The Steelers wrapped up their true training camp portion of the preseason Thursday afternoon at Heinz Field. From here, their practices for the remainder of the preseason will be at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
They began this camp still learning first-year coordinator Matt Canada's offense's new verbiage and scheme, something that they had laid the foundation for in the spring.
Now, it's not quite second nature as the previous offense, which had been run in some form or fashion for more than a decade with some tweaks and adjustments, but there is a comfort level.
Ben Roethlisberger and company will get their first opportunity to show what it might look like Saturday when they host the Lions in a preseason game at Heinz Field.
Why is that important?
"Because we’ve got a new system," Roethlisberger said. "It’s a new coach-to-player communication in terms of a new guy. The offense is different. (Canada is) up in the box as compared to the field. So there’s a lot of newness. I think it’s prudent to get as much time in as I can under those circumstances."
Mike Tomlin agrees.
"If he was in the same system of offense that he’d been in, he probably wouldn’t play," Tomlin said. "We’ve taken that approach in the past. But we think it’s good for him to get in the stadium and communicate with Matt and do some of the things that the quarterback has to do from a dry-run perspective before we step into a regular-season stadium."
Roethlisberger and a number of other starters have been held out of the Steelers' first two preseason games, but they'll be full speed ahead in this one, likely playing at least the first quarter.
Roethlisberger actually wanted his first action to come last week in Philadelphia to better help prepare him for what he'll face when the regular season opens Sept. 12 in Buffalo.
"I tried to play last week because it was on the road and that would have been our first opportunity to go on the road with circumstances like crowd noise and things like that before we go into a very hostile environment in Week 1," Roethlisberger said. "I couldn’t talk (Tomlin) into it."
That's likely because the Steelers still weren't completely healthy on the offensive line, and the coaching staff didn't want to put its starting quarterback on the field without that unit intact.
But the starting line of Chuks Okorafor and Zach Banner at offensive tackle, Kevin Dotson and Trai Turner at guard and rookie Kendrick Green at center have worked together as a group this week and will be in front of Roethlisberger Saturday.
"I’m excited for them. There’s a lot of continuity that they need to develop together," Roethlisberger said. "It’s not so much how do I feel about them? To be successful, they need to feel comfortable with each other. It will be good for them to get on the field together and work together and kind of see how this group will move forward."
One thing he's not concerned about is how he and Green will work together. They've spent a lot of time together in this camp working not only on the center-quarterback exchange, but how they'll handle things in stadium, as well.
"Very comfortable," Roethlisberger said when asked about his level of confidence in the rookie, who is tasked with replacing longtime center Maurkice Pouncey. "He’s doing very well. We’ve started working on silent counts. We are both working together every day to try and get as comfortable as we can. But I’m very confident and comfortable with the way that he has progressed."
He's also become more comfortable with Canada's offense, which will have him under center more often than he was in 2020 -- the Steelers were in the shotgun 83 percent of the time, third-most in the NFL behind the Ravens and Cardinals. The difference is that Roethlisberger is not nearly as mobile as Baltimore's Lamar Jackson or Arizona's Kyler Murray, two of the top running quarterbacks in the NFL.
That, however, doesn't mean he won't be on the move. Canada's offense calls for a lot of rollouts and misdirection.
"That’s what our offense is," Roethlisberger said. "We’re play-action, we’re under center, we’re running the ball. If that’s what it’s called to do, that’s what I do."
But does that mean Roethlisberger can do it?
His performance in this training camp would suggest that he's certainly capable of throwing on the move even if he doesn't have the mobility he did earlier in his career. In fact, Roethlisberger is one of the best off-the-script quarterbacks in NFL history. He made a name for himself in the NFL throwing the ball on the move.
And his arm strength, which was questioned coming into this camp, is completely back after his 2019 surgery to repair three torn ligaments in his right elbow. He admittedly wore down toward the end of last season in his first year back from the surgery.
"Yeah, I feel great," Roethlisberger said. "My arm feels really fresh. It feels good. It feels back to normal."
So, the only remaining question for him might be his overall mastery of the offense.
"I’ve spent a lot of time at home going over it, reading it, watching film," he said. "I was telling my wife the other night, maybe it’s even better because it almost refocuses you in a way. If this was still the same stuff, I’d go home and watch the film and move on. Last night, I watched the film and went back over everything again to refresh my mind. I think because it’s different I want to make sure I’m not the reason we struggle."