Ben Roethlisberger was basically handed the reins to the Steelers' offense when the team decided to go with Randy Fichtner as the offensive coordinator over Todd Haley. And now, maybe more than ever, it's up to Roethlisberger to make sure he doesn't go astray.
Not even for a few games.
Though the Steelers started the 2017 season 6-2 on their way to a 13-3 finish, Roethlisberger was not at his best in that early stretch, throwing just 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He turned it around for the second half with 18 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Many people talked about his mechanics, but the biggest concern I had was his decision-making and how he wasn't manipulating or adjusting to different defenses.
Roethlisberger only had three games with multiple touchdowns in that first half, then did so in every game of the second half. There was also a difference in how he handled the biggest moments.
Take the biggest play of the opener in Cleveland, when the Steelers needed to close out the game after the Browns had gotten the lead down to a field goal. On second-and-12, Roethlisberger dropped back and looked for his best playmaker, Antonio Brown, and watch how long he holds the ball, staring down Brown before throwing a jump ball to AB amid three defenders:
While depending on Brown usually has great benefits, finding ways to get the ball to him without making it so obvious is vital to maintaining that success. When teams know that you lock onto a target and don't let go in key situations, they will do everything to take that player away and force you to find something else.
Bill Belichick and the Patriots know a little something about that, as they blanketed Brown for almost an entire playoff game two years ago.
The Bears realized this, too, last season when on third down late in the game the Steelers needed to score. Watch how Brown, highlighted in red, is bracketed in coverage underneath and overtop while Martavis Bryant, highlighted in red, is wide open at the first down marker.
Roethlisberger opts for Brown, and Kyle Fuller makes a good play to swat the ball away and force a punt. This was because the Bears, like other teams, saw that Roethlisberger over-relied on Brown in clutch moments:
Feeding the ball to Brown is important, but forcing opponents to honor other threats is just as necessary. When Roethlisberger disregards opposing defensive schemes in favor of just targeting Brown, he misses easier opportunities naturally presented by said schemes.
Remember Brown's big catch-and-run touchdown off a tipped pass against the Chiefs? That play came as a result of the Chiefs playing a press-man Cover 1 scheme, where a single high safety patrolled behind the line as their only defense should a pressing cover man get beat deep.
While the play ended up working out for the Steelers, Roethlisberger almost threw the game away with a bad pass that should've been intercepted. Watch how the safety at the top of the defense locked onto Brown at the start of the play.
Roethlisberger never even tries to identify the safety's assignment and underthrows into a tight window while Bryant and JuJu Smith-Schuster were left alone in single coverage. Roethlisberger passed on a great chance to manipulate the safety with his eyes:
If the safety was in a pure Cover 1 defense, he most likely would have to hold off from committing to Brown if Roethlisberger isn't staring him down. But if he's truly assigned to assist against Brown regardless of anything else, that leaves the deep field wide open for every other receiving option.
Roethlisberger didn't always stare down Brown early in the season, but it was a trend that got him into a lot of trouble, as his 10-9 touchdown to interception ratio would indicate.
But he started to flip the switch in the second half of the season. The Steelers were down multiple scores and ended up coming back to win 20-17 against a lackluster Colts team when Roethlisberger picked at weak spots in the Colts' defense as a great quarterback should.
Watch this play-action touchdown pass to Smith-Schuster on a simple slant pattern. The play action clears the middle of the field as the Colts' defense runs up to the line to stop Bell, while the Colts have a double team placed on Brown on the other side of the field (as you can see with the yellow highlight at the end of the play).
As Roethlisberger started utilizing all his weapons more consistently, the Steelers' offense was in full throttle. When defenses can't lock in on a single threat, that's when the quarterback can manipulate them into exposing weak spots for his best players.
Take the Steelers' game against the Titans when they faced All-Pro safety Kevin Byard, who led the NFL in interceptions. Just like how the Chiefs did in the play we showed earlier, the Titans gave a single-high safety look in the effect of a Cover 1 defense. While Roethlisberger wanted to go to Brown here, he looked off Byard to give Brown a better chance.
Watch where Roethlisberger's head went in the middle of the play, and how Byard reacted to it. He didn't have to completely sell out, as just a simple few missteps were all it took to get him out of position. Once Byard's momentum took him out of position, Roethlisberger launched a deep ball for Brown and the Steelers were on the board with a touchdown:
The Steelers' decision to make Roethlisberger's quarterback coach, Fichtner, the new offensive coordinator means they are putting the offense in Ben's hands. He will have the control to be able to know where he wants to attack and put it all together for the Steelers' offense to take advantage of the defenses they face.
If the Steelers can get a full season of that Roethlisberger, it could mean a different kind of year for a team that ultimately lost one game in the regular season where the defense allowed more than 20 points in regulation.
While the Steelers may have seen NFL Network's Top 100 rank Roethlisberger at No. 18, Bell at No.5 and Brown at No. 2, an even bigger ranking would be seeing the offense rank at No. 1 in scoring with all that talent. It would be the first time the franchise has had that happen since the 1979 Super Bowl season.