Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and offensive coordinator Todd Haley aren't about to swap friendship bracelets, but they continue to win games for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and that might be enough.
Big Ben is constantly asked about perceived friction with Haley. Roethlisberger has downplayed it for months, but he raised eyebrows over the weekend when he cited the coach's "dink and dink" approach as a factor in why the Steelers have fewer big plays in the passing game despite a handful of weapons at receiver.
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Mike Tomlin presides over this bubbling pot, and coming out of Sunday night's 24-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers coach didn't appear to be losing sleep over the matter.
"I'm not worried about those interactions. If (problems) hadn't happened already, I'm sure at some point it will, and it won't be catastrophic," Tomlin said on an interview aired on NBC during the game, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I'm sure we'll all move on."
NFL.com and NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala spoke with Mike Wallace about the reported rift. The Steelers receiver laughed it off, saying: "It's funny. Because if it's real, I've missed all of it."
Fellow wideout Emmanuel Sanders called it "a myth, not fact," and told Kinkhabwala it doesn't matter because the offense is "working."
Haley's love for the ground game is well-advertised. The Steelers went into Sunday night ranked 31st in rushing, but they pounded it out for 167 yards against the Bengals. If focus on the run pulls away from the pass -- and a style of play that Big Ben enjoys -- we'll find out soon enough what Roethlisberger thinks about Pittsburgh's reshaped offense.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
