PITTSBURGH — Many theories have been offered about why the Steelers can't run the ball efficiently or with physicality. The Steelers' run game has regressed in recent weeks, and the offense has sputtered as a result.
ESPN analyst Booger McFarland is the latest to offer an opinion on the matter, and, not surprisingly, it was not received very well by fans and members of the team.
"Here's the biggest problem in Pittsburgh. The guys on defense are hurt. But from an offensive standpoint, the offensive line has been playing terrible," McFarland said. "They're soft. S-O-F-T.
"People talk about running the football. You can't run the football if you get no movement. You watch the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line play, they're in two-point stances, they're backpedaling ... nobody's coming off, hitting anyone in the mouth. You want to run the football in this league? Your offensive linemen have to hit the other front seven in the mouth. Pittsburgh is not doing that."
Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey took to social media to respond to McFarland and said, in essence, takes like that are why McFarland was demoted from the sidelines to the studio. A number of Steelers fans took to social media to rip McFarland and defend the Steelers' offensive line.
McFarland wasn't wrong in his assessment of the Steelers' offense, but his blame is in the wrong place. The Steelers' offensive linemen aren't soft. The team's current offensive philosophy, however, is extremely soft.
I have heard from enough former linemen and coaches to know that the Steelers' biggest issue running the football is that they aren't committed to doing it. They don't really try to do it, and the result is they have an offense that relies way too much on throwing short passes.
Pouncey, David DeCastro and Alejandro Villanueva were all three stalwarts on the Steelers' offensive line in 2016, 2017 and 2018. In those three years, the Steelers averaged more than 100 yards per game and more than 4.3 yards per carry. What, did those three all of a sudden forget how to run block? Has old age made them all soft?
That notion is silly. Those three have been physical players and good run blockers for most of their careers. And yes, in 2016 and 2017 they had Le'Veon Bell to block for, but in 2018 they had James Conner and the production in the run game didn't really fall off.
When the Steelers had Bell and still viewed Conner as a featured running back, though, they were committed to running the football and being physical in the run game. Now that isn't the case, as the offensive linemen are asked to pass block and try to run block primarily out of shotgun formations.
Mike Tomlin at his Tuesday news conference bemoaned the fact that the Bills were more physical than the Steelers Sunday night, and that was the difference in the game. He said the film showed the Bills were more physical at every level, and the Steelers got manhandled in some areas.
He is right, but whose fault is that? I don't blame the offensive line, and I don't even blame the running backs. I blame the person responsible for the offensive philosophy shifting so dramatically to a dink-and-dunk passing game. And that probably means Ben Roethlisberger shares a lot of the blame because it is the offense he wants — but last time I checked, he wasn't the coach.
Early in the season, I remember being excited because the run game was working and we got to see some of the influence of quarterbacks coach Matt Canada on the offense. There were jet sweeps, misdirection plays, power runs — all kinds of creativity through at least the first two games.
And then it all just evaporated, like someone with the power to influence such decisions said, "OK, that's nice, but I want to throw the ball 50 times a game."
It worked for a while, but in the last four games, the offense has been broken. And again, they can't even line up and knock anyone off the ball to get 1 yard when they need it. The Steelers' offensive line isn't asked to be physical the overwhelming majority of the time. They are asked to stand up and provide interference for two seconds until Roethlisberger throws the ball.
The run game can and will improve, but the Steelers have to be committed to unleashing their offensive line from time to time. They need to commit to running the ball with authority and not just as something to do to give Roethlisberger's elbow a break for a play or two.
The Steelers don't need a 50-50 split between the run and pass, and they don't need to go back to the days when Bell was churning out 1,200 yard season. They do, however, need to run more plays that enable their offensive linemen to fire off the ball and be physical.
NFL analyst and Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin joined The Fan's midday show and said it best:
"The Steelers don't need balance in their offense, they just need to be able to run for a yard when they need a yard."
Right now, they can't do that.
