Is Ben Roethlisberger Tipping Steelers Play Calls? One Researcher Says Yes

There is no denying that the Pittsburgh Steelers were fairly predictable on offense in 2020, but was it quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s fault?

TikTok user Theo Ash claims that he has identified a tell in Roethlisberger’s footwork that signals whether the Steelers are running a pass or run play.

According to Ash, when Roethlisberger’s left heel is lifted slightly in the shotgun, the Steelers pass. If he is standing flat footed, he hands it off.

Ash claims to be watching plays from Pittsburgh’s loss to the Buffalo Bills last season for the first time in the TikTok and “predicts” what the offense has called based on the alleged tell.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdXo6pxT/

Could the placement of Roethlisberger’s feet really have been spoiling Pittsburgh’s play calls last season? Former Steelers linebacker Chad Brown says yes.

“I could see their feet and certain quarterbacks had strong tells,” Brown tweeted Friday. “In shotgun, one quarterback had one foot forward when he was passing and the other forward when it was a run call. Slower footed quarterbacks were the easiest. They wanted to get ‘there’ quicker and gave away plays all the time.”

I could see their feet and certain QBs had strong tells. In shotgun, one QB had one foot forward when he was passing and the other forward when it was a run call. Slower footed QBs were the easiest. They wanted to get “there” quicker and gave away plays all the time. https://t.co/OfpFazgKyO

— Chad Brown (@chadbrown94) July 9, 2021

Roethlisberger is not exactly the most fleet of foot at age 39, so Brown’s revelations tracks.

According to Brown, identifying such tells came from hours of film study and some early verification once the game got underway.

“This was something usually that was spotted during the week in film study,” Brown tweeted. “Then you made sure what you saw on tape lined up with what you were seeing during that game early on. Once verified, I shouted run/pass/draw/etc once I saw the telling footwork.”

This was something usually that was spotted during the week in film study. Then you made sure what you saw on tape lined up with what you were seeing during that game early on. Once verified, I shouted run/pass/draw/etc once I saw the telling footwork. https://t.co/OfpFazgKyO

— Chad Brown (@chadbrown94) July 9, 2021