Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has denied questioning offensive coordinator Todd Haley's play-calling after Sunday's defeat to the Miami Dolphins.
The Steelers were all but eliminated from the playoff race with the 34-28 loss, and after the match Roethlisberger seemed to react angrily to questions about their gameplan, inviting the reporters to ask Haley the reason behind his calls.
However, the 31-year-old insists that his comments were not intended as a swipe at his coach, hailing the current offensive unit as one of the best he has worked with.
"They take one little blurb of a whole sentence and it was not directed at Coach Haley, like 'Go ask him, I don't know why we didn't do it,'" Roethlisberger told 93.7 The Fan.
"It was, 'He's our coordinator, if you want to ask questions about play calling, go ask him about it. He's the guy that calls the plays. If you want to ask me about the no-huddle and I'm calling [plays], then you can ask me'. But in no way shape or form was the [comment] directed negatively at him.
"I think the offense is as good as it's been in a long time. We've got guys doing some great things. I genuinely am enjoying this offense and what Coach Haley is doing and where we're going. We're getting [better] every week, and I think we can keep getting better."
Roethlisberger also insisted that there was no rift between himself and Haley despite reports to the contrary.
Barney Corkhill
