While a number of teams around the league are trending in the direction of not playing their starters at all in the preseason, the Steelers see some value in getting their first-team units some action in the exhibition games.
Ben Roethlisberger, who enters Week 3 of the preseason as one of 12 starting quarterbacks who hasn't seen any action yet, will get his chance to knock off some rust Sunday night when the Steelers travel to Nashville to face the Titans.
Despite entering his 16th season in the NFL, Roethlisberger, 37, sees some value in playing in the preseason -- at least a little.
"It’s been fun. This week in practice I felt a little different,” Roethlisberger said. “Maybe it’s in part being back (at the Rooney Sports Complex), in part knowing I am going to get to play a little bit. I have had a little juice bolt, whatever you want to call it, to get you going. This week has been exciting so far knowing you are going to get some reps, get out there with the guys and have some fun. I definitely feel what they are feeling.”
Roethlisberger might not be enough for some fans, who feel the starters should be out there every game, but NFL coaches are beginning to realize that getting some snaps in games that don't count in the standings doesn't outweigh the possibility of having a key starter hurt.
The Rams, for example, didn't play any starters in the preseason a year ago and won't again this year. They represented the NFC in the Super Bowl last season.
But the Steelers have played the majority of their starters -- if healthy -- at some point in this preseason. Roethlisberger, to this point, has been the lone exception.
The Steelers still believe there is some value to playing.
"You get to a certain age, there are only certain things you’re going to see differently," offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said. "You need the speed, you need the flow. But we can get a lot of that out here. That bonus day we had Monday, it was the first group, it was JuJu (Smith-Schuster), it was all the guys. They were all out there. You’re trying to make it as much game-like as you can. It’s not a game but they’ve been putting the work in. It’s just a matter of doing it in the stadium now and making everyone feel good now."
Roethlisberger sees it that way, as well. Practice is one thing. But stepping into a stadium and playing can't be replicated on the practice field.
And he doesn't want to have to get up to speed in Week 1. The Steelers open the regular season Sept. 8 at New England.
“There is some value because every game in the NFL counts,” Roethlisberger said. “In all of the other major sports you can get away with losing some games, you can kind of warm up to it because they are so long. With our season, you can’t really afford to do that. If you get out there and get the actual game speed and stuff, it’s definitely beneficial. I do think it’s a fine line you walk of not doing too much for risk of injuries and everything that comes with that. That’s the fine line a coach walks. Even if you play a little bit. Say you play all four games a little bit and you don’t play sharp in the opener, there is always going to be something. You just have to hope if you don’t play sharp in the opener you play well enough to win.”
The last few years, Roethlisberger has only played in the third preseason game. Last year, he started the third preseason game and went 11 of 18 for 114 yards and a touchdown in less than a half of playing time.
Other times, he's played even less than that. Fichtner said it's all about the feel of the game and how well the first-team unit is executing.
"I don’t know that there’s a number you say you want them to play," Fichtner said. "A number of years back, we went down to Jacksonville and we went on like a nine-play drive and went down and scored and got them out. It was good. Everything moved, we were in and out of personnel groups. It’s all about just getting into that flow and you’re doing it in front of people as opposed to training camp."
The Steelers have had an open battle for the No. 2 job behind Roethlisberger between Josh Dobbs and Mason Rudolph. Preseason and training camp have provided opportunities for both to get enough snaps for the coaching staff to make an informed decision about who it wants behind Roethlisberger.
But Roethlisberger also has participated in more practices, as well.
"He’s taken a lot of reps in training camp, he really has," Fichtner said. "He’s been full one, almost three quarters in another and gets the third day off. That’s maybe even a little more than he had last year. I really like where he’s at right now."
So does Roethlisberger. But he'd also like to play as much as possible in this game to get more accustomed to working with a revamped receivers group.
It's one of the reasons why he increased his practice time this year. Gone are Antonio Brown, Darrius Heyward-Bey and Justin Hunter. Veteran Donte Moncrief was signed in free agency, while the team selected Diontae Johnson in the third round of the draft and Roethlisberger didn't get a lot of work with second-year receiver James Washington in 2018.
“I am going to try and get on the field as many of them as possible,” Roethlisberger said. “I think we are going to try and rotate receivers in. I think everyone will get a little bit of time. We want to be able to play that way this year. We don’t want to just have guys be on the field and wear themselves out. I am emphasizing that when we do our two minute, no huddle. If you need a quick breather, just take one. We have guys who can step up, step in and be ready to go.”
