Steelers News: Ben Roethlisberger has no problem being the underdog entering 2020

It has been a one-of-a-kind offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2020. With the scheduled start of training camp now behind us, it looks like we’ll have to wait until opening weekend to see the Steelers take the field. Just because the NFL has cancelled the preseason doesn’t mean we stop providing you with features, commentary and opinions to tide you over throughout the offseason!

Today in the black-and-gold links article we take a look at how Ben Roethlisberger has absolutely no problem being considered an underdog in 2020.

Let’s get to the news:

• Ben Roethlisberger the underdog? It is rare, but Roethlisberger is embracing the role entering the 2020 regular season.

Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger relishes rare chance to be underdog

By: Brooke Pryor, ESPN

Ben Roethlisberger grinned and laughed as the reporter listed off elements of the Pittsburgh Steelers that should put them in contention for a title this season.

An elite defense. A veteran, All-Pro line. Playmakers all over the place. A franchise quarterback.

And yet, as the reporter noted, the Steelers are still considered long shots to win not only the Super Bowl, but their division, too.

Being an underdog isn’t something Roethlisberger has experienced often in his career, but it’s a role he’s looking forward to playing as he returns from season-ending elbow surgery that reattached three flexor tendons in his elbow nearly a year ago.

“[As] you were naming things, I was just going to say we just need a quarterback now, but you know, I think it’s fun,” Roethlisberger said with a chuckle. “I know a lot of guys like being on top and being hunted. Sometimes it’s fun to be the underdog and to be overlooked.”

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• Is Matt Canada the next selfless assistant to help improve the Steelers?

Labriola on ‘Matt Canada gets it’

By: Bob Labriola, Steelers.com

Ready or not, here it comes:

• Matt Canada gets it.

• When Mike Tomlin added Canada to his staff of assistants on Jan. 15, the obvious significance of the move was that the Steelers now had a dedicated quarterback coach for the first time since Randy Fichtner had the offensive coordinator position added to his duties in 2018.

• This was an important hiring for that reason alone, because Mason Rudolph, Devlin Hodges, and Paxton Lynch all could benefit from some individual attention as they continue to work on their craft. Quarterback is the most important position on a football team, and it never made any sense for those players to be the only position group on the team without its own coach.

• But just below the surface of this hiring was the belief that it was done with something more in mind, and the suspicion was rooted in the move Tomlin had made the previous year.

• On Jan. 11, 2018, Tomlin hired Teryl Austin, whose resume included stints in the NFL as both a secondary coach and a defensive coordinator, and with the Steelers his title became Senior Defensive Assistant/Secondary. Translating that job description into reality, Austin joined Tom Bradley in working with the defensive backs and he also brought his coordinator experience to the weekly defensive game-planning sessions.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• Mike Tomlin talked a lot on Thursday, and it is time for a recap of what was said.

‘Tomlin’s Takes’ on normal procedures, Ben and more

By: Teresa Varley, Steelers.com

Internal clock is off: If we were living in normal times right now, times not impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Steelers would be preparing to take on the Dallas Cowboys in the Pro Football Hall of Fame game tonight in Canton, Ohio in their first preseason game.

But, as we all know, these aren’t normal times in our country, or in sports. So instead of getting ready for a game, Coach Mike Tomlin and his staff are in the initial stages of working with players during training camp, an acclimation period that is for conditioning and on-field walkthroughs only.

While it’s not where they want to be, it’s a far cry from where they were in the offseason, when all of the contact with the players was virtual.

“We are excited about getting the opportunity to instruct these guys in a physical way, in a classroom setting, different than the spring,” said Tomlin. “We get the opportunity to show learning on our feet in a walkthrough setting. Also, we are getting an opportunity to display or improve conditioning. We have gotten a good sense of where the group is. Largely the veteran players are a highly conditioned group. They answered the challenge we presented to them in the offseason when we worked with them remotely, and that was for them to come in very good condition. That was the only thing they could control. We acknowledged that was the Jello that we couldn’t get back in the box if you will, if they showed up out of shape. It takes 12 weeks to have any metabolic changes. That created the anxiety of working remotely in the offseason.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

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