Ben Roethlisberger called for it last preseason. And he called for it this preseason. For a new and young offense trying to find its way, the more, the better when it comes to summer reps. In the return episode of his Footbahlin podcast with co-host Spencer Te’o and new co-host Jerrad Lopes, Roethlisberger weighed in on what he saw this summer. In moments, he liked what he saw but wanted to see more from the first-team offense.
“If I’m going to critique the preseason…This last game, Russ played one series and they went and scored in like four or five plays,” Roethlisberger said. “And that’s awesome. But to me, that’s such a small sample size. And one of them was like a 30 yard pass and a, I think a 30 yard run. So two of those plays were huge.”
Hampered by a calf injury suffered during the team’s training camp conditioning test, Wilson sat out the preseason opener. He made his Steelers’ stadium debut the following week against the Buffalo Bills. It was a miserable offensive showing, and Tomlin left the starters out there one series longer than he had planned due to a lack of reps. Still, the offense came away with zero points and went just 1-for-6 on third down.
Wilson dressed and played for the finale, but it was a quick second act. Facing the Detroit Lions’ backups, Wilson marched the offense downfield for a Cordarrelle Patterson touchdown, using a 32-yard completion to WR George Pickens as the drive’s catalyst. In total, Wilson received seven series with the starters, two more than Kenny Pickett did a year ago.
Last summer, the buzz was high on Pittsburgh’s offense. Pickett and the 1’s looked unstoppable, finding the end zone on all five of their drives. But those results didn’t carry over to the regular season. The Steelers had one of football’s worst offenses. Pickett got hurt and stayed on the bench when healthy, as Mason Rudolph provided a spark down the stretch. Roethlisberger doesn’t believe playing Pickett more in the summer would’ve dramatically changed his outlook. But it might’ve given Pittsburgh more information about the team.
“My only, and I would say criticism, of the team last year if you go back and look. I felt like they should have maybe played more. The starters.”
Roethlisberger acknowledged and understood key defensive players like EDGE T.J. Watt, DT Cam Heyward, and FS Minkah Fitzpatrick being held out. Those players and that unit are far more proven. The offense is the X-factor and determining side of the ball that will tell Pittsburgh how far they go this season. Another tight playoff race and quick exit or a serious postseason run?
“I would’ve liked [Pickett] to play a little more because you get him some experience. But he was super successful. First drive, touchdown. Next game, first drive touchdown. So Coach T. pulled him out, and that’s, again, his decision. Nothing wrong with it. But then we get into the regular season, and the offense is just, they can’t do anything. And I’m not saying it’s because they didn’t get enough reps, but maybe you would’ve seen some deficiencies.”
Pickett finished last preseason a scorching 13-of-15 for 199 yards and two touchdowns, giving him a perfect quarterback rating. While Wilson isn’t as green as Pickett, it’s a new offense with a new coordinator. There’s an argument to be made to give the starters as much work as possible to prepare them for the regular season opener. Still, the Steelers positively ended the postseason, putting the ball in the end zone. And there’s only so much to learn from beating up on Detroit’s backups in a preseason finale.
Ultimately, the Steelers’ measure of success will be judged by how much football Wilson has left in the tank, how well Smith can implement a successful scheme, and the overall health of the offense. Those will be the offense’s factors, making preseason reps a distance memory come November when the arc of the season takes shape.
Check out the whole episode of Roethlisberger’s podcast below.
