The Pittsburgh Steelers are not ready to panic just yet, although they’re 1-2 to start to the season. Despite their slow start to the season, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is far from tanking or giving up on the season. The Steelers offense has been stagnant throughout the season with a very below-average offensive line. Not to mention, Ben Roethlisberger seems to be a shell of himself and is aging fairly quickly. Unlike Tom Brady, he has suffered several big injuries throughout his long and successful career and it may be taking a toll on his body.
“We’re not going to push the panic button,” Tomlin told reporters Tuesday “We’re not hitting the panic button. We won’t drastically alter our approach at this point.”
“While we are open to change for improvement, we won’t lose sight of our established identity and the emphasis on our style of play in all aspects of the game,” Tomlin added.
Steelers Must Find Their Identity
The Steelers have yet to find their identity to this point that remains a mystery. They ranked dead last in the NFL with just 159 rushing yards and to make matters worst Big Ben recorded a quarterback rating of 36, which ranks 28th out of 32 starting quarterbacks.
The week two loss to the Las Vegas Raiders made Roethlisberger point to himself as the key to helping find the Steelers’ identity. He took accountability and put pressure on himself to help mold and lead this unit.
“The best way to figure out an identity is for the quarterback to play better,” Roethlisberger said . “So that’s what I need to do. I’ll focus on preparing myself, improving my decision-making, throwing, and doing my best to put our team in a position to win.
Big Ben threw two interceptions in Sunday’s loss to the Bengals. He was sacked four times and took eight total hits on the day. The offense only averaged 4.8 yards per attempt which means they played conservatively. Tomlin made it clear when asked was there any thought of changing up quarterbacks to gain a spark offensively.
“No,” Tomlin emphasized. “There was not!”
“This guy has a body of work over the course of not only what we’ve done in preparation this season, but over the course of 18 years that has us taking that approach,” Tomlin said. This is a worldwide strategy. It gives him the rest he deserves. Being older, the toll of plays affects him differently from younger players. Additionally, his experience and the extensive number of plays he has under his belt probably necessitate more physical preparation to be game-ready.
