Roethlisberger Urges Players To Follow Him, And The Team's Plan For Ezekiel Elliott
By Danny Cox
At 4-4, the Pittsburgh Steelers aren't out of the AFC playoff race, and they certainly aren't out of the race to win the AFC West. They're currently tied for the divisional lead, but the Baltimore Ravens own the tiebreaker. Still, there is a lot of time left in this season and all is not lost. But changes do need to be made and a leader has been found.
In Week 10, the Steelers are coming up with a game plan to stop the Dallas Cowboys rookie 1-2 punch of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, but they have to figure out things on their own team as well. That is why someone needed to step up, take responsibility and put the team on his back as the Steelers dive forward into the second half of the season.
Ben Roethlisberger is truly stepping up as the leader for this team
Three losses in a row have taken the Steelers' promising start of 4-1 and turned things into panic mode for so many fans and others in Pittsburgh. Due to that, many are calling for a change in various aspects of the team, and some even believe that head coach Mike Tomlin has worn out his welcome.
Still, the focus is on the right now, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger spoke with 93.7 "The Fan" this week to let all of the fans know that there is a lot of football left to be played. He is ready to be the leader for this team and prove that the Steelers are not out of this fight.
"I could do the Aaron Rodgers 'relax' but I'm just gonna say (that) it's halftime," said Roethlisberger on Tuesday. "We've had a lot of great second halves in my career and in Pittsburgh Steelers history. It's not over yet, and I'm excited for the second half of the season. It's halftime for us, and that was my message to the team after the game. We gotta put everything in the past behind us, and move forward. Let's move on, start fresh, come out the best that we can be, and concentrate on one win."
The return of Ben Roethlisberger from injury is what the Steelers needed, as it was obvious the team was different under Landry Jones. Still, there is much more that needs to be done and it all begins this weekend with the 7-1 Cowboys.
The Steelers have a plan in place to stop running back Ezekiel Elliott
The Dallas Cowboys are tied for the best record in the NFL. Their offense is led by two rookies and quarterback Dak Prescott has made this team his own. Still, running back Ezekiel Elliott has given the Cowboys a balanced offense with a strong rushing style, and the Steelers have come up with a game plan to stop him.
It appears as if the Steelers are prepared to put the whole defense on him if they need to.
"It's important you have multiple guys hitting him, the hits accumulate on him where if he makes the first guy miss, you have two or three guys coming in to finish him off as well," linebacker Arthur Moats said.
Elliott is averaging 111 yards per game this season and the Steelers typically know how to stop the run—they displayed as much against the Baltimore Ravens. If Pittsburgh relapses back to the combined 362 yards they gave up to the Dolphins and Patriots in back-to-back weeks, the rookie back from the Cowboys could very well make them pay.
If the primary focus of the Steelers is going to be to stop Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys' running game, they need to make sure not to forget about Prescott and his targets named Jason Witten and Dez Bryant.