The weakest link in Steelers offense is their lack of reliable depth and....Big Ben?

First and foremost: Ben definitely hasn't had a great year by his standards. I think some may be overstating the extent of the problem (he's not devolved into Brock Osweiler, or Peyton circa 2015!), but he's been more streaky and less accurate overall than his '14 and '15 campaigns.

That said, there's another factor in play here, and it's arguably been Pitt's biggest offensive issue this year.

As Deus mentioned, Pitt essentially lost its four best receiving options to take pressure off of Brown in the passing game. Bryant was suspended; Wheaton barely played before getting IR'd; Ladarius Green was actually terrific when he did play, but could only stay healthy for a few games; Sammie Coates was injured after a promising start and hasn't developed as hoped.

The Steelers have plugged in a bunch of low-round picks and/or UDFAs in their places. Players like Eli Rogers (UDFA), Jesse James (5th rounder last year), Cobi Hamilton (UDFA/midseason callup), and Demarcus Ayers (7th rounder/late season practice squad callup) have been very pleasant suprises...but no one should confuse their talent or (most importantly) experience with that first group. Since no one in the current group opposite Brown keeps DCs up at night, so teams have rolled coverage heavily to Brown's side all year.

The bottom line is that the young guys aren't always where they're supposed to be in their routes. A few times each game, there are clear issues where they zig when Ben is expecting them to zag. (Think of how Brady's passes went to Michael Floyd last game and you'll understand).

So I think Ben has not thrown as confidently as in years' past--he can either try to squeeze balls in between double teams on Brown's side, or toss it to one of the 1st year guys and hope that they're where they should be.

This is not to say that Ben's been terrible, or that the offense hasn't been good or even great at times. But they are NOT the juggernaut they were at times last year, when they were explosive even against teams like Seattle and Denver. They have two blue chip threats in Bell and Brown, but the dropoff to this year's supporting cast (rogers/James/Hamilton/Ayers) is vast when compared to 2015's group (Bryant/Wheaton/Miller).

The weakest link is anyone who is not Ben, Bell or Brown.

lillloyd said:

First and foremost: Ben definitely hasn't had a great year by his standards. I think some may be overstating the extent of the problem (he's not devolved into Brock Osweiler, or Peyton circa 2015!), but he's been more streaky and less accurate overall than his '14 and '15 campaigns.

That said, there's another factor in play here, and it's arguably been Pitt's biggest offensive issue this year.

As Deus mentioned, Pitt essentially lost its four best receiving options to take pressure off of Brown in the passing game. Bryant was suspended; Wheaton barely played before getting IR'd; Ladarius Green was actually terrific when he did play, but could only stay healthy for a few games; Sammie Coates was injured after a promising start and hasn't developed as hoped.

The Steelers have plugged in a bunch of low-round picks and/or UDFAs in their places. Players like Eli Rogers (UDFA), Jesse James (5th rounder last year), Cobi Hamilton (UDFA/midseason callup), and Demarcus Ayers (7th rounder/late season practice squad callup) have been very pleasant suprises...but no one should confuse their talent or (most importantly) experience with that first group. Since no one in the current group opposite Brown keeps DCs up at night, so teams have rolled coverage heavily to Brown's side all year.

The bottom line is that the young guys aren't always where they're supposed to be in their routes. A few times each game, there are clear issues where they zig when Ben is expecting them to zag. (Think of how Brady's passes went to Michael Floyd last game and you'll understand).

So I think Ben has not thrown as confidently as in years' past--he can either try to squeeze balls in between double teams on Brown's side, or toss it to one of the 1st year guys and hope that they're where they should be.

This is not to say that Ben's been terrible, or that the offense hasn't been good or even great at times. But they are NOT the juggernaut they were at times last year, when they were explosive even against teams like Seattle and Denver. They have two blue chip threats in Bell and Brown, but the dropoff to this year's supporting cast (rogers/James/Hamilton/Ayers) is vast when compared to 2015's group (Bryant/Wheaton/Miller).

Click to expand...

Not trying to exaggerate Big Ben's problems. He's had moments this season where he's played lights out. But his inconsistency, his poor numbers on the road, and rising interceptions point to many of the issues he has with the lack of quality depth on offense.

The question, so brilliantly described in a different thread, is how confident does Roethlisberger feel in relying on his #3 #4 or #5 option to make plays? And will his hesitancy force him into making bad decisions, resulting in turnovers?

@Ice_Ice_Brady broke it down much more clearly than I have:

Ice_Ice_Brady said:

The idea is that Ben won't have confidence to throw to them, even if the matchups are favorable, or that he will try to force it to Brown/Bell resulting in turnovers. And frankly, there has not been a lot of times this season when Ben has been willing to get their third, fourth, and fifth options involved. Last year they had Bryant and Wheaton out there, with Williams often the second RB. This year it has basically been Ben, Bell, and Brown. It will be interesting to see just how confident Ben is in his abilities rather than his superstar players, which is what I think has always been the difference between him and better QBs. Think Manning last year throwing two TDs to a broken down Owen Daniels because he went with the coverage and matchup rather than the star playmakers. And obviously I don't need to give examples of Brady beating teams with depth options.

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Their biggest weakness on OFF is our DEF biggest strength:

Red Zone Efficiency

How much do the Steelers depend on Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown?

I haven't gone through every post but I just saw that Ben had 14 rushing yards ALL season. He had negative here and positive here with a long of 14.

This is more telling than anything else. He isn't moving anywhere near what he was and he is breaking down. For reference TB12 had 64 total rushing yards with a long of 15.

So TB12 had 50 more yards total and a one yard longer run. He's not mobile anymore which should make it easier on the Pats D.

PFF lists Big Ben as the biggest possible liability for Pittsburgh (assuming he plays at his worst)

Top liability for each remaining playoff team | PFF

Paul Zeise: Is Ben Roethlisberger the Steelers' biggest liability?

Here is what a Steelers fan wrote in response to PFF's article

steelerfury.com • View topic - Ben Dissed By PFF as the Biggest Liability

NFL1000: Can Ben Roethlisberger Right the Ship in Time for Patriots Challenge?

[Click here for full entry and clips for film review]

Here is another crucial piece of data on Ben Rothliesberger's postseason performance, and it suggests that forcing him to rely on passing is key to winning the game