Ben Roethlisberger: Was the game too big for Steelers’ young players?

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Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has plenty of playoff experience, but a lot of his teammates don’t. And Roethlisberger thinks that may have been the Steelers’ problem in their loss to the Patriots on Sunday.

Asked what the biggest difference in the game was, Roethlisberger answered, “It just at times almost felt like it was almost too big for some of the young guys.”

When Roethlisberger was asked specifically about Sammie Coates and Cobi Hamilton, who each caught just two of the five passes thrown their way, he returned to that topic.

“It’s a little frustrating because we talk about sometimes it’s just one play here, one play there and tonight we didn’t make those plays,” Roethlisberger said. “Was it too big? Was it just a, I don’t know. We need to make every single play in a game like this against an opponent like this.”

Roethlisberger also made a point of saying he likes the players the Steelers have and doesn’t think they need to acquire anyone else, so he wasn’t exactly calling out his teammates. But he was saying that inexperience showed for some of the younger players on the Steelers, and that’s why their season ended.

97 responses to “Ben Roethlisberger: Was the game too big for Steelers’ young players?

  1. …Asked what the biggest difference in the game was, Roethlisberger answered, “It just at times almost felt like it was almost too big for some of the young guys.”…

    Ben should not be blaming the young guys, the game was too big for the Steelers coaching staff.

    Period.

    Of course, Belichick obviously wins the Coaching battle more often than not, and Tom Brady is without question the Greatest NFL Player of All-Time but, still, what adjustments did the Steelers make on offense or defense the entire game?

  2. If you dont think the only reason the Steelers lost is because of:
    – The distraction Facebook created
    – The flu going around
    – The patriots fanboys setting off the fire alarms at 3 am.

    Then you are delusional and a cheatreiots supporter. Patriots SHOULD have lost to Texans, but Brock threw the game away.
    Patriots cheated by giving a 39 year old QB 4 games off. Basically a 1/4 season vacation.
    Patriots had a day and a half on the steelers, who did not even get to sleep saturday night.

    Also do we even need to speak of Le’veon Bell’s injury? uh hello, thats like Losing Brady.

    We know who the real winner of that game is and Roger’s NFL supports cheaters.
    Good day.

  3. Remember that time when the Patriots beat the Steelers and their players and coaches gave the Patriots credit? Me either. Never happened. Always next year.

  4. GREATEST
    OF
    ALLLLLLL
    TIME

    #12 THOMAS EDWARD PATRICK BRADY Jr.

    BTW WHERE…isss ROGERRRRR??

  5. Dolphins fan here, so the last team I should be defending is the Patriots, but come on Ben. Your team got smoked. Defense was atrocious. Running game was non existent. Coates and Hamilton catching a couple more passes wouldn’t have helped anything

  6. The game may have been too big for the Steelers’ defense, both players and coaches. The Steelers haven’t defeated New England in years, mainly because their defense can’t even slow down Brady.

  7. I think it was too big for their coaches. They run the same defensive scheme that they ran against Brady and NE back in 2001-02, and wonder why that doesn’t work.

    If the Steelers don’t make the playoffs next year, Tomlin, Haley, and Butler need to be gone, and they need to go in a new direction.

  8. The pats have 30 new players on their team from their last Super Bowl. Two years ago. Pittsburg, the city of excuses.

  9. You can’t beat Brady with a zone defense! The coaches never made an adjustment in the game.Getting beat by a lacrosse player is joke!Play calling in the red zone is another joke and I’m not laughing!

  10. It was a loss to the game , that the here and now , eternally elusive , Mr. Bell , was unable to play all four quarters .
    Very difficult to prognosticate any other outcome , aside from far and away more challenges , with such an exciting , unique talent .
    On to Houston !

  11. .
    Brady has 22 TDs and 0 Ints vs Pittsburgh in the Mike Tomlin era. Perhaps someone should ask him about his pillow soft zone defenses? Perhaps he should stop cheering, stop blaming and start fixing.
    .

  12. Playing zone the whole game and NOT making adjustments at halftime are the reasons why you lost. Brady picks that apart every time. Tomlinson out coached again. From a Steeler fan.

  13. Hey Big Ben, you were out coached and out played.
    Bottom line.
    Every team has injuries during the game and you need to adjust.
    Steeles just need to admit they were beat by the better team that day.

  14. Here is the reason the Steelers lost. This was the worst defensive game plan any team could have against the Patriots. A soft zone with no pass rush or blitz. Any body knows you have to at least get pressure on Brady. You are not going to sack him or hit him often, but you have to disrupt his timing. You play soft and try to keep everything in front of the secondary and He will just pick you apart. That’s what he done! He had receivers open all over the field on every play and He had all day to pick one. Coaching should get nothing better than an F.

  15. When asked why the Patriots dominate the Steelers I just show side-by-side photos of Belichick and Tomlin.

    If your young players aren’t ready by now that’s due to coaching. Patriots worked enough rookies and 2nd year guys into the rotation.

  16. Usually, Big Ben feigns the severity of an injury to shift the blame away from himself, but THIS is straight-up throwing your teammates under the bus.

    Next time, he should say this: “If they won multiple Super Bowls, like I have, they’d be ready, like I was.”

  17. Stop making excuses, Ben. Your team flat out got beaten by a team superior in every way. You were right to ask for one of Brady’s jerseys. He’s the GOAT.

  18. Mike Mitchell fell hard for that flea flicker. Maybe less time looking to helmet to helmet a guy, and a little more time on watching the ball or learning to tackle?

  19. It struck me as a odd that an ex Patriots player (Bruski) presented Kraft with the trophy rather than someone else from the league if mot Goodell.

  20. mzew233 says:
    Jan 23, 2017 5:33 AM

    Also do we even need to speak of Le’veon Bell’s injury? uh hello, thats like Losing Brady.
    ======================================
    You are correct, but only when it comes to fantasy football.

  21. The Steelers were playing Checkers and the Patriots were playing Chess.

    From the word go, that game seemed to be one destined for the Pats. That Steeler D doesn’t get much pressure (as opposed to their early 2000’s D). They are fast and can hit, but once Dick Lebeau left, their defensive identity left with him. They do just enough to win, but even the Texans D gave Brady more of a fight.

  22. steelers are without a doubt the worst losers in the league. ben throwing his guys under the bus comes from Trip Tomlin…i’m sure his list of excuses is a mile long by now…

  23. Game was too big for Coach Butler/Tomlin. He did the same thing LaBeau would do that didn’t work for him either. Allow free releases off the line of scrimmage to Pats. If you can’t get pressure which is easier said then done then you better disrupt their timing. Pats know refs throw less flags in playoffs, they couldn’t get pressure either, so they beat up AB coming of the line.

  24. 100% of the Steeler’s coaches. I will never for the life of me understand turning around to hand a ball off when you have inches to move forward. It’s an epidemic with these coaches who are always spouting off about situational football. Simple logic tells you moving forward an inch is much easier than dropping back two yards and handing the ball to the running back who then has to make up the two yards and also get the inch you initially needed.

    On top of that the Texans gave the Steeler’s the gameplan, blitz Brady up the middle. What did they do, spent 4 quarters trying to get home from the edges in zone coverage.

    Tomlin showed last night he isn’t a big game coach and is lucky to have a great QB to bail him out from time to time.

  25. Let me just say as a Chiefs Super Fan that its a good thing the Chiefs had the penalty compliments of Eric Fischer because if they would have had to play Tom Brady and Company it would have been a real “Blood Bath”. No comparison between the caliber of talent between the two teams.

  26. DeAngelo Williams does not equal Leveon Bell. Just sayin’. And I hate the Steelers. Once that happened, seemed like it wasn’t gonna happen. But yeah the D did nothing for Pitt.

  27. Another Pats-Steelers game, another Brady masterpiece. At some point this century, Pittsburg might accept their zone defensive scheme vs NE is futile. In this era of situational substitution, it is mind boggling Pitt plays base defense every down. Even my dog learned not to run into the glass door after a few days…..but will Tomlin?

  28. The game is always “too big” for the loser when you are outplayed and get your doors blown off. Here’s hoping Matty Ice doesn’t melt in Houston.

    Signed,

    A Ravens Fan

  29. Big Ben is partially right. Both the young receivers and youth defensively like Shazier didn’t get to Brady or didn’t cover at all. Could the coaches, mainly Tomlin, have prepared his unit better? It appears so after losing 8 of the last 9 to Tom.

  30. The younger players?

    Seems to me James Harrison didn’t show up, never heard his name yesterday.

  31. Your Defense got ROLLED. How many times was Hogan left wide open?

    The Stillahs had no run game either. Losing Bell obviously was a major negative, but DeAngelo did not fill the gap like he did weeks 1-4.

    Antonio Brown took time to become a factor. Clearly Coach Bill took him away from your offense.

    The biggest difference is that the Pats BROUGHT IT on both sides of the ball.

  32. I think Ben’s assessment that the Stillerz don’t need to add more players is way off base. Even the eventual SB winning team will immed start retooling for next yr.

    So, if you get crushed in the AFC champ game, you better be adding players. Defensive scheme needs to be rethought, & they must learn to play well on the road.

  33. This is similar to Donovan McNabb’s, “We showed our youth” comment. If the Steelers would have won it would have been “Our young players looked like steady veterans tonight”.

  34. It’s why the Steelers were lousy last week. It’s also why the steelers can’t beat the Ravens with any consistency.
    Those young pups seem to disappear and cower in the spotlight of tough games.

  35. I’m loving all the Steelers’ fans making excuses and blaming others for their team laying a giant egg at Foxboro. It’s a shame the Steelers got this far thanks to the refs, deflated balls, and face mask tackles that went flagged. There were so many other teams that could have handled the Patriots better. To be down by 27 pints so late in the game proves the Steelers had no business in that game. Blow out!

  36. ipdaily69 says:
    Jan 23, 2017 8:54 AM

    In this era of situational substitution, it is mind boggling Pitt plays base defense every down.
    ————————————————————-
    Thank you.

    The game was won between the ears, and in that contest the Steelers never had a chance.

  37. Big Ben should take a little blame himself. He was awful against the Chiefs and a lot of those passes to the young guys weren’t catchable.

  38. mzew233 says:
    Jan 23, 2017 5:33 AM

    If you dont think the only reason the Steelers lost is because of:
    – The distraction Facebook created
    – The flu going around
    – The patriots fanboys setting off the fire alarms at 3 am.

    Then you are delusional and a cheatreiots supporter. Patriots SHOULD have lost to Texans, but Brock threw the game away.
    Patriots cheated by giving a 39 year old QB 4 games off. Basically a 1/4 season vacation.
    Patriots had a day and a half on the steelers, who did not even get to sleep saturday night.

    Also do we even need to speak of Le’veon Bell’s injury? uh hello, thats like Losing Brady.

    We know who the real winner of that game is and Roger’s NFL supports cheaters.
    Good day.
    ________________________________
    Suffering from Steeler roid rage? You know the saying, excuses are for …..

  39. chuckxx says:
    Jan 23, 2017 8:54 AM
    Let me just say as a Chiefs Super Fan that its a good thing the Chiefs had the penalty compliments of Eric Fischer because if they would have had to play Tom Brady and Company it would have been a real “Blood Bath”. No comparison between the caliber of talent between the two teams.
    —————————————————————–
    I wouldn’t really say that.
    I think that the Chiefs would have made WAY more of a game out of it.
    They are better coached than Pitt.
    Tougher than Pitt.
    Receivers catch balls better than Pitt.

    I believe that the Pats would still have won, but the Chiefs would have at least put up a good fight.

    I think that, deep down, the Steelers realize that they are owned by the Pats.

  40. mzew233 says:
    Jan 23, 2017 5:33 AM

    If you dont think the only reason the Steelers lost is because of:
    – The distraction Facebook created
    – The flu going around
    – The patriots fanboys setting off the fire alarms at 3 am.

    Then you are delusional and a cheatreiots supporter. Patriots SHOULD have lost to Texans, but Brock threw the game away.
    Patriots cheated by giving a 39 year old QB 4 games off. Basically a 1/4 season vacation.
    Patriots had a day and a half on the steelers, who did not even get to sleep saturday night.

    Also do we even need to speak of Le’veon Bell’s injury? uh hello, thats like Losing Brady.

    We know who the real winner of that game is and Roger’s NFL supports cheaters.
    Good day.
    —————————————————–
    I take great pleasure in this delirium. That validates the Patriots greatness. And it’s hilarious to envision this clown trying to fit all that nonsense on a 2’x3′ poster board. Enjoy super bowl 51, you know Patriot nation will.

  41. The Steelers lost because they had no plan B. They had plan A which was run Bell. When he went down, that team had no clue. Sure, the passing game picked up, but too many drops and poor game planning. This loss for the Steelers was all on the coaches not being prepared.

  42. Somewhere in greater Pittsburgh, there’s a fool covered in drool. Hiding,with zero accountability.Enjoy the super bowl, honey.

  43. I think the game is too big for Tomlin. Down 11 in the third quarter on the Patriots 39, 4th and 7, and he punts to an offense he hasn’t stopped all day. Of course NE drives 85 yards for a TD to really bury the Steelers. How can you punt the ball away down two scores to pick up 24 yards of field position? John Harbaugh probably goes for it there, which is why the Ravens have been able to do what Pittsburgh can’t do – win in the playoffs against New England.

  44. Remember that time when the Patriots beat the Steelers and their players and coaches gave the Patriots credit? Me either. Never happened. Always next year.

    Maybe if you listened to all of Roethlisbergers comments instead of just reading a few cherry picked snippets you would know that he did state that the better team had one and did give them credit. But of course you dont want facts to get in the way of your “they disrespected us” falsehoods!!

  45. Come on, Ben. You know your team got out-coached easily. Yeah, your teammates let you down, but the coaching staff downright screwed you from the opening kickoff. They had no answer, and kept doing the same things.

    I would advise you that you may be one of the few QBs in the league that could say enough to get the coached fired instead of you being punished. Maybe you should try it, because Tomlin stinks.

    Its either that or wait for TB12 and Belichick to retire, which isn’t going to be soon.

  46. WOW – great leader.

    2 things – Ben you were as pedestrian as the anyone on that team.

    second – it’s your job to raise them up

  47. The Steelers have all the talent to make the plays and keep up with the Patriots. This came down to coaching and Mike Tomlin is not even in Bill Belichiks radar. No adjustments made what so ever. They didn’t even try to play man coverage or jam any receivers. I don’t understand how you don’t change when you keep getting hammered by Brady every game. I’m sick of Mike Tomlin and would love an x’s and o’s coach. The dropped passes hurt and Leveons injury is no excuse. You have the players do get it done but the coaching is putrid. But if not for our defense we don’t make the playoffs. Offense is way too inconsistent. Congrats Pats fans you have a hell of a team and your accomplishments in the last 16 years have been nothing short of amazing. Brady is the best ever no doubt in my mind. I’m excited about the future because of the good young talent on the roster but Mike Tomlin needs to go.

  48. The game was too big for our cheerleader Tomlin. He plays zone against the best QB in the history of the league. A zone that leave receivers wide open with no one around them for 10 yards. It allows the lacrosse player to rack up almost 200 yards. Not one defensive adjustment all game. I blame Tomlin.

  49. Tomlin is so smart. The reason they lost he says is “we didn’t make enough plays”. The reason you lost is poor coaching and game planning. I thought Butler was a defensive coordinator. Even I know that’s not a plan to beat Brady.

  50. Dropped passes and not capitalizing on scoring chances are the main reasons the Steelers didn’t win, or at least point up more of a fight.

    GG to the Pats they were clearly the better team on Sunday.

  51. countryblumpkins says:
    Jan 23, 2017 10:17 AM

    The game was too big for our cheerleader Tomlin. He plays zone against the best QB in the history of the league. A zone that leave receivers wide open with no one around them for 10 yards. It allows the lacrosse player to rack up almost 200 yards. Not one defensive adjustment all game. I blame Tomlin.
    ————————————————

    Spot on. As a NE fan, I had ZERO worries coming into this game because #12 has owned the Steelers defense for the better part of 2 decades now. Not sure how Tomlin thought the result would suddenly change yesterday without a adjusting the game plan.

  52. mzew233 says:
    Jan 23, 2017 5:33 AM
    If you dont think the only reason the Steelers lost is because of:
    – The distraction Facebook created
    – The flu going around
    – The patriots fanboys setting off the fire alarms at 3 am.

    Then you are delusional and a cheatreiots supporter. Patriots SHOULD have lost to Texans, but Brock threw the game away.
    Patriots cheated by giving a 39 year old QB 4 games off. Basically a 1/4 season vacation.
    Patriots had a day and a half on the steelers, who did not even get to sleep saturday night.

    Also do we even need to speak of Le’veon Bell’s injury? uh hello, thats like Losing Brady.

    We know who the real winner of that game is and Roger’s NFL supports cheaters.
    Good day.
    ————
    Hilarious,
    this post brings tears of joy to my face.
    I guess the Pats can’t win without cheating and are really not a good team at all, right crybaby nation?

  53. “If you dont think the only reason the Steelers lost is because of:
    – The distraction Facebook created
    – The flu going around
    – The patriots fanboys setting off the fire alarms at 3 am.”

    If Pats fans made excuses like that we’d be called whiners and wimps.

    And really, the game was at 6:40 PM, almost 16 hours after that alarm was pulled. The Steelers had plenty of time to get a good sleep after that and still get to the stadium hours earlier than they needed to be. If that’s the sort of thing you want to hang your hat on SMH. Even Tomlin didn’t cry about that after the game.

    Regarding FB Live, are you claiming somehow Belichick used Sith mind control to make him do that or something? How does that have anything to do with the Pats? Same thing about the flu? Some Pats players notably Blount have had it lately too you know.

  54. “Maybe if you listened to all of Roethlisbergers comments instead of just reading a few cherry picked snippets you would know that he did state that the better team had one and did give them credit.”

    You’re entirely correct. The Steelers were nothing but respectful after this game. Tomlin, Ben, all of them. They earned a lot of respect from those of us who paid attention for doing so.

  55. As long as the Steelers keep trotting out that sorry, no account, overrated zone defense, good QBs like Brady will shred them. Yeah, they have some success against the Flaccos, Daltons, insert-Browns-QBs of the world, but when you play against QBs who actually think and don’t get intimidated, they’re done.

    Now add in the predictable offense, they can’t rely on that unless you’re talking fantasy football.

    Even if somehow they did get past NE, Atlanta would have done them just the same.

  56. Best thing abt the fact that Pats always beat Steelers is that Pittsburgh’s ‘D’ never gets the oppty to cheap shot NE… Steelers always like to head hunt their opponent when they get a bit of a lead, New England never gives them that luxury

  57. Or we could just go with the far simpler explanation that the Patriots were clearly the better team.

    If you were just talking about drops, or maybe some missed tackles by some young guys then maybe okay. But the Steelers problem is they consistently left receivers wide open. That’s not a byproduct of youth but of scheme, coaching, and outright skill.

  58. .
    not blitzing Brady = LOSS.

    Why don’t any of these teams look at how the Giants defeated the feeble brady?
    it is pretty pathetic.
    ZONE = FAIL.

  59. Come on Ben, the Patriots could have won with me playing at QB. Your defense could not generate consistent pressure on the QB and Hogan was wide open in just about every play.

  60. Bradshaw was proven exactly right yesterday for the entire world to see. Tomlin is not a great coach….he’s not even a very good coach. BB owns this guy and it will not even be close as long as Tomlin is Pittsburgh’s head coach.

  61. Pittsburgh’s pass defense was pathetic and they did not seem to change it much. Both conference title games were major dud, unfortunately. Hard to beat a home team in the playoffs.

  62. Big Ben is right. The Steelers young players stunk up the field! They were awful. A college team would have beaten then last night.

  63. Only chance to beat Tom Brady and their offense is to get your hands on the receivers, disrupt routes, and attack the pocket with blitzes. Force Brady to move. Those are the only tactics that work on him. I saw none of that….zero. Rush four and sit in a zone and he absolutely killed the Pittsburgh defense. This was more about coaching than talent. Kansas City would have been such a better matchup as the strength of their defense is exactly what causes Brady problems.

  64. Die hard steelers fan here And Ben, all week you talked about how is was always about Peyton vs Brady….. Well last night you showed us why the talk is always Peyton vs Brady. You aren’t elite. The organization is, but you aren’t, look at what Rodgers did without his Number One target, you had AB all playoffs and after the first quarter against Miami, you looked like crap.

    I’m tired of it being 3rd and 1 and Ben throwing it down the field 50 yards over his receiver lol.

    Mr Cobertt. You have an amazing young team. I believe Ben with his past and showing he’s on the decline, that if you don’t draft this year or sign a young free agent to develop. You will piss away the talent of Bell, Brown and Bryant.

    Ben has been good for us, but key words….. Has been.

    Time to move on, Ben isn’t Elite, he reminds me of the girlfriend you want to end it with but you struggle with cause of all the good times you had so your hoping it’ll come back….. Last night showed the fire is dead. Time to move on from Ben. Not a true leader.

  65. Ben has brought embarresment to this great Franchise. I wish they traded like there was talk about it back to 2010. We could have drafted Derek Carr or Russel Wilson if that deal worked through. I believe since the Steelers made his the Franchise player the organization lost credibility. I’m assuming there were players who weren’t happy playing with a 2 time accused rapist

  66. Yes I know it’s a team game and the defense sucked to, but I believe an elite quarterback with arguablely the best wide out in the game doesn’t at least make it competitive…… Nah….. Time to move on

  67. Todd Haley’s incompetence on display again. 3rd and 1, 3rd and 6, calls 30-40 yard throws (like last week in KC, 4 yards from the goal line, 6 yards from the goal line, Bell in the game, throws the ball). Aside from putting pressure on Brady, the other way to beat him is maintain long offensive drives to keep him on the bench, common sense, something Haley cannot comprehend. Got what you deserved.

  68. milehighcityboss says:
    Jan 23, 2017 12:16 PM

    The Broncos.. are the only team that can stop Brady and the Pats..
    ————————-

    The Giants have stopped them a couple of times when it actually mattered.

  69. Ben can’t be serious. He needs to look at himself before anyone. He underthrew and overthrew his receivers and couldn’t do much of anything without Bell.

    People overrate Ben to bizarre levels calling him a lock HOF QB on the same level as the elites like Brady. This is ridiculous. He’s never been a SBMVP, he won his SBs with the number 1 and number 4 defenses. Misses games every year and the Steelers still win with him sidelined.

    He never plays well against Tom Brady and Belichick. His criticism of his young receivers might make some sense if Ben EVER played well against the Patriots or even came close to beating them in a big game. He hasn’t. Ben’s post season numbers leave a lot to be desired lately. Strange that no one talks about finding Ben’s replacement. He’s getting up there in age and always misses games.

  70. milehighcityboss says:
    Jan 23, 2017 12:16 PM
    The Broncos.. are the only team that can stop Brady and the Pats..

    —————————————————————————

    After the collective sigh of relief in New England when the Giants receivers dropped the ball and got the Giants and Eli Manning eliminated, I think it’s safe to say The Broncos are NOT the only team that can stop Brady and the Pats. And the Broncos don’t have Eli Manning.

  71. As far as Denver goes, playing a mile high is the only advantage they really have over other teams.

    If the playoffs don’t go through Denver, it’s a tossup.

  72. Pittsburgh has a two-dimensional offense: Bell and Brown. Take out their best weapons and you get what you got.

    NE is 6 deep in RBs – 7 if you count Edelman, 8 when Gronk was healthy. Great, if unheralded, receivers, and play calling that leave a strong receiver open on every passing play.

    That’s how you win games, people.

    Atlanta has a great passing game but Belichick will show them looks they’ve never seen before – he’s cooking them up as we speak.

  73. Game planing and in game adjustments did the Steelers away, the challenge against the falcons is going to be bigger but the Patriots coaching staff hopefully is also going to be worthy. Good luck to all Atlanta’s fans.

  74. The young receiver that hurt the Steelers the most is Martavis Bryant. Suspended for the year for repeated substance abuse. The kid is a beast. They missed him a ton.

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