Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is hard to bring down. It’s partly because he’s 6-foot-5 and weighs 241 pounds, and partly because he has a knack for improvisation.
Those two things helped him reach three Super Bowls and win two.
The Colts, who are 0-2 for the first time since 1998, know they must get pressure on Roethlisberger and defend the pass well tonight at Lucas Oil Stadium.
In showing his players film of the 1-1 Steelers’ 24-0 victory over Seattle last week, Colts coach Jim Caldwell hammered home the importance of being relentless against Roethlisberger.
“No. 1, (Roethlisberger) is big and powerful, but he’s also elusive as well, certainly, within the pocket,” Caldwell said. “You’ll see, from time to time, he threw a deep pass against Seattle where everybody on the perimeter thought he was down, and he kind of shrugged off another tackler and ended up completing a fairly long pass that, certainly, flipped the field on Seattle. He’s constantly (making those throws), and all throughout his career he’s been able to do that.”
The Colts haven’t pressured quarterbacks much this season. They have the second-fewest sacks in the league with two.
And though they rank 10th against the pass (207 yards per game), they’ve been burned – particularly cornerback Jacob Lacey and safety Melvin Bullitt – by some big plays. Bullitt may not play because of a shoulder injury.
In last week’s 27-19 loss to Cleveland, quarterback Colt McCoy burned the Colts by scrambling around until he found an open receiver. The Colts expect Roethlisberger to try and do the same.
“Ben makes so many plays with his feet,” defensive end Dwight Freeney said. “When things break down as an offense, he does a great job, probably as good as or better than anyone I’ve seen. He’s up there, as far as making plays and buying time.”
The Colts also need to limit the Steelers’ third-down conversions. Indianapolis has allowed opponents to convert on 13 of 27 third downs. Pittsburgh is 11 of 24 on third down.
Freeney said the Colts don’t feel more pressure to perform just because they’ve given up 61 points this season.
“No more pressure than any other game for us. It doesn’t change,” Freeney said. “That would imply that in other games, we had our hands behind our heads and our feet up like it doesn’t matter. That’s not our mentality. Regardless of who we’re playing, who we have on offense, how many points we’re scoring or not scoring, or whatever, it’s us trying to keep them from scoring.”
