Ben Roethlisberger on the Offensive Line: “I just think they’re having fun…”

[Steeler Nation]

Coming off an impressive and very much needed win in Week 8 against the Cleveland Browns, the Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for their second primetime appearance this season; this time on Monday Night Football. As he typically does on Wednesday, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger spent some time with the media to talk about how the offense has developed since the bye week and the matchup ahead versus the Chicago Bears.

The Steelers’ offense consists of a young wide receiver corps, a rookie running back, a make-shift offensive line, and is led by a 39-year-old veteran. After starting the season slow, the offense has made various adjustments the last few weeks and is looking to build more and more momentum each week. Being a quarterback, Roethlisberger naturally relies heavily on the offensive line. Coming off an impressive performance against a top-tier defensive line, Roethlisberger was asked his thoughts on the development of the offensive line:

“I think we’re understanding each other,” he explained. “We’re understanding the offense. Having the same group of guys in front for a while now and knowing each other. They’re taking pride. Watching that game again, they’re moving guys off the ball. You look at Myles’ (Garrett) sack and the other one where he got pressure, it was strictly him getting a jump. He timed it perfectly. It’s a lot to ask a young tackle, any tackle to be able to stop a guy that’s that good. Going back and watching what they did, it’s amazing. I was proud of the way they’re playing.”

Talking specifically about rookie offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr., he spent a lot of his action one on one against Garrett with some chipping help from Najee Harris. Garrett entered last week’s game as the league sack leader with 9.5 sacks. It was no wonder why a lot of the game preparation last week revolved around Garrett. But after the dust settled, Garrett had a rather pedestrian performance in only registering a single sack and 4 tackles. As a whole, the Steelers’ offensive line only gave up 2 total sacks the entire game. With the offensive line the Steelers have this year, that is impressive. When asked about how Moore Jr. can continue his improvement, Roethlisberger replied:

“I would think it would continue to increase his confidence,” Roethlisberger said. “I think he still takes pride in the sack and then maybe thinking, ‘Oh shoot, I wish I would have done this, or I wish I could have even been better.’ And I think I think that’s awesome to see a young guy who went against one of the best in the business to still be disappointed with the way he played.”

Moore Jr. isn’t the only rookie on the offensive line. After playing guard for the bulk of his football career, rookie Kendrick Green has taken over the center spot and is working hard to make a name for himself after the long-time success of Maurkice Pouncey. Roethlisberger was asked about Green’s progress through the first half of the season, to which he explained:

“He’s still learning. He’s still growing. I’m not sure how many games he’s played at center in his life, but it’s not very many. I’m just proud of him. I told him that after the game that night, sent him a text of just how proud I was of his play, and just keep doing it.”

Of course, there have been growing pains in games. We expected this as this being the first time Roethlisberger has worked with Green, not to mention an entirely new offense. When talking about their collaboration together, Roethlisberger said:

“When we were working on under center snaps in OTAs, my hand is kind of off to the side and we were having issues, so I was like, ‘Alright, if you hit this spot every time, we’ll be good.’ And it wasn’t always pretty. We’re still working. Some of the shotgun snaps you can see are a little high and whatnot. When he turns around, I just give that little look, lower it down, and he will be like, ‘I gotcha.’”

Roethlisberger concluded his praise of the offensive line in saying:

“You look at where it is, it’s either rookies, new guys that have come in, Chuks (Okorafor), (Zach) Banner, are the only guys that have been here, and Zach’s been hurt. For them to see their cohesion, to see the way they work together without that kind of one guy that’s like a follow me kind of guy. I just think they’re having fun and they’re learning about each other at a really fast rate. It’s shown itself and manifested on the field.”

With Eric Ebron sitting out in Cleveland, this opened the door for third-year man Zach Gentry at tight end. Gentry came into the league lacking the necessary skills as a blocker. Since then, he’s worked hard to become the large, effective blocking tight end the Steelers need. In turn, he was incorporated in the passing game against the Browns, reeling in 3 receptions for 39 yards; one of which was a crucial 24-yard pick up on a long first-and-20, ultimately setting up the game-winning touchdown to Pat Freiermuth. When asked about Gentry’s development and what he brings to the offense, Roethlisberger compared him to a previous Steelers tight end:

“Zach reminds me a lot of Matt Spaeth, a guy that takes pride in his work. Kind of an unsung hero. Maybe didn’t catch a lot of balls, a lot of touchdowns. Doesn’t have big stats. But will always put the team first. Does the dirty work. You watch Zach getting his nose dirty in some of the blocks and you reward him with some catches. He’s just a team first guy. That’s fun to see.”

With the Steelers set to take on the Bears at home on Monday, this gives the team an extra day to game prep. Roethlisberger admitted on Wednesday he hasn’t watched any game film yet, but that’s what he uses Wednesday’s for on an extended week. He’s then set to participate in practice on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.



What are you looking for in practice this week? What do you think of the offensive line’s performance so far? Let us know in the comments below!

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[Ron Burgundy]

I knew it would take half the season for them to play well together.