Finding a true weakness in Big Ben's game

No matter how explosive and points-a-plenty the Pittsburgh Steelers offense becomes, it's important to remember that veteran star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger still has flaws in his game. Like many gunslingers, those flaws become more apparent with age. 

Per Jason La Canfora, last year Roethlisberger struggled when throwing passes after taking the snap under center. It turns out Big Ben was almost as effective as Blake Bortles in that category. Yikes.

As for under center -- well, it was rougher than I thought last season. Roethlisberger ranked 33rd out of 39 quarterbacks who attempted at least 20 passes after taking the snap from under center, and hardly kept the kind of company we expect of the likely future Hall of Famer.

He was 55 of 94 (58.5 percent) for 699 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions outside the shotgun for a rating of just 73.8. 

"That's problematic," wrote La Canfora. "The only guys worse than him were RG3, Bryce Petty, Cam Newton, Brock Osweiler, Jay Cutler and Jared Goff. Roethlisberger's rating outside the shotgun was virtually even with that of Paxton Lynch and Blake Bortles."

But there is a silver lining. That's when Big Ben takes snaps out of the shotgun. 

The older Roethlisberger has gotten, the more reliant he has become on the shotgun, said La Canfora. 

Last season the 35-year-old passed for 3,819 yards, 29 TDs and 13 INTs. He also reached 300 career passing TDs late last year. .