Haley is predictable

I really think I see why Ben is struggling and I'm not giving him a pass for poor play but I noticed something yesterday. Ben had 18 completions, only 5 of those were made without a defender right on top of the receiver, in fact I felt bad for Bryant, he was covered so well except when they put him 1on1 with a rookie CB. That brings me to the point, I don't think that every team we faced has the most awesome pass defense we ever saw, and I don't believe Ben is washed up. I think the opposing teams know the routes that are going to be run, if you go back to the AFCCG the triple coverage of AB has guys lined up and changing position based on the formation. Yes, they are suppose to do that but notice how little they have to move, they are set up like bumpers in a pin ball machine and lined up to the exact route he is running at the time. Yesterday I noticed the same thing, when AB got mad because he was so wide open, it didn't happen until Ben began to move, that is when you saw AB get free on that rub route but Ben was only looking for outlet to his right by that time. The reason he doesn't target him is that there is a safety that has coverage but he takes off when he sees Ben move, had that safety stayed in position he would have had perfect coverage for when AB's defender got tied up in the middle. I think teams know the Steelers routes and play calling tendencies to the point even mediocre CBs are in tight coverage against our WR corps.

 

Are you blaming the coaches for Ben's poor play? How can anyone blame the coaches when Ben threw inaccurately to open WR's, threw to the wrong WR, or focused on getting Brown the ball to prevent him from crying? If a WR had triple coverage than someone else was probably open in single coverage. Tight coverage is pretty prevalent around the league.

Maybe the coaches are limited in the plays they can call because they know Ben's limitations? It's difficult to separate an experienced QB like Ben from the plays the OC dials up in the passing game. The coaches changed their philosophy vs the Ravens because they knew Ben was struggling. The Ravens defense knew Ben was struggling this season. Ben is going to continue to face a lot of heat from defenses until he makes them pay consistently.

 

Ben needs to improve, period. Good thing that Bell came out of his funk yesterday. Ben needs to do the same. I'm not giving a pass to Haley and some of the calls are head scratchers but Ben needs to improve if this team is going to be a real force. The O Line did a great job, not perfect, only allowed 1 sack.

As far as CB's knowing the routes ect. it is because of Brown being targeted to much. Finally Bryant is shaking off the cob webs and JuJu coming into his own. This and Bell tolling again hopefully will be the start of the powerhouse this Offense should be. It's in Ben's hands now...

 

Agree with your post entirely, but especially the bolded part.

 

I really hope Cleveland loses every game and Hue Jackson gets fired. I was a huge fan of Haley but he has gotten stale. I certainly think it’s time for a change. That said we have basically added 2 new pieces and Bell missed the preseason so things could turn around. Like Cam Newton said offense isn’t instant grits it takes time.

 

If we want our offense to step up Brown is going to have to consider getting less targets this season. Not sure if he will be happy with that.

 

If he wants a Superbowl ring to go with all his gaudy stats he'd better learn to accept it.

 

You want a coach to be so bad that he'll come and coach for us???

I guess he did go 0-14 last year, and before that oversaw the decline of the Bengals offense, so there's a chance he'll be looking for work...

 

Wrong when he left is when the Bengals offense went to crap. Most Bengal fans want him back. Remind me what did Lebeau do the as the head coach of Cincy before returning to Pittsburgh? Head Coach and Coordinator are two completely different jobs.

 

Ben is not Ben as promised I would leave Bell alone once he showed me a good game . Bell had a complete game and I am glad to be wrong on that subject . I thought a lot of the bad throws was because of poor running by Bell or not the right style ?

That does not appear to be the case now as Bell had a great game and Ben was still off.

Maybe it is time to use Conner and Watson more because of Ben instead of Bell . With the way the D is playing it might be time to get Ben back to more of a game manager with 20 or so passes ? If we do that then we would have 40 or so runs I don't want Bell with that many touches game in and game out. Keep him around 25 or so and if we get a commanding lead use the other guys more in that regard .

 

I concur.


First half of last season was awesome to watch. Second half onward was not.


As opposed to saying "Road Ben vs. Home Ben", I as well am wondering are we seeing "Old Ben".


Keep in mind though I am only speaking on behalf of the first three games and not the latest one.

 

"When you start thinking about retirement, you've already retired."
--Chuck Noll

 

On the plus side Ben has 7 home games remaining and only 5 on the road.

 

With Bell starting to run better, play action should open up. Yesterday the Steelers tried to stay out of 2nd and 10 and third and long, so they did a lot of running on first and second downs. Where the offense needs to get is 2nd and short. When it is second and short, the whole playbook opens up. Then you can run play action, throw deeper routes, etc.

 

I think Ben is the NFL derivative of the Peterson Principle.

 

I'm starting to think it's more along the lines of the Dilbert Principle.

 

I know you know this: Excellent coordinators can make lousy head coaches (and vise versa sometimes). Hugh could be an outstanding OC but not a good HC. Haley isn't great at either in my opinion.