Tag: Randy Fichtner

Steelers OC Randy Fichtner on players building chemistry in a scaled-down training camp

The Pittsburgh Steelers OC spoke to media on Wednesday about his approach to helping players build chemistry in a limited training camp.

Before current rookies declared for the NFL and while being evaluated at the Combine, they couldn’t have imagined how the sports world would be turned upside down just months ahead.

The first Steelers training camp for skill players Chase Claypool, Anthony McFarland and even Eric Ebron has certainly brought with it a unique set of challenges due to the COVID-10 pandemic.

New players are faced with a tremendous learning curve — more than they would have under typical circumstances — with no OTAs and a scaled-down training camp.

When offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner was asked about his approach to helping new weapons build chemistry in a limited atmosphere, he had this to say:

“Very carefully,” said Fichtner, “but we’re going to have to jump right into it and take advantage of every day we get to work with our players.”

“It’s basically a walk-through,” he explained. “It’s still getting to know guys, being able to evaluate, being able to see what they can handle mentally. I think we try to force and throw a lot at these guys; we will be doing the same with the new guys. Between [Eric] Ebron and some of the guys, we have to hit the ground running and see how they fit.”

“But keep in mind that the most important thing is being able to find out, as quick as you possibly can, what they’re comfortable with, what that comfort is within the system, and how we can best use it.”

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4 numbers the Steelers must improve in 2020

After a 2019 season where the Steelers were last in many categories, it shouldn’t be too difficult to make improvements in 2020.

With the Bengals bringing Joe Burrow to Cincinnati, Lamar Jackson showing the Ravens he has what it takes, and a new, offensive-minded head coach in Kevin Stefanski with the Cleveland Browns, the AFC North is likely to be the most competitive it’s been in recent history.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will need to step up their game on offense to compete in what will be a tough division.

Here are four areas where the Steelers need to improve to remain steady on the road to the playoffs.

Passing yards per attempt

(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

This number should automatically recover with Ben Roethlisberger back at the helm of the Steelers offense. In 2019, between Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges, the offense had to claw their way to a paltry 2,981 yards on 510 attempts (5.84 yards/attempt). Yards per attempt were down from 7.26 in Roethlisberger’s career 2018 season when he threw for 5,008 yards on 689 attempts.

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Steelers OC Randy Fichtner ranks 2nd in pass-heavy play-calling

Under offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner, the Pittsburgh Steelers love to air it out.

ESPN writer, Mike Clay, performed an extensive analysis of NFL playcaller tendencies for every team and found that the Steelers have a penchant for airing it out — so much so that offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner is ranked as the second pass-heaviest playcaller in the NFL.

Here is what Clay wrote about Fichtner:

Fichtner took over for Todd Haley as the Steelers’ playcaller in 2018. There’s not much to take away here, as the offense was heavy on volume, passing and production with Ben Roethlisberger healthy in 2018, but quite the opposite without him in 2019. Both offenses were below average in aDOT (especially to the tight end) and both were above average in RB targets.

In Fichtner’s first outing as OC (he was promoted from quarterbacks coach) in 2018, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger led the league with an astounding 675 attempts. In doing so, Roethlisberger broke his previous career-high of 608 set in 2014, the only other time he threw 600+ passes.

2018 wasn’t that long ago, but the Steelers are now without a significant part of that offense — wide receiver Antonio Brown. However, thanks to the double-teaming of Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster led the team in receiving yards with 1,426 (to Browns’ 1,297).

There is no better word to use to describe the 2019 offense other than disastrous. Due to injuries and the loss of Roethlisberger for the season, Smith-Schuster wasn’t able to live up to “wide receiver No. 1” billing. The QB carousel of Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges resulted in a paltry 2,981 yards passing on 510 completions.

To say the least, 2020 will be an interesting season for the Steelers offense. There are three new faces — rookie WR Chase Claypool and free agents Derek Watt (fullback) and Eric Ebron (tight end). Add to that Smith-Schuster (in a contract year), Diontae Johnson, James Washington, Vance McDonald, and the receiving talents of running backs James Conner and Jaylen Samuels, and the Steelers should pose a nightmare for defenses. With a plethora of weapons available at Fichtner’s disposal and the return of Roethlisberger, the sky is the limit.

Only time will tell if Roethlisberger can return to form and be able to air it out to Fichtner’s standards. Either way, the NFL is a passing league, and the Steelers seem up for the challenge.

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Which Steelers coordinator is under more pressure in 2020?

The Steelers coordinators have all the roster talent they need to win.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers roster is loaded. There’s no other way to say it. Pittsburgh has as much talent on both sides of the football as any team in the NFL. There are many NFL coordinators who would love to have the players offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and defensive coordinator Keith Butler has to work with.

So after two missed playoff opportunities in the last two seasons, which coordinator heads into 2020 with more pressure on them?

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For us, it’s all about Fichtner. He got a pass last season when Ben Roethlisberger got hurt but the truth is when Big Ben went down, Fichtner just threw his hand up and surrendered. This isn’t what you want from your OC. Assuming there are no more catastrophic injuries this season,

Butler on the other hand got things on track last season. And with minimal losses on the defensive roster, should be in a position to have another strong season out of this group.

Cast your vote and tell us which coordinator is under more pressure to produce this season.

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Steelers OC Randy Fichtner needs to show commitment to run game

A solid plan for the Pittsburgh Steelers run game will be necessary with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returning from injury.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, 38, is coming off an elbow injury that abruptly ended his season Week 2 of the 2019 season. The operation on the elbow of his throwing arm involved reattaching three flexor tendons.

It’ll be in the Steelers best interest to bring Roethlisberger along slowly. Even though he’s said that he’s throwing without pain, it would be foolish to expect a return to the 42 attempts per-game from 2018. On average, Roethlisberger has thrown 36 times per game since 2014.

“Being so, so focused on passing the ball has never been a path to success for the Steelers or really anybody else,” said Aditi Kinkhabwala, Steelers reporter for NFL Network, on Around the NFL. “Look at what the Titans did a year ago or the 49ers — you need a run game.”

Tennessee and San Fransisco were both balanced offensively in 2019. The Titans pass-to-run plays ratio was 448/445, and the 49ers was 478/498. Contrastingly, the Steelers had 510 pass attempts to 395 run attempts.

“Since the Steelers changed offensive coordinators from Todd Haley to Randy Fichtner, they haven’t shown much propensity to want to run the ball,” said Kinkhabwala, who has been covering the Steelers since 2012.

Fichtner comes from a passing-game mindset — his career has been spent focusing on QBs and wide receivers. Since he arrived in Pittsburgh in 2007, he’s been instrumental in the development of Santonio Holmes, Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, and Antonio Brown. So, it’s no surprise that Fichtner favors passing the ball to running it. But if the Steelers want Roethlisberger to remain effective in whatever time he has left with the team, they’d be wise to incorporate more rush attempts into the game plan.

The performance of the run game is obviously dependent on the performance of the offensive line, and last season the Steelers’ line simply didn’t play at the same level it did in 2018. The unit dropped eight spots from first to nine in the Pro Football Focus offensive line rankings.

Now-retired guard Ramon Foster accounted for 317 run plays in 2019 with a PFF grade of 52. Stefen Wisniewski, a free-agency signing this offseason, will likely start at guard this season. The most snap counts Wisniewski has taken since his rookie season (with the Oakland Raiders) was in 2017 with the Philadelphia Eagles when he was involved in 388 run plays with a PFF grade of 70.

While the level of involvement from fullback Derek Watt remains to be seen, the roster addition should help bolster the run game. In Watt’s last season in Los Angeles, he was part of 72 run plays with a blocking grade of 58.

Roethlisberger had a career year in 2018, as did his offensive line. If the line can return to ’18 form, it should speak volumes for running back James Conner, who put up his best numbers that same season.

But first, Fichtner has to make more of a commitment to integrating the diverse group of backs he has at his disposal.

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The future is bright for WR Chase Claypool in Pittsburgh

Having wide receiver Chase Claypool on the roster will open up the offensive playbook for coordinator Randy Fichtner.

It’s not every year that a rookie lands on a team with such offensive firepower as Ben Roethlisberger, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, James Washington, and Eric Ebron.

Chase Claypool, selected by the Steelers No. 49 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, was just that rookie.

The Steelers are a league-leader in three-receiver sets (about 70%). With the addition of the 6-4 Claypool, the playbook can be blown wide open for offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and maybe we’ll even see more four-receiver sets.

Though Fichtner sees Claypool starting his career in Pittsburgh as an outside (X) receiver, the OC doesn’t want to pigeonhole him.

“You don’t want to ever put anyone in a box, said Fichtner. “[Claypool has] played some inside position. He’s probably more comfortable in being an outside-type receiver. He wins an awful lot of one-on-ones. I don’t remember not seeing him win a one-on-one, contested-type play.

Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

“It’s a more natural thing for the developing of an outside receiver to fit in and help,” Fichtner said. “Obviously the first thing you think about is he’s a possibility in the red zone, big target backing down the line, big target in the corners, those types of things. Like all of them, I wouldn’t say ‘He’s locked in, he has to be this.’”

Putting Claypool in the X with Johnson will allow Smith-Schuster to return to the inside (Y) position where he played when Antonio Brown was on the team. The Y seems to be a better fit for Smith-Schuster, and he was highly productive in that position.

In recent years, Steelers rookies have gotten on the field quicker, and I expect that trend will continue with Claypool. Transitioning to the pros from college is never an easy feat, but the talent surrounding Claypool will certainly help.

Adding Claypool should also make life easier for the veteran receivers, as well as Roethlisberger. Big Ben now has another huge target to throw to, giving him a slew of options like he’s never quite had before.

Claypool understands the limitations that not being at the Steelers facility will bring, but doesn’t feel it’ll hinder him much. He’s been getting some one-on-one work with former Bengals WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh and will continue to do so until NFL facilities reopen.

“I will be working with [T.J.] for a while, and then I will try to get to the facility as quick as I can just to get some work in with Ben and JuJu and the other receivers there and familiarize myself with the offense,” Claypool said. “I don’t think it will limit me because there will be more one-on-one work that I will be put in.”

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What should the Steelers do with OC Randy Fichtner?

Do the Steelers need to make a change with Randy Fichtner?

Last season the Pittsburgh Steelers had a historically bad offense. This franchise has seen some bad groups but this one stood out in all the worst ways. You really have to go back to 1998 to find a Steelers offense this ineffective. A huge part of the problem with the 1998 offense was the departure of then-offensive coordinator Chan Gailey.

This season a big chunk of the blame for why this team failed to have a running back rush for 500 yards, failed to score 30 points in any single game or generate one 300-yard passing performance falls on offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner.

Fichtner failed week after week to adapt to injuries and while we can’t discount the injury factor, Fichtner’s lack of creativity and flexibility showed in a huge way. This was especially true with the run game.

Many fans have spent the better part of two months calling for Fichtner to be fired but now that the dust has settled on the season we want to ask you, Steeler Nation, what do the Steelers do with Fichtner?

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Cast your vote and tell us what you’d do with Fichtner in the offseason.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin open to adding QB coach

Mike Tomlin didn’t seem opposed to some coaching changes in the offseason.

When Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin promoted Randy Fichtner to offensive coordinator, it left a void in the coaching staff. Prior to his promotion, Fichtner had been the team’s quarterbacks coach from 2010-2017. But from 2018 on, Fichtner has tried to fill both roles. However, according to Tomlin, he isn’t opposed to added a dedicated quarterbacks coach for next season.

Doing both was a fairly simple task when it comes to Ben Roethlisberger. It wasn’t like it takes a lot of coaching to keep a future Hall of Fame quarterback on track.

But this season, when Roethlisberger went down with an elbow injury, the whole depth chart fell apart. Despite some flahses, Mason Rudolph didn’t look ready to step into the starting job and once he was injured/benched, Devlin Hodges was lost.

With the clock ticking on Roethlisberger’s career, Pittsburgh must bring in someone to groom the team’s next starting quarterback. Whether or not they are already on the roster is a question for another day.

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Steelers OC Randy Fichtner tries to explain why he gave up on the run game last week

Sometimes Randy Fichtner makes no sense.

Sometimes when you watch the Pittsburgh Steelers play, they will go long stretches when their plan of attack is impossible to decipher. This is especially true on offense. Up is down, inside is outside and nothing else makes sense.

You can attribute this squarely to offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner. He became the Steelers OC in part because of his relationship with Ben Roethlisberger as the Steelers’ quarterbacks coach. But as we saw last week against the Buffalo Bills, managing the gameplan is still a work in progress.

But Fichtner tried to justify the missteps by the offense last week and honestly made himself sound foolish. Fichtner spoke to the media on Thursday and tried to rationalize why in a game where the score was close from start to finish, the run game was completely abandoned.

But Fichtner wasn’t ready to admit that.

“I don’t know about that,” Fichtner said. “A little situation in the second half may have dictated a little bit more. At halftime, it was close to 50-50. I don’t know if it’s always about the number. You like to kick yourself sometimes and say maybe we should have run it more here, maybe we should have passed it a little bit more on first down — things like that.

Uhm, what? The game was 10-7 Pittsburgh in the third quarter when Fichtner misplaced the run plays in the playbook. Out of the Steelers last 30 plays, only 4 of them were runs. While we concede down the stretch the Steelers did have to throw a bit more in order to try to move the ball down the field, but there was plenty of time prior to this when the Steelers forced the passing attack despite all the struggles by Devin Hodges.

Let’s hope this week with James Conner and Jaylen Samuels healthy and in the mix at practice all week, Fichtner won’t have to make any excuses as to why he abandoned the run game when the Steelers needed it most.

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