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Five things the Steelers should do during the bye week, but probably won’t

By Eric Hassel

PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 30: Tyler Eifert #85 of the Cincinnati Bengals cannot make a catch as Mark Barron #26 of the Pittsburgh Steelers defends in the first quarter during the game at Heinz Field on September 30, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 30: Tyler Eifert #85 of the Cincinnati Bengals cannot make a catch as Mark Barron #26 of the Pittsburgh Steelers defends in the first quarter during the game at Heinz Field on September 30, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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CARSON, CA – OCTOBER 13: James Conner #30 of the Pittsburgh Steelers gets past Roderic Teamer #36 of the Los Angeles Chargers in the first quarter at Dignity Health Sports Park October 13, 2019, in Carson, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
CARSON, CA – OCTOBER 13: James Conner #30 of the Pittsburgh Steelers gets past Roderic Teamer #36 of the Los Angeles Chargers in the first quarter at Dignity Health Sports Park October 13, 2019, in Carson, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

The Steelers running game has to become more effective in order to kick start the offense

If you are as old as I am, you fondly remember the Super Bowl-winning teams of the 1970s that would pound the opponent into submission on a very basic formula:  A power run game and a smothering defense.  Sounds simple, but, of late, does hard.

According to NFL.com, the Steelers offense is ranked 28th in yards per game.  I realize we had a bye last week, so the numbers are not an ‘apples to apples’ comparison, but until all teams have had their bye week, the stats will be slightly askew.

The running game is ranked 26th, averaging 76.5 per game.  The passing game is ranked 28th, averaging exactly 200 yards per game.  Let’s call those averages what they are:  Bad.  We are not going to be playing in January if those trends continue.

So what should the Steelers do to get the offense going?  Run the darn ball!  Establish the running game to open up the passing game.  If opposing defenses have no fear of the running game, it’s pretty easy to figure out what the offense is going to have to do-pass the ball.

I know Rosie Nix has been injured, which has severely limited the ability to deploy a power run game; however, there are alternatives.  Use a TE as an ‘H-back’ more frequently or just flat-out use a TE as a FB.  Obviously, that would require the TE to able to block as an FB, which is different from blocking as an ‘in-line’ TE, but the concept is the same:  Block the guy in front of you.

The other option is to go ‘old school’ and run a Pro Set offense-two RB’s in the backfield.  It worked in the ’70s, and it worked up to 1991.  The Steelers teams of the post-Chuck Noll era ran a variation of the Pro Set, but with more three and four WR sets.

I don’t think the above suggestions are outlandish, but the Steelers probably won’t do any of them.  Why won’t they do these things, you ask? Good question.  The style of offense the Steelers are running right now is a lot of either ’11’ or ’12’ personnel, meaning there is either one RB and one TE or one RB and two TEs.  It would require an almost 180-degree turn to implement what I suggested.  I don’t know that the Steelers have the time to do that.

Let’s take a look at the final thing the Steelers should do, but probably won’t.

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