We passed on word earlier today that Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders was on ESPN 970 while down at the Pittsburgh auto show on Sunday where he revealed that he was told by the coaches after the season ended that he would be returning kicks and punts for the Steelers in 2012. Sanders also was asked by Gerry Dulac during the interview how many times did he estimate that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger checked out of run plays to pass plays. Dale Lolley passes on the Sanders answer which was an estimated 20 percent of the time. Sanders reportedly said that Roethlisberger would break the huddle with two plays called, one being a run, and the other a pass. Not very surprising there.
The Steelers attempted a total of 539 passes last season with Roethlisberger attempting 513 of those. He was also sacked another 40 times in total. The Steelers rushed a total of 434 times as a team and both totals do not include plays called back because of penalties. Those raw and dirty stats produce a 57%/43% pass play ratio. If Sanders estimation of 20% is correct, and you know it isn\’t, that is about 110 plays that Roethlisberger checked from run to pass. That would bring the run pass ratio way back in favor of the run. Even if it was 10% of the time that he checked from run to pass, that would put the ratio at about 50/50.
Things that make you go hmmmm.
