Pittsburgh Steelers: Response to the Bruce Arians Interview

I just finished reading a reprint of Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians' interview with reporters after yesterday's practice session in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. I am somewhat speechless, but never really at a loss for words. I thought I would select some of the questions and answers and then translate the real meaning of Arians' comments.

Here we go:

Q: Has anything stood out about why the offense has struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone?

A: “Yeah, dropped balls. We haven’t run it very good inside the 10-yard line. We’ve had like first and goal at the seven or eight and we haven’t run the ball for 3 (yards), run the ball for 3 (yards) and gotten it down there where you have two things to do. We’ve thrown it into the end zone and it’s come right back to second and 7. We need to pick that up.”

Translation: Despite years of evidence to the contrary, there is no problem with my flawless red zone play calling, and I have no problem throwing the players under the bus to vindicate myself. Dropped balls for three years, huh?

Q: Has the offense's approach changed with Ben?

A: “Not really. We’re still trying to establish runs for play actions, throw on running downs, mix it up, more so like when Charlie (Batch) was in at the beginning of September.”

Translation: I get my Pro Bowl quarterback back into the lineup and I am too pig-headed to do anything different. It worked early in the season, so why try and score more that 20 points? If we lose, it's the defense's fault anyway.

Q: Have injuries along the offensive line affected the play calling, especially since you've had your share of them during games?

A: “You can’t change what your game plan is, you just expect the next guy to step up and play and it gets taxing after a while when it happens every damn week.”

Translation: Even if Jonathan Scott is a turnstile at left tackle, I am not going to roll Ben Roethlisberger out of the pocket. Yes, our offensive line is porous, but why would I need to run a middle screen or draw—shudder the thought of a slant pattern.

I suppose this is like throwing a can of gasoline on an inferno. Bruce Arians is a bad offensive coordinator, but what compounds the problem is that he is incapable of learning from his mistakes.

Arrogant to the end.

This article is also featured on Steelers Source