| Steelers OC Todd Haley insists he and QB Ben Roethlisberger are one happy couple. (US Presswire) |
Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley laughed and acknowledged on Thursday that, "You're talking to arguably one of the most confrontational" coaches in the NFL.
But when it comes to a supposed feud between him and QB Ben Roethlisberger, Haley was anything but confrontational.
Haley said he wasn't even aware of Roethlisberger's allegedly-inflammatory comments after Sunday's loss in Dallas. Haley also excused anything that might have been said by pointing out it was "an emotional, emotional game" and even threw in a nice compliment Roethlisberger's way.
"We have... an elite quarterback," Haley said.
In short, just like Roethlisberger the day before, Haley did his best to diffuse any worries of a rift between himself and the Pro Bowl QB.
"Ben and I, I thought we've been on the same page throughout the year -- as much as a coordinator and quarterback can be," Haley said. "There's going to be ups and downs and frustrations, but it's never been an issue of being on the same page."
In case you missed it -- and if you're a Steelers fan, you probably haven't -- in the wake of Pittsburgh's 27-24 loss in Dallas on Sunday, Roethlisberger said the team didn't "call the right plays" to get TE Heath Miller the ball, expressed frustrations as to why the no-huddle wasn't used more and pointed out that the first-half touchdown pass to Miller was off an audible.
To some, those were interpreted as direct shots at Haley. Roethlisberger apologized to Haley, coach Mike Tomlin and team president Art Rooney II.
Wednesday, Haley made reference to "a media firestorm," and brushed the whole thing off.
"When you're out there and you're touching the ball every snap on offense and really responsible for how the offense performs, it's emotional," Haley said. "When you have a game that ended in the manner that game ended and we were all heartbroken and down, you're going to be emotional.
"That was an emotional, emotional game, so whatever was said can't be taken too much to the heart."
As you might expect, a large portion of "Coordinator Thursday" was devoted to Haley's reaction to Roethlisberger's comments -- ones that were dissected on virtually every national media outlet.
"I think healthy conflict, discussion, banter is good," Haley said. "It gets you to the right place and it gets everybody on the same page and where you need to be.
"When I make a call into Ben's ear in the game, I'm putting complete faith in him to make it a good call -- or make it the best call it can be. When he hears my voice he has to trust and believe that the play coming in is giving him and us the best chance to succeed.
"There's going to be ups and downs because there's emotion and there's a lot at stake every single week for all us. We put a lot of time, effort, sacrifice into this. A little bit of healthy conflict is a good thing."
Roethlisberger's touchdown passes are up from last season under OC Bruce Arians (22 in 11 games compared to 21 in 15 games in 2011) and his interceptions are down (14 to six). His passing yardage per game (271.8 to 264.6) and yards per attempt (7.9 to 7.3) are down, however.
The Steelers rank 10th in the league in passing offense, 19th in total offense and 20th in scoring offense. Most troubling, however, is they went 12-4 last season and stand at 7-7 and are playing for their postseason lives with two weeks to go in this regular season.
"The numbers, all that stuff, is really not important to me," Haley said. "It's important what the final score says at the end of the day -- that's my mindset. It's not having the highest-rated quarterback or the most rushing yards or the most receiving yards -- it's to win games."
Follow Steelers reporter Chris Adamski on Twitter @CBSSteelers and @BuzzsawPGH.