Ben Roethlisberger ‘blown away’ Browns didn’t draft Carson Wentz

Ramon Foster knows the drill, even if it’s one the Pittsburgh Steelers have been largely able to avoid most of the last four-plus decades.

STEELERS ILB Ryan Shazier had a team-leading 9 tackles, a FR and a TFL in Week 10 loss to Cowboys. It’s one the Steelers have looked perfectly capable of bearing at times, though not almost enough during a four-game losing streak that’s sucked all the momentum out of a 4-1 start. The Ravens, who had a losing record past year, beat the Steelers twice.

– Ryan Shazier may have led the Steelers with nine total tackles against the Cowboys, but it was the two that he didn’t make that stick out to him. At some point, though, it’s up to the head coach to solve these problems, and Tomlin doesn’t appear to have much of a knack for solving them. That one might be unfair. But then, if Tomlin and General Manager Kevin Colbert can choose such good personnel, one would expect better results.

Tomlin understands the frustration of his players. “But I thought we had a good plan”.

So he took Winslow, a tight end who played in only one Pro Bowl, instead of Roethlisberger, and the rest is very well documented history. “If they’re in third and manageable, it gives them an opportunity to go with (the run or pass) and you can’t pin your ears back and take off after the quarterback”.

That 2014 Browns team started 7-4, so the dynamics are different from today’s Moneyball-style overhaul. It’s telling both of Heyward’s effort and Pittsburgh’s issues getting to the quarterback that his 3.0 sacks lead the team even though he missed two full games and the part of another. It was a tough path to begin with at 4-5, and it figures to be even more hard without Heyward.

The Steelers teams that Big Ben came up in his early career knowing seem a far cry – at least from an on-field focus and attention to detail standpoint – than this vintage.

“There have been a whole bunch of them that I have faced”, he continued. Doctors diagnosed defensive end Cam Heyward with a torn pectoral muscle Tuesday and he is expected to be placed on the injured reserve list Wednesday.

Last year, Tomlin mentioned that receiver Sammie Coates was struggling with the level of conditioning required to play regularly in the NFL.

“It all comes with your personality and like who you are”, linebacker Christian Kirksey said.

Despite having one of the best running backs in the National Football League, the Steelers average just 90 yards per game on the ground. He could only watch in frustration as Miami’s Jay Ajayi became the first player in 16 years to go over 200 yards rushing against Pittsburgh in a Week 6 loss and New England’s Garrett Blount bulled his way for 127 yards and a pair of touchdowns seven days later.

“Coach and I talked on Monday”.

“A splattering of incidences, one here, one there, one there”, said Tomlin, gesturing to make his point. Big Ben had added yet another comeback victory to his legendary resume, with his most recent last-second touchdown pass surely to be played alongside his Super Bowl 43 touchdown to Santonio Holmes in his all-time highlights tape.

So, what is going on in Pittsburgh? “But it’s enough that it’s been changing the outcome of games”. What I am suggesting is allowing Roethlisberger to call the plays could be a change which could pay huge dividends at a time when the team desperately needs them.