later in the play.
Willie Colon may have had a hard time holding back the Ravens pass rusher had Bruce Arians and Ben Roethlisberger not worked on getting rid of the ball so quickly. But there was definitely time for a quick 2-3 step drop. Notice how Ben starts the play at about the 38 yard line from the shot-gun? Notice how his back foot is planted on the 41 yard line on this throw? It's simply too hard for a defense to get to a QB that quickly. The result?
Ray Ray is a step late getting back over to Heath and he's free for a big gain into the Baltimore red zone. A well designed play by Bruce Arians and a great job by both the offensive line giving Ben the necessary two seconds he needed, and by Ben himself getting rid of the ball while he still had Heath open in front of Lewis.
Let's take a look at a few more after the jump...
Play #2
Notice the time on the clock - 7:41 right before the ball is snapped.
Just one second later, the ball's out of Ben's hands to Holmes.
And then just two seconds later Holmes is breaking up field with the ball. Now of course, Santonio was a little too fast coming out of his break on this play, fumbling away the ball deep inside the Steelers own territory.
Nevertheless, this was solid execution on all fronts and the type of play that embodied the transformation our offense has undergone since the Philadelphia debacle in Week 3.
Play #3
Look how quickly now Ben gets rid of the ball...
Three step drop..survey..unload. Big gain to Washington and the Steelers are in business.
These plays just give a little glimpse into how Ben Roethlibserger is more than capable of avoiding the trouble that comes along with holding the ball too long. Bruce Arians had to re-work much of his offensive philosophy to get his players comfortable with a quicker hitting passing attack, but in the Baltimore game in Week 14, we got a good taste of how it can be successful, even against good teams. With the offensive line playing at a higher level since the last time these two teams met, the Steelers prospects on offense may very well be much higher than people realize.