Behind the Steel Curtain
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line has been under fire through the first three weeks of the season. And while they didn’t allow a sack against the New England Patriots, Aaron Rodgers has still been pressured on 52 percent of dropbacks in which he has the ball in his hands for longer than 2.5 seconds. Per Next Gen Stats, that is the eighth-highest rate in the NFL.
Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger weighed in on the play of the offensive line, specifically the play of Broderick Jones, and he didn’t mince words with how he feels about Jones’ performance.
“No sacks, congratulations,” Roethlisberger said on Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger. “Aaron still got hit a bunch. There’s a play where Broderick Jones is standing completely upright, and the guy basically runs right through him.”
Roethlisberger adds that his former teammate and 2008 Defensive Player of the Year, James Harrison, would have a field day playing against Jones.
“You can’t stand upright as a tackle. You’ve got to get low because guys are just gonna get underneath you. James Harrison, what did he talk about? Leverage. If James Harrison were to go against Broderick Jones, he would have 15 sacks a game… Broderick has to be better at protecting.”
Per PFF, Jones has allowed four sacks this season and nine pressures. He is one of the lowest-graded tackles in the NFL with an overall grade of 49.5.
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