Kipper : The #Steelers Offense Goes Where Ben Roethlisberger Takes It

It's a new Steelers season and with that comes the inaugural - Fire _____________ Offensive Coordinator. Going back to Ken Whisenhunt on the internet, fans have wanted the Steelers Offensive Coordinator fired.
It must be what the cool kids do.. like wetting their pants in public.
What is it about the Steelers Offense though? Why is it, that the Pittsburgh Steelers Offense, is always under-performing despite the Offensive Coordinator?
The Steelers never consistently score enough Points despite being able to rack up yardage between the 20's. Look at the chart below :

Year Yards Rank Yards Scoring Rank Scoring

2014 6 395.6 23 20.7%

2013 20 335.7 16 23.7%

2012 21 332.8 22 21.0%

2011 11 337.9 21 20.5%

2010 14 340.1 12 23.9%

2009 7 371.3 12 23.0%

2008 22 310.5 17 22.7%

2007 16 328.2 9 24.8%

2006 6 357.8 11 22.1%

2005 14 324.4 7 24.8%

2004 13 329.8 11 23.3%

As you can see from the chart above, the entire Ben Roethlisberger era is inconsistent. The Yards per Game yearly, the Points per Game yearly, it doesnt matter who the Offensive Coordinator is. There's no consistency. There's a year or 2 above average, a year or 2 below average, and for the most part, the Steelers Offense has hovered League Average.
There was discussion about the Steelers being awful at 3rd Down % and I think many people will be surprised to see in the chart below that the Steelers during the Roethlisberger era have been League Average or Better. They're not converting at a high % in 2014, but it's also not horrible either as they sit in the middle of the league ranked 16th.

Year Rank 3rd Down %

2014 16 40.7%

2013 16 37.9%

2012 8 41.9%

2011 5 45.7%

2010 6 44.5%

2009 17 39.4%

2008 14 41.1%

2007 3 47.0%

2006 5 42.8%

2005 14 39.5%

2004 8 43.0%

If scoring is an issue then the Red Zone scoring (Touch Downs Only) must surely be it! Right now in 2014, yes, the Steelers offense is simply abysmal in the Red Zone, ranking 31st. I wouldn't anticipate that remaining for the duration of the season but it's certainly a big issue right now.
Red Zone scoring has been an issue in the Roethlisberger era no matter who the Offensive Coordinator is. There's a couple above average seasons, a couple below average seasons, but the Steelers largely remain somewhere in the middle

Year Rank RZ% (TD Only)

2014 31 36.84%

2013 16 52.8%

2012 12 55.1%

2011 17 50.9%

2010 15 52.4%

2009 22 48.2%

2008 14 55.9%

2007 7 59.3%

2006 17 50.0%

2005 4 62.5%

2004 21 49.2%

What's the issue?
It's not just Todd Haley. It wasn't just Bruce Arians or Ken Whisenhunt. All 3 OC's have had different styles, different offenses and the results have largely been inconsistent. The one reason for this, and I know there's going to be some fan boys out there that will be livid..
Ben Roethlisberger.
He might be the best QB to ever wear a Steelers uniform. He might have impressive passing stats, but he's never lead this Offense as well as an Elite QB should. The personal stats look nice on a resume, but the overall stats for the Offenses he's lead on the field have been inconsistent and largely - Average.
We've seen 3 Offensive Coordinators during Ben Roethlisberger's tenure in Pittsburgh and nobody appears to be worse or better than the other. Each have had good results, bad results and average results. This is an offense dictated by one person, the one that leads them on the field..
Ben Roethlisberger.
Those Red Zone% numbers? If they're to increase, then Ben has to do a better job of converting them. There's options, there's just a lack of execution when the pressure is applied. There's times when a Wide Receiver needs to make a catch or run the proper route, but that doesn't happen all of the time to the point where these numbers are the as bad as they are.
Points per game. Yard per game. They vary. No matter the Offensive Coordinator. That is on Ben Roethlisberger leading the team. That's on Ben Roethlisberger, controlling this offense and navigating it on the field. That's on Ben Roethlisberger executing and converting.
That's not to say that the Steelers havent had their fair share of issues. The Offensive Line has been a rotating door for years due to injuries, retirements and drafts. The Wide Receivers have come and gone as have the Running Backs. For an inconsistent offense, ironically the one consistent part of it has been..
Ben Roethlisberger
This season however, the Offensive Line has been fairly healthy, The Wide Receivers have been healthy as have the RB's. This is an Offense that should be getting better, tighter each week as it's been healthy and it's not. Some say that starts with Todd Haley...
I believe it starts with the execution by..
Ben Roethlisberger