Will the Steelers’ Offense Show Signs of Improvement in Week 3?

Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

According to Ed Bouchette of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Todd Haley is “not happy with anything right now” when it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense.

Then again, nobody would be “happy” with a unit which accumulated 75 rushing yards and 19 points combined during their first two regular season games either.

I am sure that Haley also knows that his offense and himself should shoulder a large chunk of the blame for Pittsburgh’s 0-2 start.  To be fair though, I will not savage Haley for the entirety of what has occurred like most have been more than willing to do over the last two weeks.

It is not “Boss Todd’s” fault that his “smurf-like” wide receivers cannot fight off of the line of scrimmage.  Nor is he to blame for the fact that Pittsburgh’s offensive line is comprised of turnstiles who cannot block for the pass or the run consistently.  Finally, Haley has no bearing on the health of Heath Miller and Le’Veon Bell, and the simple fact that their replacements should be released or on practice squads elsewhere.

What Haley does deserve blame for however has been his misuse of his healthy personnel during the first two weeks of the regular season.  The fact that he allowed the backups of Miller and Bell to see the field and contribute as much as they did over the first two weeks over more explosive play-makers like Markus Wheaton and Derek Moye was a poor choice.

In addition, the lack of plays with rolling pockets for “Big Ben” to avoid being at the mercy of his offensive line with five and seven-steps was probably not wise either.  Heck, the simple fact that he did not let his Pro Bowl quarterback take over the offense and allowed him put the ball in the hands of his best weapons in the passing game more often was ridiculous.

Plus, I am sure that Haley would admit that more “no-huddle” and “hurry-up” should have been incorporated into the offensive game plans during the first two weeks too.

At least Haley knows that he is on the proverbial “hot seat,” and it is definitely nice to see him paying some lip service to how terrible his offense has been.

Yet one must question if Haley will go the Mike Tomlin-route and simply pay “lip service” to a problem, or if he will actually make the necessary changes to point his offense in the right direction?

I for one hope that Haley has learned from his mistakes, and has tailored his offensive scheme to the personnel he has at the moment.

Wheaton is expected to receive more work this weekend, Miller will reportedly play according to Bouchette’s article, and Felix Jones, who is expected to see extended reps this weekend, is the only healthy running back on Pittsburgh’s roster who is adept enough to run out of the shotgun formation and in a zone-blocking scheme.

I am rooting for Haley to turn things around, and he definitely has the caliber of quarterback at his disposal to do that very thing beginning this weekend.

Stats & Info. Provided By: ESPN.com, Steelers.com and Pro Football Reference

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