Tag: Steelers run game

Dear Steelers: If you only commit to one thing this season, let it be this

If Ben Roethlisberger is to go out with his head held high, the organization needs to lend him a helping hand.

So Ben Roethlisberger is returning for his 18th and what appears to be final season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

If Roethlisberger is to go out with his head held high, the organization needs to lend him a helping hand in the form of a reliable run game and balanced offense.

With Matt Canada taking over the reins, we’re going to see a different scheme, that’s certain. But I would think some of what we saw in 2020 was of then-QB coach Matt Canada’s doing.

Roethlisberger isn’t getting any younger, but he still has the ability to produce, as evidenced by 3,803 yards, 33 touchdowns, and a QB rating of 94. That was with Pittsburgh’s receivers dropping balls at an alarming rate.

Just imagine what he can do with a little help from his (RB) friends. Unfortunately, the run game vanished between the first half and second half of the 2020 season, so did the offense’s success and winning games.

NFL Network reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala recently tweeted these jarring stats: When the Steelers rush for 100 yards, Roethlisberger is 106-20-1 (.839). When they don’t, he’s 50-54 (.481). Since 2018, he’s 12-0-1 when his team gives him 100 rush yards, 9-11 when it doesn’t.

Ben had a terrific season in a pass-first (heck, pass-always) offense, especially considering he was 38 and coming off what could’ve easily been a career-ending injury. Sure, his interceptions went up in the second half of the season (four in first eight weeks, six in last eight), but some of that had to do with the offense’s predictability than Ben’s accuracy. Logic tells us that the more one throws the ball, the higher the chances of being picked off.

If the Steelers expect Roethlisberger to survive his likely last season, they will need to show an undying commitment to a ground attack. Run the ball down defense’s throats and take some pressure off Big Ben.

Take a look at Aditi’s follow-up tweet:

Pittsburgh had more rush yards (684) through six games than it did in the last 11 games (667). That’s unacceptable and played a role in their lack of success down the stretch.

As it stands today, Pittsburgh’s running back stable consists of three unproven guys in Benny Snell, Jaylen Samuels and Anthony McFarland. James Conner remains unsigned and won’t be unless he agrees to a reduced role and salary. Even then, the Steelers sound like they’re ready to move on.

Not only do the Steelers need to bolster their backs, but they’re going to have to revamp their offensive line to include guys who can run block. Of the six free-agent linemen, only one is signed — reserve left tackle, Jarron Jones.

The Steelers can get there. They just need to make the right moves and stick to their (run game) guns — for the sake of Ben Roethlisberger’s legacy. We all know that players are often remembered for how they exited. Help him make it a great exit.

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The ginormous waste of salary cap dollars that is Steelers FB Derek Watt

It’s a mystery as to why the Steelers aren’t using fullback Derek Watt on offense when he was paid a king’s ransom.

WOOSH! Do you hear that? That’s the sound of the Pittsburgh Steelers flushing money down the toilet.

Pittsburgh took a big swing and missed with the signing of fullback Derek Watt in the offseason.

While they hadn’t used a fullback consistently in quite some time, the Steelers still shelled out a 3-year, $9.75 million contract — including a whopping $3.25 million in guarantees and a $1 million signing bonus. A total cash payout of $4.25 million.

The ink wasn’t even dry on his contract, and Watt had already made more money with the Steelers than in four seasons with the San Diego/L.A. Chargers.

With that lucrative of a contract, Pittsburgh had to expect he’d be a force at fullback. After all, Watt was the “unsung hero” in Los Angeles, leading the way for Pro Bowl running back Melvin Gordon.

After signing Watt, there was speculation that the Steelers were planning to commit to the run game, something they hadn’t done since 2018. And the timing couldn’t be better. Using the run to take pressure off 38-year-old Ben Roethlisberger, who was coming off a year of elbow rehab, was the smart thing to do.

Only that’s not what Pittsburgh has done. In nine games, Watt has been involved in an average of 7.6 percent or 49 total offensive snaps — that’s fewer than a dozen per game.

Here’s the breakdown:

Courtesy of Pro Football Focus

Pittsburgh’s ground attack had a degree of success early in the season. Benny Snell logged 113 yards in Week 1, followed by 100+ yard games from James Conner in Weeks 2, 3 and 6. Since then, the ground game has been deteriorating before their very eyes, yet, for whatever reason, the Steelers have flat-out refused to utilize Watt as a run blocker.

There could be a few reasons for this. Perhaps they realized Watt isn’t as good as they envisioned — he’s whiffed on multiple assignments (including once at the goal line versus Washington Football Team) and carries a 42.6 PFF grade.

Maybe Watt’s previous injuries are lingering and limiting his capabilities. Derek dealt with knee and shoulder injuries throughout his time out west. Once in Pittsburgh, training camp was slowed first due to COVID shutdown, then Watt was eased in after recovering from an undisclosed offseason surgery. Three weeks into the regular season, he sustained a hamstring pull that caused him to miss 5.5 games.

To compensate for the deficiencies on the ground, the Steelers style of offense to this point has been a lot of four-receiver sets, and getting Watt on the field means someone has to come off.

At this point, no matter what the reason for Watt’s lack of playing time, the Steelers need to increase his role on offense and give him more opportunities to prove himself. After all, when receivers drop balls, Roethlisberger keeps throwing to them. Teams that utilize a fullback as lead blockers — the Minnesota Vikings (C.J. Ham) and Cleveland Browns (Andy Janovich) — have two of the most successful run games in the league with Dalvin Cook and Nick Chubb.

While Watt’s backfield contributions are few, he’s been integral to the success of special teams with 15 key plays, two tackles and an assist (though not akin to his usage in California).

Courtesy of Pro Football Focus

Still, nothing about Watt says he’s worth $4.25 million, let alone nearly $10 million over the life of his contract.

If he continues to be nothing more than a (very expensive) special teams ace, Pittsburgh needs to cut their losses, and Derek Watt, before his $1 million roster bonus hits in March.

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So much to do, so little time: Steelers HC Mike Tomlin reveals reason for struggling ground game

Tomlin points to the short weeks his team has endured and claims they’re several weeks into focusing on the run game in practice.

In the first six games of the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers were averaging 130 yards per game and 4.1 yards per attempt. Since then, they’re at the bottom of the league in both areas.

Initially, it didn’t matter that the run game was trending downward because Pittsburgh was still able to keep the offense moving with quick, short passes. That’s no longer effective because defenses got wise and neutralized that scheme.

Until guard Matt Feiler went down last week, the line personnel is no different from starting the season.

So, why is the ground game struggling?

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin points to the short weeks his team has endured and claims they’re several weeks into focusing on the run game in practice.

“We haven’t necessarily seen the fruit of that work yet, and some of that can be traced to the short weeks,” Tomlin said in his weekly press conference. “We’ve acknowledged that, and that’s why we’re excited to work this week. Our continued emphasis is there in an effort to get that product to look the way we need it to look, round out our offensive attack, and allow it to be more fluid and productive.”

That’s a lot to digest.

From a physical standpoint, a mentality standpoint, and a play-calling standpoint, sweeping changes are required. The Steelers have three games to roll out that “product” and until the second weekend in January to perfect it.

It starts with a full week of practice leading up to the Cincinnati Bengals. This is Pittsburgh’s first full week of practice since Week 12. After the Ravens COVID outbreak forced a few schedule changes, preparation and practice for the Washington Football Team were limited to three days and five for the Buffalo Bills.

Tomlin says his team is working on adjustments. We just have to trust the results will manifest themselves. We’re not going to see significant changes in the run game this regular season. But if we’re lucky, we’ll see them in the playoffs.

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Jerome Bettis points to one primary flaw with Steelers struggling run game

“The Bus” says the Steelers need to re-establish a commitment to the run, or they’re going to lose games they can’t afford.

Who knows better about running the ball in Pittsburgh than Steelers former running back Jerome “The Bus” Bettis?

Bettis, a Hall-of-Famer who plowed through defenders for 10 seasons in Pittsburgh, is “sick” about his former team’s inability to score/convert in short-yardage situations and the deficiency with their run game as a whole.

Like all of us, Bettis was baffled by the Steelers being repeatedly stopped on the goal line in the Washington Football Team loss.

The Steelers were stood up five times from the Washington 1-yard line Monday night.

“I was sick. Unbelievable,” Bettis told Ed Bouchette of The Athletic. But he also knows there’s time to fix what’s ailing them.

“You have to work on your deficiency before you get to the playoffs. Their No. 1 priority should be re-establishing the running game because when you get to the playoffs, if you have a weakness, you will be exposed.”

Though the Steelers had a perfect season until Week 13 without much of a run attack to speak of, Bettis says the playoffs are a whole different ballgame.

“When you get to the playoffs, you play complete football teams, and you will have a harder time beating playoff-caliber teams if you can’t run the football.”

Pittsburgh ran into a team — the Washington Football Team — that exposed their incompetence on the ground. Incompetence they’ve had for a good part of the season but could still pull off wins.

One of the best short-yardage backs in the history of the NFL, Bettis knows the one thing that is lacking in Pittsburgh’s run game.

Commitment.

“The only solution in fixing the running game is the commitment,” he said. “You got to be committed to it because once you commit to it then the offensive linemen, they have a different attitude about it, the running backs look at it differently, just the whole offense changes. You can’t just fix the running game with Xs and Os. It doesn’t happen that way.”

To be committed, you must be consistent, and abandoning the run game entirely will hurt the Steelers chances of winning their next four games and, subsequently, their chance at keeping the top seed.

Bettis says once the offensive linemen know there’s a commitment to toting the rock, their approach will change. He also believes the Steelers have the backs to be efficient.

“Between Conner and Snell, you got two tailbacks who can pound the football, OK?” said Bettis. “They came from running schools in terms of what they did in college, so they can do it. Now the problem is you have to allow them to do it.

It all goes back to the C-word.

“All they need is the commitment to pound the football because in practice everything changes, and when you come out in the game, it changes,” Bettis said. “You can’t ask Ben to throw 51 times every game. As great as he is, if you ask Ben to throw 50 times, Ben will win 8 out of 10 of those games. The problem is, chances are one of those two games he loses is a playoff game that you can’t afford to lose.”

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Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin pulled one over on us

At long last, it appears that Tomlin has opened his mind to an RBBC approach to the Steelers’ run game.

Remember all that talk in the offseason from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin about not utilizing a rotational running back system? Yeah, me, too. And I fell for it. Why? Because in 13 seasons, Tomlin has never done it — except when the unit has been riddled by injury (2019, 2015).

“It was good to get Anthony McFarland involved,” said Tomlin in Sunday’s postgame press conference. “I thought our utilization of all the backs was a good element of play for us.

In reference to McFarland, Jr., Tomlin said game circumstances hadn’t allowed his role to develop. He was inactive Week 1 and suited up but didn’t play in Week 2.

“We like the overall trajectory of [McFarland’s] game,” he said. “He’s been working hard and practicing hard and has professional detail in his work. We had trust in his abilities. He brings a different skill set than the others, and they complement each other well.”

Games through three weeks have played out as such that they’re able to close games on the ground — where they’re winning but need to run out the clock and play mistake-free football in the final minutes.

“All these games are close,” Tomlin said. “Everything in the National Football League is a one-score game, so your ability in the waning moments to possess the ball and not put your defense in harm’s way, to win the critical possession downs, to be able to run or run-like action.

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“I can’t say enough about what Ben was able to do in some of those short-yardage situations. We did supplement the run with some quick RPO options that allowed us to sustain drives and possess the ball.”

The shuffling of James Conner, McFarland and Benny Snell, Jr. worked in Week 3. Every game will dictate its own set of circumstances, but it’s great to see Tomlin open to a rotational running back approach finally.

“James is our feature runner,” Tomlin said for the umpteenth time since July. “It doesn’t mean that we won’t play others, but it does mean as we distribute carries, particularly as we find our rhythm in the game, that will include Conner unless someone has an unusually hot hand.”

Tomlin added that that’s the approach from now on — he doesn’t care who gets the credit or who makes the plays.

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