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How the Steelers can fix their offensive woes in 2020

By Eric Hassel

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 22: James Conner #30 of the Pittsburgh Steelers warms up prior to the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on December 22, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 22: James Conner #30 of the Pittsburgh Steelers warms up prior to the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on December 22, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – NOVEMBER 03: Vance McDonald #89 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates after catching a 7-yard touchdown in the second half against the Indianapolis Colts on November 3, 2019 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – NOVEMBER 03: Vance McDonald #89 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates after catching a 7-yard touchdown in the second half against the Indianapolis Colts on November 3, 2019 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

The Steelers under-utilized the Tight Ends in 2019

To reiterate what I stated earlier in the discussion, if you’re as old as I am (50 years old), you fondly remember the 1970’s offense that won four Super Bowls on a simple formula: A ‘power’ running game with some passes sprinkled in for good measure.

Those ‘sprinkled in’ passes to which I am referring did not always go to the Wide Receivers; the Tight End was a viable option in the Steelers passing game of the 1970s…and of the 1980s and the 1990s and the 2000s…I think you get my point.

The Tight Ends in the Steelers 2019 offense were virtually non-existent. The leader in receptions was Vance McDonald, who caught 38 passes for 273 yards and 3 TDs, according to the official website of the Steelers.

Having played in 14 games this season, McDonald registered at least one catch in every game; however, his most productive outing was one in which he caught 7 passes for 38 yards with 2 TD passes to boot.

Since the NFL of today is a passing league, teams look for mismatches to maximize the passing game.  McDonald or any other athletic TE would be a mismatch for teams as a linebacker or safety would be assigned to cover the TE.  The Steelers offense in 2019 did not seem to exploit said mismatch.  To me, the TEs were an afterthought.

I do not know the reason(s) behind why the TEs were seemingly under-utilized, but I suspect it was a schematic decision.  If I am correct, it was a poor decision, one that must be rectified in 2020 if the Steelers are going to have any success in the passing game.

To illuminate this point, the Steelers offense ranked 31st in average passing yards per game.  Now, I am not suggesting that we should have thrown the ball exclusively to the TEs, but, again, the sheer nature of the inherent mismatch would lead you to conclude that throwing the ball in the direction of the mismatch increases your chances of moving the ball down the field.

Let’s take a look at the third fix for the Steelers offense.

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