The Steelers’ special teams unit must improve in 2019
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense has been under fire for several years. The special teams unit might be the bigger issue, however.
The Steelers missed out on the playoffs last season after the Baltimore Ravens claimed the division lead by half a game following a three-game winning streak to finish the season. It’s easy to blame a defense that struggled to generate takeaways or an offense dealing with some dysfunction in the locker room between key players.
The third, and often overlooked, phase of the game might be the most to blame, however. The Steelers’ special teams unit has not been as successful recently as it needs to be.
Pittsburgh was second to last in the NFL in average yards per kick return. They were also one of only four teams in the NFL that averaged less than twenty yards per return. The team was consistently forced to contend with long fields as a result.
In the punt return game, they weren’t much better, ranking in the bottom half of the league in that regard as well. Those averages need to be better for a team that ranked in the top eleven in both total kick and punt returns.
The kick coverage unit was an average one but the same can’t be said for the punt coverage team. The Steelers had to cover the third-lowest number of punt returns in the league but still managed to rank in the bottom half of the league in punt return yardage allowed.
For a team with a defense that wasn’t an elite unit, they need to be put in more favorable situations. It’s hard for a defense to be successful when they are consistently losing the field position battle.
Perhaps the most concerning of the Steelers special teams woes, was the field goal unit. As a team, they ranked second to last in the league, both in field goals made, and field goal percentage. Their offense was generally very successful getting into the endzone but it is incredibly difficult to win football games leaving that many points off the board.
In 2017 Chris Boswell could be counted on to win a game for the team if it came down to a fourth-quarter field goal. The same couldn’t be said last season. The coaches are forced to game-plan and make decisions differently when they don’t have a reliable kicking game.
By improving the special teams aspect of the game, Pittsburgh can make the game easier for both their offense and defense. By winning the field position battle the Steelers will be able to give their offense shorter fields to work with, something that will be much more important in 2019 after the team lost their best big-play threat in Antonio Brown.
AB was also one of their top red-zone weapons increasing the importance of converting drives into points in the kicking game. The defense would benefit similarly. It’s a lot easier to play defense without your back against the wall.
The special teams can be improved in 2019 simply with more practice and focus on that phase of the game. It is not an issue of talent. There are plenty of players capable of covering kicks and punts for the team, and the return units should improve with more time.
Ryan Switzer hasn’t been with the team long and I expect chemistry to improve after a full training camp. If the coaches see the issues facing them they can make a huge positive impact on all phases of the game simply by putting more emphasis on special teams.
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On top of that, I expect an uptick from Boswell this season or a different player kicking field goals for the team. It is highly unlikely that the Steelers coaching staff will be willing to go into next season without a kicker they have complete faith in or at least attempting to find one.