Ben Roethlisberger On Le'Veon Bell's Return: 'The Possibilities Could Be Endless'
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - Coming off a huge performance for the entire offense against the San Francisco 49ers, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger joined "The Cook and Poni Show" like he does every Tuesday at 11 a.m. and said despite how good they looked, they still have things they can clean up.
"We had some penalties that hurt us," Roethlisberger said. "We had two, three-and-outs that shouldn't have been three-and-outs. I mean, we stopped ourselves and that's frustrating. I had a bad call in the no-huddle that resulted in only a one-yard run when it could have been more if I had checked out of the play...All-in-all, a win is a win."
Despite those "miscues," Roethlisberger still completed 21 of 27 attempts for 369 yards and three touchdowns, so they weren't all that costly. However, it shows the offense is already clicking and primed for a big season.
The offense even had success in an area where they tend to struggle - the redzone. Roethlisberger described what was different for them this time and why they were so successful.
"I have to give Coach Haley a lot of credit," Roethlisberger said. "I told him this Sunday night when I got home and texted him, I said, 'You know coach, I give you credit,' because when we were driving down the field in the no-huddle, we got down a couple of times to the 5-yard line, the 10-yard line, and sometimes even closer and typically, I would expect to hear in my head...ok, huddle up, we're bringing out this goalline package, jumbo, him calling a play. He never once did that. That's to his credit that he just kind of let us keep rolling in."
Roethlisberger also talked about the team's aggressive approach to extra points and going for two more times than electing to kick.
"We knew first touchdown we were going for two. The discussion then comes up on the second one, 'What are we going to do?' If we got the first one, then we may not do the second one, if we didn't get the first one, then we may do the second one, that's Coach Tomlin. We knew going in that we were going to go for 2 on the first play," Roethlisberger said.
With running back Le'Veon Bell returning this week from his two game suspension, Roethlisberger talked about the job DeAngelo Williams did in replacing him and if they'll be looking to keep him involved in the offense.
"I think there's multiple things we can do without giving away too many of those secrets that we want to try and do," Roethlisberger joked. "Le'Veon doesn't like to come out of the game, that's no secret and that's because he's in phenomenal shape, but I think it's still beneficial not just to him, to this team in the short-term, but in the long-term. You're talking about a long season. If every third series, every fourth series, whatever it is, let DeAngelo come in. We all feel confident in DeAngelo. The other thing I think we can do is we can put them both on the field at the same time. I think Le'Veon is so dangerous out of the backfield you know, put them both on the field and use one as a screen, the other as a runner, who knows? I think the possibilities could be endless."
Finally, as the Steelers prepare to travel to St. Louis to take on the Rams, Roethlisberger talked about former Pitt Panther and current Rams defensive lineman, Aaron Donald.
Donald has taken the league by storm in just his second year and has already caught the eye of Roethlisberger.
"Well, he's a stud," Roethlisberger said. "He's a high motor, strong, quick, fast [player]. First off, their front seven in St. Louis, they're a really, really, really good group. It's a heck of a test it's going to be for us. Not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination. He's just one of the guys up there that is almost unstoppable."
The "#1 Cochran Ben Roethlisberger Show" is heard exclusively every Tuesday at 11 a.m. during the Steelers' season on "The Cook and Poni Show" on Sportsradio 93-7 The Fan.