11:28PM EDT October 25. 2012 - PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger admits it. He's had to have a different state of mind to flow in the revamped Pittsburgh Steelers offense installed by new coordinator Todd Haley.
Sort of like a hold-me-back mentality.
"I'm an aggressive type of guy. That's how I play the game," Roethlisberger told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. "So I've had to dial it down. But it's just growing and taking what the defense gives you and trying not to make a big mistake."
It's not that Roethlisberger, fifth in the NFL with a 98.6 passer rating, needed a makeover in his ninth season. He's led the Steelers to three Super Bowls, winning two. Yet the new scheme, which will be on display when the Steelers (3-3) host the Washington Redskins and rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III on Sunday, has reduced risk.
While Roethlisberger is not heaving the ball on deep throws as much as he has in recent years and is completing more passes than ever to running backs, he's also on pace for his fewest interceptions and sacks over a 16-game season.
The offense dictates quicker releases, addressing Roethlisberger's tendency in the past to hold onto the football longer -- which sometimes led to big gains on extended plays but also exposed him to big hits and sacks.
When Roethlisberger described it a "dink-and-dunk" system recently, it raised eyebrows.
"That wasn't meant in a negative way," Roethlisberger said. "Coach Haley and I had a laugh about it this morning. To dink and dunk, that's moving the chains, and it will open up big plays. The Patriots dink and dunk, too."
Pittsburgh leads the NFL with an average time of possession of 34 minutes, 49 seconds. Yet unlike previous ball-hogging units, this is not classic Steelers football with a smashmouth rushing game. They are averaging an NFL-low 3.5 yards per rush, and the 26th-ranked running game -- down to its third-string running back -- has logged just 25.8 times attempts per game.
Haley, the former Kansas City Chiefs coach, insists that the identity of the scheme is evolving.
"It's not my offense," he said. "It's our offense. It's Ben's offense."
Roethlisberger, for one, would like to couple the scheme with no-huddle sequences.
"I know he wants to and I want to," Haley said. "He'd go no-huddle the whole game. We practice it every week. That'll come. It's still new for all of us."
Others also lobby for more aggressiveness. Big-play receiver Mike Wallace is averaging 13.7 yards per catch -- 5 yards less than in his first three seasons. He'd like more shots down the field.
"That's my favorite thing, to catch bombs," Wallace said. "But I'm not mad about it."
Wallace says he's noticing more deep passes in the game plan each week.
"Hopefully, by Week 10, we'll be slinging it all the time," he said. "And those shots will be there, because (opposing cornerbacks) are really kind of sleeping on it, thinking we're not doing it too much."