Can the Steelers overcome bigger issues to finish season strong?
The Pittsburgh Steelers will exit the ‘bye’ week at mid-season in 2017 with a 6-2 record while their AFC North counterparts in the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals played and lost in Week 9; setting up the potential for Pittsburgh to go ahead in the division by an even wider spread in the next few weeks. The Steelers have several issues that are standing in the way of them grabbing the AFC conference lead, a playoff berth or another Super Bowl run, however, that need to be addressed if they want to be successful in the second half of the season.
The obvious issues
Reviewing the first half of the 2017 NFL regular season, it isn’t hard to point out the glaringly obvious issues that have plagued the Steelers. They’re barely worth mentioning because they’re apparent: they have key players that are injured, they haven’t been very diverse on offense, poor tackling and over-pursuit of plays have allowed opposing offenses to burn the defense, there have been off-field distractions that have carried over into the locker room. Most Steelers fans complain about or discuss these topics on a weekly basis on social media.
Be honest. How many times have you heard that Roethlisberger looks sleepy or rusty? How many discussions have you read where people have expressed that they wish Keith Butler ran more man defense? How many people have felt Todd Haley was doing a poor job calling plays or creating that juggernaut offense that everyone expected at the beginning of the season?
The items mentioned above are semi-legitimate concerns, but they are not necessarily the biggest issues that could keep Pittsburgh from making a run for postseason play. Anyone suggesting they are the only ‘must improve’ issues are overlooking the big picture.
Bigger issue 1: Finishing drives positively
The Steelers have seen some big plays this season on offense and defense. One area that has been decidedly disappointing has been their ability to finish drives on a positive note, especially in the red zone. It wasn’t until Week 7 that the red zone defense amped things up, either.
Pittsburgh is averaging 41.4 percent efficiency in scoring touchdowns from the red zone on the season so far (third-worst in the league through eight weeks). That statistic is even more distressing when the offense is averaging just 20.9 points per game (20th in the league) although they’re 11th in the league in yards gained. Coming out of the ‘bye’, Pittsburgh will have to adjust their personnel packages and formations when calling plays if they hope to maximize opportunities to finish drives in a positive manner.
After seeing a new level of toughness against the Detroit Lions, the Steelers defense looks like it has discovered the key to success in finishing more quickly than the offense. By eliminating opponents from scoring in short-yardage situations inside the 20, they’re going to need longevity, toughness and intelligent play from key personnel down the stretch to keep points off the scoreboard and flip the field for the offense.
Bigger issue 2: Getting everyone involved and invested on offense
The Steelers, admittedly, have had to rotate personnel based on injuries. Every team in the NFL faces that same issue. The Steelers have seen more of a rotation this season based on the level of investment players have given, however, than they have in the recent past and it’s become something that could keep them from being successful moving deeper into the season.
On offense, there has yet to be a wide receiver that has stepped up to be the legitimate week-to-week wide receiver 2. While rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster has shown an eagerness to fill that position with his play, head coach Mike Tomlin would like to see guys like Eli Rogers, Martavis Bryant, Justin Hunter and even Darrius Heyward-Bey get more involved as well.
Tomlin admitted last week that the reason the offense has been run-heavy is due to the level of confidence the team has in being successful behind an effective offensive line and the types of matchups they’ve had with opponents. Getting Le’Veon Bell going will prove to be key, but more reps from James Conner and Terrell Watson aren’t out of the question as the season deepens. The key to success is being balanced, getting everyone to buy into the plan and then execute in a positive manner.
“Our personality the last couple of weeks is a reflection of us, but it’s also a reflection of the variables that the week’s challenge presents,” Tomlin told the media. “I think if you want to have any type of sustainable success in this league, in any phase, you better have balance. You better be able to do multiple things, with multiple people, and that’s what we’re hunting.”
Veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has struggled this season with accuracy on throws, but much of that has been as a result of a lack of rapport and trust that his targets – wide receivers or tight ends – will be in proper position or on the correct route. While underthrowing a target may mainly be on a quarterback, catches dropped by receivers that have been placed in the perfect spot kills drives and lead to trotting the special teams or defense onto the field.
“We have been winning games and not playing our best ball,” said Bell. “We are ready to go out there and play some more football. We are going to be healthy, hopefully, get some of our guys back off of this bye week, and come back and play better football.”
Bigger issue 3: Being consistent week to week on defense
On paper, the Steelers defense looks pretty darn good coming out of the bye week. They entered it ranked fourth overall in the league and second against the pass. Initial impressions, especially after Pittsburgh held the Detroit Lions to just 71 yards on the ground, held them to no points in five trips inside the red zone and forced the Lions to turn the ball over on downs twice. By allowing 423 yards through the air, however, the Steelers’ numbers fell in pass defense.
Moving forward, the defense needs consistency in shutting down all aspects of opposing teams’ offenses week to week – not just in one area or another – to finish their season with success.
Until we get the ring, our job is not done. – M. Mitchell
“We haven’t come close to scratching the surface of what we are capable of,” linebacker Vince Williams said. “We just need to solidify some things…We just have to put everything together every single time we step on the field.”
Safety Mike Mitchell insisted that the people that think the defense is at its peak or doing good enough to go all the way to an AFC – and even Super Bowl – championship are those who aren’t in the locker room. “We have a lot of work to do, no matter what anybody says out(side) of the room, good or bad,” said Mitchell. “I always go back to that Troy (Polamalu) statement, ‘You never are as good as they say you are, and you are never as bad as they say you are.’ … There is so much work to be done.”
