‘Those Days Are Behind Him’: Tomlin Backs Aging Ben Roethlisberger
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin continues to back veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger despite three consecutive defeats.
An inconsistent passing game has been a feature of the Steelers’ play so far this season. After the fallout of last years’ playoffs, it was unclear whether Ben Rothelisberger would stay in Pittsburgh.
Now Ben Roethlisberger is playing behind a young offensive line that isn’t yet in sync. Questions are bound to be asked about whether he’s the right guy to help them gel.
“Absolutely,” Tomlin said. “What he does and what he’s done makes me really comfortable in saying that.”
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If the problem truly is just growing pains, the Steelers need to resolve them before the season slips away.
“It’s him some, it’s us collectively some,” Tomlin said. “We’ve just got to keep working. Sometimes it can be attributed to the altering of plans late in the week because of player availability or guys not being available.
“We’ve had some big-play opportunities, we [haven’t] cashed in on them. We need to cash in on them. They’re a big component of moving the ball and scoring, particularly when you’re not working as efficiently as you like on possession downs, which we aren’t. … We’re also going to work to connect on a higher percentages of these chunk opportunities because that aids us in terms of ringing up the scoreboard, as well.”
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Tomlin believes Roethlisberger is still the right guy for now. However, not even he can pretend that he’ll remain the right guy for much longer.
“There’s probably a component of just being in your late 30s and playing this game and playing that position and particularly when you’re not playing winning football and you get somewhat one dimensional, there’s collateral damage that gets associated with that for him and for us.”
“Everything except mobility,” Tomlin said. “I don’t have an answer for that, or lack thereof. Ben used to be able to run really good when he was young. Those days are behind him.
“Other than that, I don’t see much that’s not a discussion in terms of technical alterations or quality of play that can be improved.”
