Roethlisberger

[dgan]

I missed last week's game, but saw all their previous ones, and I just don't see that. Just my opinion - I know a lot of experts talk about how bad his Oline is as well, so maybe I'm just missing the boat. But I watch Rodgers or Brees or Peyton (when he was playing) and I see them have those same issues. Rodgers is working with two very inexperienced tackles right now and is constantly under diress. And he's a guy with a reputation of holding the ball too long. Even he figures out how to get rid of the ball faster. Ben is good, but until he learns how to better setup protections (QBs are partially responsible for passblocking as well) and throw accurately and ON TIME from the pocket, he's not in that second tier of QBs for me. He's average in my book.

I don't know what point I"m really trying to make other than Ben causes as many problems as he fixes. They really don't "run the offense". I regularly watch him go 12 for 25 through 3 quarters and then go 9 for 10 in the 4th quarter and a game winning drive. And then have to listen to the announcers say how great he is. If he would play better in the first 3 quarters, they wouldn't have needed a game winning drive.

He's got great intangibles and unique skills, and I know you don't want to take that style of play away from him. But as he gets older, those types of skills will weaken and he's going to have to be able to run the offense on time more than he does now. So maybe having some limited mobility will be like a basketball player with a broken right hand that has to spend a couple months doing everything left handed. Maybe it will make him the topflight QB I think he could be?

Although I think he was hobbled after the motorcycle incident wasn't he? He didn't really change because of that.

[McDuff]

No I don't think Ben's O line is average. When healthy (never) they are very good. With all the replacement parts plugged in they are in a state of constant flux.
Which is why I need Ben to join up with the coaches and the rest of the team and work out some plays to get the ball out of his hand quicker. It is refusal (possibly inability) to accept coaching that limits a lot of his development. unless he can settle down and focus on running the team in stead or running around making fun emergency recovery plays he will only go into decline.
I don't want him to lose his 'playmaking ability' I just want him to be able to grow into a QB that can read the defenses, set the protection, and make adjustments BEFORE the snap, know where the defenders are going to be BEFORE he sees where they are running to.
That's what I would like to see happen during this foot injury healing phase.