Ben Roethlisberger encounters 'fun, new challenge' in learning Steelers' revamped offense

Attendance for organized team activities is, per NFL policy, strictly voluntary.

It’s not until minicamp, which takes place in the fourth and final week of the league’s on-field offseason conditioning program, that players are required to attend.

And in the years preceding the coronavirus pandemic, Ben Roethlisberger took it to heart, making the occasional appearance at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex until his presence was mandated.

This year, with covid-19 policies and relaxed workout conditions in place, the 39-year-old Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback was on the field for the majority of practices through the first two weeks.

The reason?

“I’m here. I’m in town, so I might as well be here spending time,” Roethlisberger said.

Roethlisberger owed his presence to gaining familiarity with some of the team’s new offensive linemen and rookies such as running back Najee Harris and tight end Pat Freiermuth.

More likely, though, it had to do with the offense Matt Canada is installing in his first year as offensive coordinator. Promoted from quarterbacks coach after Randy Fichtner’s contract wasn’t renewed, Canada is infusing into the Steelers an offense that relies on presnap motion and other subtleties aimed at getting mismatches on defenses.

“There is a lot of new,” Roethlisberger said. “For someone who has had a very similar offense for a very long time, verbiage-wise, it’s taking some extra studying. It’s a fun, new challenge. Guys are getting it, and hopefully it translates into winning football.”

The offense was criticized for being too predictable down the stretch in 2020, as the Steelers went from 11-0 to 12-4 and then were bounced from the playoffs by the Cleveland Browns in the wild-card round.

The emphasis on a short passing game — and an uber-quick release time by Roethlisberger — combined with the NFL’s No. 32-ranked running game, was not sustainable. After scoring at least 24 points in each of the first 10 games, the Steelers reached that plateau just once in the final six.

That dip led to Fichtner’s departure and Canada’s hiring despite just one year of coaching experience at the NFL level.

“We’ve had quite a few communications,” Roethlisberger said. “He’s come over. We’ve talked. I told him that I know this is your offense, and he’s like, ‘No, no, this is our offense.’ But I’m like, ‘No, it’s yours.’ And I’m just really trying to do everything I can to be open to the new challenge and say, ‘OK, I’m learning. OK, got it, got it.’

“If something is confusing or something doesn’t quite make sense, I say, ‘Talk to me, tell me how I can better understand this or how I can learn this or learn the formation names or what is your trick to learning things.’”

Some of Canada’s concepts took hold early last season — such as jet sweeps to rookie receiver Chase Claypool — but faded away from the playbook in time or didn’t work nearly as effectively. Some of that could be attributed to the Steelers not having an offseason workout program because of the pandemic or the benefit of experimenting in preseason games.

This year, with the NFL back to business as usual, the Steelers are committed to making Canada’s installments work.

“It’s pretty easy to transition into it,” Claypool said. “They are similar concepts like we were running early last year, so it’s not much of a learning curve. It’s nice because I think we’ll be able to stick with it throughout the season.”

It helps Roethlisberger’s cause that he has his top five receivers back from 2020, and tight end Eric Ebron is returning for a second season. The Steelers also are intent on rebuilding their running game behind first-rounder Harris. And they added Freiermuth, a capable blocker and receiver, in the second round.

After skipping the first week of OTAs, the quintet of JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington, Diontae Johnson, Ray-Ray McCloud and Claypool showed up and participated in at least one practice. Harris and Freiermuth have been around from the start, a benefit Claypool didn’t have last year in his rookie season.

“It’s great in terms of installing plays, getting our timing down, the communication, being around younger guys,” Claypool said. “When I came in as a rookie, I didn’t know anybody, so it was kind of hard to talk to people about things. I think by the start of this season they’ll be comfortable with everyone, and there will be good chemistry.”

As evidenced by his increased participation at OTAs, Roethlisberger is willing to do his part to learn the new-look offense alongside his younger teammates.

“There is still something to be said about being here,” he said. “Just letting guys see you. Speaking every so often to the group, breaking the offense down at the end of practice — little things like that. To me, it was important to be here, so that’s why I’m here.”