Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II has chose not to retain Bruce Arians as the teams offensive coordinator, a move that was directly against the wishes of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Following his five year stint at the position Arians has also announced his retirement from the NFL.
Since taking over the position five years ago when Mike Tomlin took control of the Pittsburgh Steelers Arians has turned the “blue-collar” team into a pass heavy offensive and it’s believed that Art Rooney wanted to see the team get back to its run-heavy strategy.
The move to a pass heavy offense made sense from a Ben Roethlisberger perspective as the QB has a strong arm that has helped the team rank in the top half of the NFL in offense over the past three seasons, however they finished in 12th this past season in terms of offensive play-making.
In a statement regarding the release Tomlins wrote:
“Bruce Arians has informed me that he will retire from coaching. I appreciate his efforts over the past five years as the team’s offensive coordinator and for helping lead our offense to new heights during his time with the Steelers. I am grateful to Bruce for contributing to our success and wish him nothing but the best in his retirement.”
At this time it’s still unclear who will take over at the offensive coordinator position however Art Rooney has a history of promoting from within, in fact Arians joined the team in 2004 as the wide receivers coach and was promoted to his final position on the team.
Do you think heading back towards the teams “blue collar” run heavy offensive is the right move to make?
Two yrs. Ago Rooney told Tomlin more running plays. Last yr. Tomlin and Arians listened and Steelers made Super Bowl. Arians reverted to his old ways this yr. And Ben took too many sacks and was too injured late season for Steelers to advance in playoffs. Rooney has had enough. Ben doesn't realize it now, but this move may well prolong his career and get the Steelers back to the Super Bowl.
Not run heavy but balance.
1st priority is the offensive line! 2 years of not addressing the issue has cost the Steelers a Super Bowl plus this season. The team gets a pass on the fact that the strike hurt them however father time has reared its ugly head as exposed by the injury factor. Their first picture in the draft should be either a solid O-lineman or a bruising Center and slide Pouncey over to the line, the position he played in college. The next picture should go towards a true lock down Corner, one that has the speed for recovery and can hit the likes of Rod Woodson and Mel Blount, the only Conerback to win MVP in the AllStar Game. With the third picture I would seach for a tough Nosetackle for a complete upgrade at that position as well as working towards reducing cap space. A nasty Linebacker would be next to start replacing our aged warriors. The fifth picture should go towards a fullback that has something to prove. This is Rashad second knee injury and he's not getting any younger. On the 6th picture I would get big QB that would end up being a 3rd string while being a smart understudy of the pro game so he could possibly be the QB of the future. Ben has 7 + yrs now and has taken way too many hits and if he wants to be to compete at the high level he has proven he can dothan an understudy could prolong his career while placing a competitive factor to motivate both players and provide better balance. Having Ben play with a high ankle sprain only sends the message that the coach does not have faith in his bench at QB so they might as well be proactive about it. Both the O and D-lines need the most addressing with the remaining pictures. As far as a new Offensive Coordinator goes, the team needs one who'll get us to being a dominant running team again. If they do that, our receivers will be open all day long. Over all lets just hope for a proactive off season that will get the team where it needs to be, in the Super Bowl.
The NY Giants have shown the entire league how to beat pass-minded teams like New England, Green Bay and New Orleans. The trick is simple: keep Brady, Rodgers, and Brees on the bench for most of the game.
See, the throwing QBs can't score if they're looking at Polaroids on the sidelines. One way to keep them on the sidelines is to eat up clock by running the ball.
The best defense is a good rushing offense.
So, in the NFL, the pendulum has started swaying back toward the running game.
The Steelers would do themselves some good by developing a devastating ground attack.
Give or take a few minutes, the Giants held onto the ball during Super Bowl XLVI nearly twice as long as the.
Patriots did. The result speaks for itself.
Tomlin and Rooney already recognize that fact.