Not scoring an offensive point in the first quarter of the past 11 games certainly qualifies the Steelers as a slow-starting team.
And, with a 4-7 record in those games, it certainly indicates those slow starts are not a recipe for success. Ben Roethlisberger thinks he knows part of the reason why.
"Traditionally, I've never been a fast kind of start guy," Roethlisberger said. "My college coach said the same thing — we have to get you going faster in practices and games. For whatever reason, I need to start faster."
The reference was to the late Terry Hoeppner, his head coach at Miami of Ohio. Hoeppner always prodded Roethlisberger about being a slow starter and tried to find ways to get him going quicker in practices and games.
After three games, Roethlisberger and the offense have been slow to start — and, for the most part, finish. The offense has managed four touchdowns and 44 points during their 1-2 start (the Steelers have a blocked punt for touchdown) and haven't produced a point in the first 24 minutes of any game. Thirty of their 44 points have come after halftime, including 16 in the opener in Buffalo.
"For whatever reason, I need to start faster," Roethlisberger said Wednesday before practice. "I know coach (Matt Canada) is doing a great job of scripting things, whether screens to get the ball out or plays you really like. As an offense, we need to start faster, but it kind of starts with me. I need to get better with that. That's kind of a key to a successful day — starting fast."
Roethlisberger's stats support his contention.
In the first quarter of three games, he has completed 17 of 26 passes (65.4%) for 118 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. His passer rating in the first 15 minutes is 43.4.
In the fourth quarter of three games, he is 34 of 48 (70.8%) for 333 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. His passer rating in the final 15 minutes is 103.9.
But the same pattern existed last year, too.
In the first quarter of 15 games in 2020, Roethlisberger completed 58.2% of his attempts (78 of 134) for 650 yards with only two touchdowns and one interception. His passer rating was 72.7.
But in the fourth quarter last season, his numbers rose dramatically, completing 74.2% of his passes (109 of 147) for 959 yards and 12 touchdowns with three interceptions. His passer rating in the final 15 minutes was 109.8.
"I don't know. I wish I knew (why)," Roethlisberger said. "I have to be better. I don't want to say we need to start fast — we do — but it starts with the guy who has the ball in his hands."
History has shown the best way for Roethlisberger to jump-start the offense — and perhaps himself — is with the no-huddle attack, where the pace is quicker and, statistically, more efficient.
But Roethlisberger has noted (complained?) on several occasions this season the Steelers no longer have a typical no-huddle attack where he has 50 to 100 plays at his disposal. Instead, he said it has been replaced by the two-minute offense, which is also up-tempo without a huddle but has only 15-20 plays.
Either way, it has been an effective tactic for him, though more so last season than in 2021.
Roethlisberger is 10 of 12 for 93 yards (83.33%) when using the no-huddle (... er ... two-minute) offense this season. But he has not thrown a touchdown or interception using that attack. His passer rating in the hurry-up is 99.0.
In 2020, however, Roethlisberger completed 79.4% of his attempts (50 of 63) for 477 yards and three touchdowns when using what he calls the old version of the no-huddle. His passer rating in those instances was 114.1.
"You have to walk a fine line with guys getting tired," Roethlisberger said. "Last week, when JuJu got banged up and Diontae (Johnson) was down and we're kind of thin, you've got to be careful what you're doing. We need to execute the plays that are called."
So far, that has been an inconsistent — and slow-developing--- proposition.
