Steelers: Randy Fichtner has no clue what he’s doing
The Steelers offensive coordinator has no idea what’s been happening the past three weeks.
One could give credit to the Pittsburgh Steelers for their recent troubles. While the team is now on a two-game losing streak, keep in mind Pittsburgh has played three games in 12 days, meaning there’s less time to prepare.
Still, when you want to be the best, you have to act like it. Unfortunately, the Steelers offense has been ice cold like the weather entering Heinz Field come December.
The culprit of the mess? Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner’s play design. However, if you ask him the problem, he’ll say he’s far from the problem.
During Wednesday’s press conference, Fichtner was asked about passing downfield. Despite every other statistic saying that Ben Roethlisberger likes to rely on the short shows, Fichtner says that plays downfield are destined to happen.
Steelers OC Randy Fichtner on Ben Roethlisberger: "I would say he's more than capable of throwing the ball down the yard and making plays. ... That might be an emphasis for us moving forward. I'm not afraid to throw it deep."
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) December 17, 2020
Randy Fichtner says there maybe hasn't been enough time allocated to working on the intermediate passing game in practice, especially with the three games in 12 days.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) December 17, 2020
If that’s the case, then why has Fichtner’s offense been one that tailors to the short passing game? He’s either ignoring an entire facet of the offense or failing to utilize Roethlisberger’s arm. Either way, Steelers fans are fed up.
What game film has Fichtner been watching?
Roethlisberger has struggled passing deep downfield all season. Currently, he ranks 32nd among active quarterbacks in yards per throw at 6.3 yards per attempt.
When Roethlisberger does try to go deep, it usually ends on a sour note. One throw to James Washington against the Baltimore Ravens looked beautiful. The next time the two tried to connect deep with the third-year receiver, it was intercepted by Buffalo’s Levi Wallace.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1338336414786699264
Fichtner has relied heavily on the 38-year-old quarterback. In five of his last six games alone, Roethlisberger has thrown at least 42 times, yet has only had a completion percentage over 70 percent once. He’s also passed for 300-plus yards three times, yet two were against Dallas and Cincinnati’s weaker secondaries.
Maybe the high volume in passing is due to the lack of a run game.. Against the Bills, James Conner returned from the COVID-19/reserve list and only rushed for 18 yards while the team finished with 47 yards on the night.
With an 11-2 record, Roethlisberger isn’t worried on the status of the franchise entering the final few weeks of the season. All that said, if Fichtner’s play design costs the Steelers a chance at the Lombardi Trophy, he should be fired.
One look at Fichtner’s comments and it’s clear the offense isn’t on the same page. Here’s hoping it can rebound against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday.
Next. The Steelers can clinch the AFC North in Week 15. dark