Offense has to put focus on balance
Using running game more often is key to getting that critical task done
The Steelers ground game made history in 2018 in more ways than one.
They abandoned it nearly the way Le’Veon Bell abandoned them.
The Steelers had 345 rushing attempts last season, the fewest in their modern history, which began when Chuck Noll arrived as the coach in 1969. Their 1,445 yards were the second fewest in their history, surpassed only by the 1,383 produced in 2013.
They ranked 31st in the NFL in yards, 31st in attempts.
It is safe to say that last season was not your father’s Steelers offense and, Art Rooney II hopes, not your children’s offense for that matter because he would like to see it change.
The Steelers, long known for their epic ground games, turned into Air Fichtner under new coordinator Randy Fichtner. Ben Roethlisberger led the NFL in passing yards for the first time, yet they managed only a 9-6-1 record.
The lack of commitment on the ground might not have been the reason they missed the playoffs, but they want to do better in 2019.
“I think that I’d like to see us be a little more balanced than what we were,” Rooney said after the season, “although truth of the matter is we were pretty successful passing, so it’s hard to say it was a problem. But I do think being a little more balanced could be helpful.”
It was helpful for a few other teams, such as the two opponents in the Super Bowl. The Los Angeles Rams had the third-most prolific running game in the league last season and the New England Patriots were fifth.
Perhaps it should be no surprise the Steelers had so little faith in their run game after Bell stayed away all season. Yet the dichotomy of the whole thing is that James Conner, his replacement, made the Pro Bowl and would have topped 1,000 yards had he not missed three games with a high ankle sprain.
Conner rushed for 973 yards and averaged 4.5 yards per carry on his 215 carries. In some ways, he was more productive last season than Bell was in 2017. Bell averaged just 4.0 yards rushing per carry in 2017 with nine rushing touchdowns. Conner rushed for 12 touchdowns.
Conner also caught 55 passes, and, while that can’t touch Bell’s 85 receptions in 2017, he averaged 9 yards a catch to Bell’s 7.7.
The Steelers’ decline in the run game wasn’t so much the switch in halfbacks but the lack of commitment to running the ball.
They will be without Bell for good from now on, and that also appears to be OK with Rooney.
“The running back position I feel good about,’’ he said during that same January interview. “It looks like we have two good, young players at that position at this point, so I feel like we’re in pretty good shape there.”
The other halfback is Jaylen Samuels, a fifth-round pick last season who started the three games Conner missed. In one of them, he ran for 142 yards on 19 carries, a victory against New England.
Samuels came from North Carolina State, where he was used mostly as a receiver. The Steelers believe he can be a reliable No. 2.
When considering the backfield, the ability of Conner and Samuels as receivers
must be included because, like Bell, many of those short passes replace runs and can at times be more effective.
Veteran Stevan Ridley was a disappointment and, as an unrestricted free agent, likely won’t return. The Steelers, though, could use another back, whether that’s a veteran or a draft pick. They could afford to divvy up the carries
like many other teams rather than feed one back all season until he gets hurt.
They also could use fullback Rosie Nix more often. He made the Pro Bowl in 2017 and then played sparingly in 2018. They don’t have to go back to the days of running the Bus, but, as Rooney noted, more balance between the run and the pass should be the goal.