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Offense not getting passing grade

Joe Rutter
| Friday, August 4, 2006 4:00 a.m.
Ben Roethlisberger had no luck running the two-minute offense Thursday. He had some company. Charlie Batch didn't complete a pass, either, in the drill, as the Steelers' offense went four-and-out in each of their two series. Handed the ball on the 28 with 1:22 to play, one timeout remaining and the Steelers needing a field goal in the fictional drive, Roethlisberger misfired on his first three pass attempts and was "sacked" by linebacker James Harrison on fourth down. Roethlisberger's first pass skipped out of Cedrick Wilson's hands and toward cornerback Bryant McFadden, who also had the ball deflect off his fingers. The next pass, also intended for Wilson, was high. The third-down pass across the middle for Hines Ward also fell incomplete. The offense thought it had sustained the drive on Roethlisberger's fourth-down heave to Santonio Holmes. Pass interference was called against cornerback Ike Taylor, but coach Bill Cowher ruled that Harrison had collapsed the pocket sufficiently to get a sack. Left tackle Marvel Smith can only hope to limit Roethlisberger's sacks in the future. It's his duty to protect his quarterback's blind side. With Roethlisberger suffering head injuries in a June 12 motorcycle accident, Smith's role takes on heightened importance. "I feel like I have to have a greater focus," Smith said. "There's no room for error at all. I've always put a lot of pressure on myself; even this season I feel I'm doing it more because I have a big task ahead of myself." Roethlisberger threw an interception to Harrison and went 2 for 5 in an initial round of 11-on-11 drills. He was 6 for 6 when conducting a 7-on-8 session that called for Roethlisberger to throw mostly short passes. In another round of 11-on-11 drills that preceded the two-minute offense, Roethlisberger went 4 for 4. Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt has been impressed with the way Roethlisberger has done the intangibles in camp. "The way he's handling the huddle, the way he's doing all of those things," Whisenhunt said. "He looks like Ben, which is a good thing." Additional Information:

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