(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
Matt Canada calling the plays from the booth this year are one of many changes that Ben Roethlisberger will have to get used to heading into his 18th season. Roethlisberger's last offensive coordinator that called plays from the booth was Ken Whisenhunt, all the way back in 2004-2006. So, it's been well over a decade.
Canada spoke with the media after Wednesday's practice, and he said it was a smooth operation in regards to communication with Roethlisberger from the booth on Saturday night in the preseason game against the Lions.
"I am able to talk directly to Ben on the field up to 15 seconds, so calling the plays there is no middleman with that," Canada said. "A lot of guys are doing it in the league. When Ben comes off, Sully (quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan) is right there with him. We have a headset for Ben. If Ben wants to talk to me, if I want to talk to Ben, we put the headset on. We did that last week. Here is what we saw, here is what we are thinking. It's a very fluid situation there. I think it went really well last week."
Canada says he and Roethlisberger are building a solid chemistry with one another, and they both have the common goal of doing whatever it takes to win.
"We had a conversation about that (last week) after he was out," Canada said. "He was engaged on the phone throughout the game last week after he was done playing. I think Ben and I have a very similar belief, that all we want to do is win games. We're going to work together. I have said it from Day 1, I have learned from him, I have listened to him. We have some things that lets give this a look on both sides. All we are trying to do is find a way to score one more point than the team we play every week. That is our only goal."