Is Ben playing scared?

Ben has not been the same quarterback since his near fatal injury against the Chiefs last year. Do you think he could be playing scared? Think about it. A lot has changed in his life the last couple of years. He's gotten married and has a son. His priorities have definitely changed and that's a good thing. To me he seems to be focusing more on the congestion in the pocket instead of keeping his eyes downfield like he once did. He's hurrying throws when he doesn't have to at times, overthrowing receivers or missing them wide or short. He hasn't been as accurate and he's turning it over at an alarming rate. I don't know, he just doesn't seem like the same Ben that we've all grown accustomed to. Of course, who could blame him. His line literally almost got him killed last year and I think in the back of his mind he still thinks about that.

Am I way off base here or has this turnstyle offensive line finally taken its toll psychologically on Ben?

 

With that oline in front of him, I would.

 

honestly, i think he is. look at some of the throws he is making. lob passes down the sideline even when he has some time. last night i thought he done alittle better. the cincy game he looked terrified to me. even when he came back last year. i hate to say it but his best years may be behind him

 

He is throwing off his back foot a lot and the passes sail. I can see why he would be apprehensive about stepping into his throws.

 

I don't know if I'd call it scared but definitely uncomfortable.

 

The defense beats him back to his drop back point.

 

He's never been giving (consistently) a comfortable pocket. Father Time and priorities do change a mans demeanor though. So his reckless meter has no doubt been dialed back in a couple of ways. Kind of weird though, he keeps hanging on to it (the ball and his ability) but the results aren't the same right now. I don't believe he has any faith in his line, and his receivers are now probably hurting his confidence too. All I know, is whatever he's got left is more than any qb could bring into his (Bens) current situation, so let him ride!

 

I would add that I think for the first time in a long while you are seeing him play with guys he is not comfortable with because he hasn't played with them long enough. Remember the old days when they needed a first down and it was third and six or third and eight and he would send Hines in motion and have him go on a quick slant? Hines would get to the open spot, open up his body, Ben would fire it in there and Hines would turn up field for the first down. Same thing with Heath, Ben needs a first down and Heath Miller is in the game he looks for him and knows I throw it Heath will move mountains to catch it. First two games I didn't see that comfort level. Last night with Heath back, I saw less happy feet and more comfort where he stood in there and delivered the throw. They lose Miller again and I think you might see the nervousness back there again.

[video=youtube;HKjilYp6s6k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKjilYp6s6k[/video]

 

Tons of pressure on him right now. This is his chance to step up.

 

Skills are eroding,just too many hits. #7 was never big on technique/fundamentals.What bothers me is his inaccuracy(see fundamentals).Can't read defenses. and most obvious has NO CONFIDENCE in his OL/Todd Haley. #7 has lost his magic, just an ordinary qb not able to make plays at this point in the season.The Rooney's have paid him well over 100 million dollars to make PLAYS.He is playing to get his coach/s fired,LOL.

 

I think it's the Motorcycle Accident.

 

I thought he would step up this passed week. At Home, under the lights. Instead he became a turnover machine. Scared? Maybe. I would be tired of the sieve of a line that is protecting me. Rotating tackles in game? Plus I believe he is not on board with Haley. At all. Sabotage? I don't know. He looks like he is going through the motions. And the defense can't be counted on. Hopefully he can get out of this funk and lead this team to a W. Can't win many games the way Ben is playing.

 

its amazing how much some of you are putting this terrible start on Ben.

yet when they win its very rarely because of Ben to a lot of you.

lets see, on atleast half of their passing plays the defender beats Ben to the spot that Ben is supposed to complete his drop. that makes it a little tough to find any rythm. when both outside rushers beat their man and forces Ben to step up where the 2 inside rushers are usually bull rushing their man, that doesnt leave much of a pocket. when theres a blitz, but his wrs dont read it and arent looking for the hot read, it usually ends up in an int. like it did sunday. when your oline cant give you more than 2 seconds to scan the field and your 2 top wrs are being pushed around at the line, it gives him just about no chance unless he scrambles to extend the play. well than hes accused of holding the ball too long or hes lost his magic.

we have been so spoiled with Ben being able to extend plays, hes had to do that because his oline has pretty much sucked from day 1, that when he cant do it he sucks and has lost his "mojo".

how about this. put a halfway decent oline in front of him and some weapons around him and lets see what he can do. than if he sucks they can get rid of him.

 

Just to clarify, I'm not saying the Steelers should get rid of Ben. He is the best hope we have to get this turned around. My point with this post is to say that I think he may have realized his own mortality last year when the doctor looked at him and said "Ben, another fraction of an inch your aorta would have been punctured and you would have DIED". That gets your attention, especially when you're married and have a child. This so-called line that we've had for the better part of Ben's career is finally getting inside of his head. He's defended them publicly but privately you know he's SICK AND TIRED of scrambling for his life, literally.

 

Look at the emotion that they were playing with in that video. Watch the once of the bomb to brown. I haven't seen that since. They don't the swag right now.

 

ben cannot hold onto the ball.. ben will overthrow the receiver by 5-10 yards if he has to toss it 20 yards + .. he thinks hes still throwing to wallace speed and hes not .. hes not even close on the longer pass plays....
this is the year we draft his eventual replacement if we go in with a top 5 pick... get his replacement .. let them sit 2 or 3 years and BOOm. for sure landry jones sure isnt the answer.. hes terrible

HINES

 

I agree 100%, its all Ben's fault. He should have given the ball to the RBs and let them do their job. Ground and pound, Steeler football. And on the pass plays, he shouldve stood in the pocket and let his OL take care of him while he threw to the WRs.

We have an offensive that is catering to someone else's style of football. Let Ben be Ben and watch what happens. Build him an offense suited to him and watch what happens. I ll take his bad passes and his sacks. I ll take his fumbles. But give him the weapons and the line he needs.

There was a time when there was NO other QB in the league that was more dangerous when down by 6 with 2 mins to go.

Is Ben playing scared? I dont think so. We had the discussion at work about Ben overthrowing against the Bungals. They put in Moye, who is 6'5 and BAM...TOUCHDOWN. Brown made some nice catches against the bears. Heath is back. Bell is hopefully back.

Hold on to your asses if they can get some things fixed with the OL.

Yeah Im not pessimist.

 

Ben is a whole lot tougher than most guys in the league. Scared? No. Uncomfortable? Yes. Line sucks, receivers suck. AB was a great outlet when Wallace was being double teamed. That doesn't happen any more. Heath has only been on the field a few plays. Sanders misses more than he catches. Cotchery's arms are held down by tether straps to the ground. Wheaton forgot how to catch, hasn't figured out how to adjust to the ball. No consistency at RB, defenses are playing for the pass. RB's are not a good outlet. No Hines. No Santonio.


Now, after having made those excuses, I will say, Ben is no Tom Brady. During the regular season, Tom takes subpar players and makes them look good. In the playoffs, now, that's a different story.

 

Yup, how can you put Wheaton down like that? He's not practicing with Ben. Didn't get first team reps in preseason and was only targeted twice so far this year!

 

Not to be the jerk around here but that was enough to condemn Limas Sweed in most fans eyes.

 

Jerk! lol Yes, I still live with my love affair of Sweed. I'm not sure I will ever recover from that. Hey, what is he doing right now, by the way? We might could use him!

 

No, you are mistaken. I think we wanted Sweed to be good. Him dropping a perfect pass against the hated Ravens that was a sure touchdown ticked a lot off. Add the fact that he laid out there like he'd broken his solar plexus almost like Senior Don Gato!

He got his chances and didn't impress in practice, preseason or the regular season. He's also not in the league for a reason.

Wheaton has had nothing but praise, played his ass off in preseason, and we're told we'll see him more, but don't.

 

There has been zero emotion on this team in a long time. When Joey Porter left, we lost 60% of the "ROAR!" and it wasn't just noise. He pumped both sides of the team up. Now with Hines gone... I almost feel it must be very lonely for Troy, Kiesel, Ben, etc. They probably go out to lunch in their own group and stare at the floor and mumble a lot.

lol