Steelers better in the red zone
Team boosts its points per game average by three
Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner wasn’t on the job very long before he received his first directive from team president Art Rooney II. On Valentine’s Day, just a few weeks after Fichtner was hired to replace Todd Haley, Rooney said he’d like to see a more efficient red-zone offense.
“We need to become better in the red zone,” Rooney said then. “We have a new offensive coordinator, and we’ll make a few changes to affect that. If we stay healthy, we’ll be difficult to defend. We have the ability to run the ball with Le’Veon and throw the ball. We do need to get better there, and hopefully we will be.”
Well, Le’Veon Bell hasn’t shown up yet, but so far, so good with the red zone. The Steelers enter their game against the Ravens with the No. 2 red-zone offense in the NFL.
The Steelers have converted 75 percent of their possessions in the red zone into touchdowns. Only the Bengals are converting at a higher percentage (76.9).
That’s a stark improvement over last season, when they converted 53 percent of their red-zone possessions into touchdowns. They were 18th in the NFL in red-zone efficiency last season.
The Steelers aren’t getting to the red zone as often as they were under Haley, but they are converting more of their chances. They are averaging 2.9 red-zone attempts per game, down from 3.9 per game last season. They are scoring at the same pace as in the red zone as last season, averaging 2.1 touchdowns per game through the first seven games.
The improved efficiency has helped the Steelers improve their overall scoring under Fichtner by almost three points per game. The Steelers averaged 26.4 points per game under Haley last season, but they are averaging 29.1 per game this season.
“We’ve dedicated time to it,” Fichtner said. “I like to think that maybe some offseason study things that we did helped, some thoughtfulness on things that we knew we had to improve. It had been somewhat of an eyesore at times. It boils down to execution, and guys have been executing. It boils down to the play-making, but they’re comfortable in the things we’re asking them to do.”
As for the eyesore plays from previous years, Fichtner said negative plays and turnovers were his two biggest pet peeves. Ben Roethlisberger has thrown six redzone touchdown passes, but Fichtner lamented his two interceptions. That’s already one more red-zone interception than he had all of last season.
“You can’t have negative plays, obviously,” Fichtner said. “We’ve turned it over two times down there. That’s probably the two times we may not have scored touchdowns. That’s disappointing. It’s disappointing anytime we turn it over. ...
“We’ve worked hard to try to be better in that area but without taking away the creativity of an established veteran quarterback who will pull the trigger. That’s half the battle with the young quarterbacks sometimes. It’s hard to get them to pull the trigger because no one seems open. And yet everyone is open.”
But the Steelers haven’t relied heavily upon Roethlisberger in the red zone. Running back James Conner has been effective in tight areas, scoring touchdowns on six of his 16 rushing attempts inside the 5-yard line. The Steelers had the same kind of effectiveness with Bell last season, but Fichtner said there has been more of an emphasis on the running game in the red zone this season.
“We’ve made more of a commitment to running the ball in general, if and when we can,” he said.
That’s one area where Fichtner second-guessed himself after the Ravens beat the Steelers, 26-14, Sept. 30 at Heinz Field. Conner was held to a season-low 19 yards on nine carries, and Fichtner said he got away from it too early.
That ineffectiveness bled into Fichtner’s red-zone play-calling. The Steelers twice got into the red zone against the Ravens and did not score either time. Roethlisberger was 0 for 4 passing and Conner had one carry for 1 yard.
“Our details were lacking in that game across the board,” Fichtner said. “I start with myself and our staff offensively. I don’t think there would be a player that said they felt like they played their best game. When we had a chance to look back at it, we were pretty critical of what we did and didn’t do. It was a pretty good eye opener.”
Injury report
Right tackle Marcus Gilbert (knee) was limited Thursday after going through a full practice Wednesday. Cornerback Coty Sensabaugh also was limited after missing Wednesday. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (finger) and outside linebacker Bud Dupree (illness) were full participants Thursday.