There’s no sense pussyfooting around the Broncos’ inability to stop the run.
Ben Roethlisberger didn’t. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback could see on tape or the stat sheet how opposing running backs have gashed Denver’s defense, and he told it like it is.
“It looks like the handoff might be a pretty nice option on Sunday,” Roethlisberger told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this week.
Ouch!
The Steelers hand off more than anybody, anyway. New offensive coordinator Bruce Ariens has allocated an NFL-high 57.2 percent of his play calls to the run this year. Only Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings average more rushing yards per game than the Steelers.
No team surrenders more rushing yards than the Broncos.
“They’re susceptible to the run and we run the ball well, so I’m sure that’s what we’ll go in featuring,” Roethlisberger said.
Double-ouch!
“I told my receivers and Bruce that I’m going to have to get my throws in before practice. It might be the last throwing I do all week,” Roethlisberger said.
Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!
“They’re playing well and riding that cloud,” Broncos defensive tackle Amon Gordon said. “Hey, that’s your right when you’re playing as well as they are. But you still have to line it up and play the game between the lines.”
Roethlisberger’s words figure to sting the Broncos’ defense. The question, though, is what are the Broncos going to do about it?
“At this point, there’s nothing you can put on your bulletin board,” Broncos safety John Lynch said. “We know what teams are going to do, and they’re going to keep running the ball until we stop them. And we’re probably going to have to stop for two or three months before it stops coming on a regular basis.”
