Ron Cook weighs in on Arians' departure.

Obviously he doesnt like the move and I guess he makes a few valid points. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12020/1204705-87-0.stm

 

A few comments about the article:

-Ron Cook is an ostrich with his head in the sand if he thinks Bruce Arians should have been retained as the OC. Our offense had no identity, was woefully inept in the red zone, weak on third down efficiency, scoring, etc. BA some great weapons to utilize and he failed to use them effectively.

-I think Rooney is telling Ben that he doesn't have as much influence as he may think he has. He's not concerned about what Ben thinks in this situation and he is doing what he feels is best for HIS team.

-BA has already been insubordinate to Rooney which is grounds for dismissal. Rooney gave him a directive to get back to running the football which BA essentially ignored with Tomlin allowing him to do it.

-Ben Roethlisberger is the SANDLOT KING of the NFL. Maybe a new offensive coordinator will get him to the elite status that has seemed to elude him during his 5 years with Arians.

-FINALLY, THANK GOD THAT ROONEY HAD THE GUTS TO MAKE THE CHANGE THAT HAS NEEDED TO BE MADE FOR THE LAST 3 YEARS! IT'S OBVIOUS THAT TOMLIN WASN'T GOING TO DO IT. HAT'S OFF TO ROONEY!!!

 

Well said Jack.

 

Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, Jerricho Cotchery, Hines Ward
Heath Miller, Weslye Saunders
Rashard Mendenhall, Isaac Redman, Jonathan Dwyer, Mewelde Moore
Ben Roethlisberger

21st in scoring? That is top-three talent.

Oh, but our QB threw for 4,000 yards. So our OC must be good.

 

I wouldn't even say I guess he makes a few valid points. Here are the points I got out of it, and I'm not putting it in my own words. My words will be in parentheses and italics, and I'll be fair about the rest.

-BA makes Ben happy, and keeping the QB happy is very important (to a degree, perhaps, but let's not let it ruin the offense)
-Firing BA emasculates Tomlin (wtf? who cares?) and it might not be right to do that to your coach (let's put winning ahead of feelings, maybe?)
-It was BA calling the plays on that game-winning SB 43 drive (DID THIS GUY SEE THE GAME?????!!!!!)
-In the words of Charlie Batch, "He broke down the playbook exactly the way Ben likes. This is Ben's offense." (see above)
-In the words of Ben, "He doesn't have an ego, and lets me do what I want. He's a players' coach." (see above. Also, wasn't Wayne Fontes a players' coach?)
-Any type of change will disrupt consistency (very "stay the course/mixed messages/it doesn't matter if this war is BS, it already started so we can't stop now")

I didn't see a single legitimate reason in that article to suggest a firing is a bad idea. Yes, we just went to the Super Bowl and won one with him, but we also did that with the likes of starters named Justin Hartwig, Darnell Stapleton, Larry Foote, etc. Not every person on a championship team is part of the reason you're champions. Some guys are along for the ride. Arians rode some guys named Roethlisberger, Holmes, Harrison, Polamalu, and LeBeau.

 

I don't read anything by Ron Kook anymore. He's closing in to Chris Chase territory.

 

I've only read like 3 articles by the guy ever, but he comes off as an idiot in all of them.

 

Im really sorry that I know who Chris Chase is :kapow:[/quote:3shikx27]


Same here man. Can't believe I tarnished this board with his name.

 

"He brings consistency," Batch said. "You don't want to change that right now when Ben is actually entering into the prime of his career. I don't see why you would want to change."

Really.

Why would you want to change?

The above is from the PG article. From my logic, this is exactly why a change is needed. The team was a below mediocre offense, why would you want to be consistent with that? Is Ben enering the prime of his career? Absolutely. Has he stoped developing as a QB entering his prime should? Absolutely. A good quarterback is a terrible thing to waste.


"He's been able to break down the playbook to exactly what Ben likes," Steelers backup quarterback Charlie Batch said of Arians. "This offense is Ben's offense ...

Funny, I thought it should be the OC's offense. Not a QB who boasts he doesn't like to study. Dumb and dumber?

 

I keep saying guys. BA took us to two superbowls. If he ran maybe 10 more times each game. AND every once in a while to the left. It would have been smoother but I am glad he coached here.

 

Are you sure about that?

 

This article is a crock of trash. Ron Cook has no clue. What has he been watching for the last five years. Because of the way he is talking in this article, they shouldn't let him right another article about the Steelers. Yes Mr. Rooney forced him out. Arians didn't take heed to Art II's request in 2010 when he told him to work on running the ball better. Instead, this year, Arians went right back to his BA BALL ways, throwing the ball all over the yard. The 49ers game this year, they through the ball 40 times with Ben hobbling around the field and lost. That was the game that would have won the division for the Steelers. Arians game plan was terrible. How could Tomllin let Arians and Ben show up with a game plan like that. Batch should have played that game. I should have written that article about Arians. I would have stated the facts about Arians anemic offense.

Thank God, thank God, "THE BUBBLE SCREEN IS GONE", BYE BYE BRUCIE!!!

 

You write this as if it was a foregone conclusion that Pittsburgh could just waltz into San Francisco and come away with an easy win. The 49ers are for real. Thats a real good football team that is still playing and real good shot at playing in the Super Bowl. And the game was on the road no less. That game was no lay-up and I laugh at the people who get angry about that game. They're out of touch. That shouldn't have been a surprising loss, nor was it a bad loss.

Which also brings me to the point of BAs game plan for that game. Everyone always says that BA doesn't game plan for his opponents, but you are upset that they threw the ball 40 times that game. Guess whats the weakness of the 49ers defense? Their passing D (ranked 16th). Their running game is ranked #1. If you are going to be successful against them, you've got to throw it. What do you think the anti-BA crowds reaction would have been if Pittsburgh wouldve run the ball 40 times that game for 80 yards, had 7 3 and outs, left the D on the field for an eternity, and been blown out 28-0?

As far as Ben playing, lay that one on Tomlin if you want to blame someone. He is the HC after all. Personally I don't fault Tomlin for letting him play THAT game. They had the chance at the top seed and the NEEDED to be able to throw the ball. You have to go with Ben in that situation...if he's healthy enough.

 

Did you watch that game? Our running was extremely effective the liitle that it was used. The running was eating thm up. The dumb throws with a 40% qb leading to turnovers lost that game. That game was very winnable, if the game. Plan is not so stupid.

 

Finally got the chance to read the article and after having read it I am even more positive than I was before about needing a change. A "players coach" ,so Arians was a players coach and Tomlin has been described as a players coach seems to me this is proably one of the key reasons why we underperform every year.This is why the offense had no identity and consistency it seems to me that the players had too much say and too much freedom within the offense.I'm sure you guys remember what Holmes said about how we practice. I've always been taught ,you play how you practice and it's becoming more and more clear that they don't practice being efficient and consistent. It's a minor case of the insane running the asylum. Now more than ever I feel we need a OC who is also known for his work as a successful QB coach. This team is in desperate need of focus and discipline on offense.They need to spend more time on the plays they deem are going to be effective and practice them until they become second nature. Stop wasting time on practicing what to do when plays break-down and design and practice plays that actually have a chance to work. To Charlie Batch "you seem like a real good guy but ,STFU."

 

17 rushes for 63 yards and a 3.7 ypc average effective?

You've got low expectations of the running game if you thinks that's "very effective."

And how much of that "very effective" is due to the fact that they had to respect Roethlisberger? You put Batch in there and they likely key on the run and that "very effective" 3.7 is probably south of 3.

 

"extremely effective" sorry. Hard to use quote function on iPhone when quotes become foo long

 

One more example of Ron Cook's foolishness was on his radio show. We all hate the bubble screen, but he goes on to tell us how dumb we are as callers because the bubble screen averaged 6 yards per try, and it's just like a run. The reality is of twelve times this play was run, twice it made good yardage. 10 times it went for a yard or less. In my book, any play which fails 83% of the time is a bad play. In Ron Cooks eyes it is a great play. That about sums up Ron Cooks knowledge of football. Or maybe mine?