First, an interesting and typically cryptic Ben Roethlisberger quote.
This was Wednesday at training camp, after dinner, as Roethlisberger and his wife waited for a golf cart to take them across campus. Not a good time for an interview, obviously, but he graciously agreed to answer a quick question.
The obvious topic, given that the Steelers were days away from Sunday's exhibition game against the Indianapolis Colts, was Bruce Arians.
“It'll be different to see him across the field, but it'll be great,” Roethlisberger said. “I've talked to him a couple of times, and I'm just happy for him because I can tell in his voice how happy he is. That means the world to me that he's happy and excited and has no reins on him. He can just kind of sling it around and have fun.”
Wait, if Arians is excited to have “no reins” in Indy, he must have felt reined in … and there goes Ben on the golf cart.
Look, it's no secret that Ben was Bruce's biggest fan. On some days his only fan. It's also undeniable that Arians, for whatever flaws he had — and he was hardly Bruce Almighty — did some commendable work here as offensive coordinator.
Constantly dealing with moving parts along the line, Arians worked his way to a couple of Super Bowls. The Steelers finished one of them with a legendary drive, the other with a not-so-legendary drive.
How will you remember the man?
Let me rephrase that: How will you remember Arians without throwing something at your television when the camera pans to him?
A random sampling of players revealed most would seek out Arians for a kind word. Head coach Mike Tomlin plans to do the same.
Some players had issues with Arians, as employees will with any boss. But he was generally liked and respected.
And be sure of this: Skill players got rich under him. The Steelers didn't score enough, but they racked up the kinds of yardage totals that get people paid.
“He got us open,” said Antonio Brown, recent recipient of a $42.5 million contract.
Mike Wallace, I'm guessing, is next.
Before we get to the coordinator-comparison part of the survey, I must tell you of an item sure to warm your hearts: The most-hated play in recent franchise history is still alive.
You know it as the bubble screen.
New offensive coordinator Todd Haley will use a version of it. Left tackle Max Starks confirmed as much in our lengthy talk last week. Starks also confirmed an inconvenient truth: The bubble screen often works, though it's best used in small doses.
Unfortunately, Arians and Roethlisberger — who often checked into the play to keep defenses honest — sometimes overdosed.
“It got a little predictable,” Starks said.
Linemen always want to run more, and if they had a complaint about Arians, it was that he didn't call enough runs.
“I still think we had some good-concept run plays,” Starks said. “It's just that I don't think they were called enough.”
To a man, players said they prefer the simplicity of Haley's playbook, though Starks said the running plays are exactly the same, just with different names. He also said there is less room for “interpretation and adjustments” in Haley's book.
Running back Isaac Redman agreed.
“The playbook's a lot smaller,” Redman said. “Instead of having a bunch of stuff we don't even run, we have a set number of plays, and if we run them well, we'll be hard to stop.”
That remains to be seen, of course. In the meantime, know that Haley is no dummy. One of the themes of camp was physicality in the run game, but this is not going to be a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-Isaac offense.
In fact, Starks says the overriding theme in Latrobe was just what everybody thought it would be: Haley and Roethlisberger, only not in the way people imagined.
“The biggest thing Coach Haley wants to instill is that this is still (Roethlisberger's) offense, that he still has freedom,” Starks said. “Which, from what I've seen, is why we have so much no-huddle because it gives Ben that on-the-field general type of attitude, and you know, Ben works really well with that. It allows him to judge what he thinks is best, not necessarily calling a play every single time that comes in from their headset.
“That's giving him just due as being a veteran quarterback, an elite quarterback who knows defenses and knows how to run the offense.”
Score one for Haley there. I like his odds to succeed, but I also believe what many do not: He has a tough act to follow.
Joe Starkey co-hosts a show 2 to 6 p.m. weekdays on 93.7 “The Fan.” His columns appear Thursdays and Sundays. He can be reached at jraystarkey@gmail.com.
