Ben! You Good, Bro?

"You Good, Bro? – I hope I was just seeing things. Just my mind trying to create something out of nothing. Ben Roethlisberger looked to be throwing the ball differently against the Jaguars. He looked to be dropping down to the side a bit more than usual. It looked to be more of three quarter arm angle and a couple sidearm even when he wasn’t trying to throw around people. When pitchers do that it’s usually due to a sore elbow. Early in the game he had two more deflected passes and two near interceptions. The interception he did throw was Kent Tekulve-like. Hopefully it’s just some expected soreness as part of the recovery process."
https://steelersdepot.com/2020/11/toms-ten-takes-steelers-vs-jaguars/

 

Its a bit of a concern, not a complaint. 32/46 /267. He is slinging it, but to many misses. I would like to see his attempts come down a bit. I'm sure even with his repaired elbow he has altered some throws. If only they can get the run game figured out.

 

Nothing to back this up, but it SEEMS like he's getting less accurate. I was expecting it to get better as the season progressed and he got accustomed to his new slingshot. That doesn't seem to have happened. He's doing well enough with the cumulative contribution of the rest of the team to not hurt us, but at some point we're going to need accuracy to get us over a hump. Hopefully it doesn't cost us when it really counts.

 

I've seen that bum QB in Kansas City throw a few wacky under hand passes so maybe Ben is just getting ready for the AFCCG.

 

True, but he can throw more accurately underhanded than half the qb's in the league can conventionally. Haven't you seen the State Farm commercial with the bean bags??

 

I thought I saw Ben grabbing his elbow several times late in the game yesterday. Had me worried.

 

He has had more passes knocked down this year. And he’s not short.

 

He’s hurting and they are trying to hide it. I hope he can last the season

 

I can't remember a game this season, except maybe the first one, that he didn't grab at it and flex his hand. I've been worried all season.

 

I have said this all season long. The question is not if Big Ben can lead the Steelers to the promised land. The question becomes if Big Ben's Elbow will hold up by that point.


Getting Derek Watt more involved really should be a priority at this point.

 

We need the run game going, and yes it’s Bens elbow I fear most

 

It just really seems like Ben's body is being held together by a band-aid and it's only a matter of time before that band-aid falls off. Hopefully it's not this season.

 

Yet Ben was hinting at taking another Thursday off last week and MT said he was going to practice. Now, if he was hurting or is hurt as some here are alluding to, then a smart coach would limit wear and tear (practice) as much as practicable wouldn't you think? Ben beat up the Bungles with one day (Saturday) of practice so I don't see the elbow as a problem until he is held out more during the week.

 

It's actually 8 bandaids. The left arm is overkill. But we can't be too cautious.

 

Ben made a joke about taking the week off after A) missing practice for a week due to the covid protocols, and B) having his best game, yardage wise, of the season. He did it in front of his coach, with a smile on his face. Hardly hinting that he needed time off.

 

I like the double band aid to keep it in his pants.

 

Apparently, so did Stormy Daniels.

 

His deep ball accuracy is what is concerning to me. The ball to Claypool yesterday was nice...as was the one earlier this season...but on the whole, he has missed a good number of deep throws--more than I can remember from recent years.

 

Could look at the tip/batted balls at the line a direct correlation to ball release time. Ben leads the league with a ridiculous 2.1 sec release time. Stats favor tipped passes at the line with quick throws.

2.1 seconds. This isn't the Ben of old.

Watch Lamar this year, he is holding the ball for long periods. The play has already developed but he is delivering late. I snuck into a few Ravens streams last night and they are ready to fire Wang Harbaugh.

 

Ben has maybe one year left after this season. Every time he gets hit he looks like a 70 year old staggering up after a fall. All the more important they take advantage of this season it might just be the end of the road.

 

I need official confirmation before believing something is seriously wrong with Ben.

I didn't see the game, but judging from the highlights it looks like he was carving the Jags secondary up.

It is perfectly in reason to think Ben's elbow will be sore this year. I bet guys coming off of ACL surgeries the next year feel it for quite a while. It is just the healing process.

 

It's strange how the ground seemingly gets further away and a lot harder as you get older.

I'll officially confirm that something is not right with him. I will neither confirm nor deny that something is seriously wrong. Hope that's enough for you, but it's the best I can do in my professional opinion.

Regarding his accuracy, highlights most usually only show the carving up. And since you likely saw 6-8 of his 46 attempts, you definitely didn't see the real picture.

Lastly, if you listen to him, or have listened over the past 11 weeks, he says he feels better than he has in the past 5+ years. JuJu and the short, slow, berated ex-receiver whose name is not to be mentioned here for risk of ridicule both said he was throwing harder pre-season than he may ever have. None of that means he isn't, or can't be, sore. But if it means anything, it should mean that he should be getting more accustomed to his upgraded appendage. He should know his limitations by now and be throwing the best he is probably ever going to throw again. Unfortunately, that isn't great. It's good enough, but not great. As long as he can maintain this moderate level of accuracy and avoid injury self-imposed or external, he should probably be good enough physically to get us where we want to go. But that's a big "should probably."

 

This puts even more emphasis on Futchner to get a run game going. So Ben doesn't "have to" throw 50 times per game.

 

To me, Ben just doesn't seem on the same page yet with all the "practically brand-new" receivers he has.

Claypool, Ebron, even DJ since Ben missed last year. And also Washington to some degree, since he is so young.

He also probably doesn't feel comfortable with the musical chairs at O-Line this season, but Ben has been doing well enough to win.

I'm more concerned with Ben choosing to force it deep to Claypool so often. Until that is more of a sure thing he is just wasting downs. I'd feel better if we had a guy like Heath Miller on the team for possession downs. Vance has let me down in that regard.

Run game needs to be more of a factor. I heard some good things happened in the Jags game, like Ben taking snaps from under center and even using play-action. Connor and Snell are straight line runners. Hopefully Dotson coming back helps the run game improve as well.