Coming off an 8-8 season in Pittsburgh, the Steelers have plenty to point to when pondering what went wrong in 2012.
Kinkhabwala: Pairing up in Pittsburgh
After a rocky first season together, Ben Roethlisberger and Todd Haley are starting to gel, Aditi Kinkhabwala reports. **More ...**
For starters, Ben Roethlisberger never warmed up to Todd Haley's offensive philosophy, which favored the ground game and offered the veteran quarterback less of a chance to call his own plays.
Has Big Ben had a change of heart?
NFL.com's Aditi Kinkhabwala wrote Wednesday that -- sometime between the end of last season and the hopeful days of May -- Roethlisberger "decided he liked the Steelers' offense."
One reason for the optimism: Big Ben has been given more of a voice in how the Steelers will move the ball this season. Running back Jonathan Dwyer told Kinkhabwala that Roethlisberger now "has a lot more power" in how the game plan is constructed.
That's encouraging, because every quarterback worth his salt wants to call his own plays, and few do a better job than Roethlisberger. He's one of the NFL's premier improvisers.
It's easy to forget that Roethlisberger was off to an MVP-level start last season before injuries unraveled his campaign and left the Steelers in the dust. Check out Aditi's report on why we might see a happier, more productive Big Ben this time around.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
