http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
MIAMI -- The New York Jets led the NFL in rushing this season by following a similar approach to one taken by the Steelers in 2004. Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca played on both teams, and he might have trouble recognizing his former one.
Running back Rashard Mendenhall should see more work next season.
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review
The Steelers passed the ball 56 percent of the time in 2009 -- they passed more than any other Steelers team in the 2000s -- and that stands in stark contrast to the team running the ball 68 percent of the time in 2004.
Such a discrepancy may show how far the Steelers have strayed from the philosophy of pounding opposing teams with the run -- and from themselves, as team president Art Rooney II recently suggested.
Rooney said one of the top Steelers' top priorities during the offseason will be moving toward a more run-oriented attack, a process that started with the hiring of new offensive line coach Sean Kugler last month.
"I think we've got to get better at the run," Steelers tight end Heath Miller said. "I think when you're able to establish the run everything else just branches off that, the offense just kind of opens up. There were games this year when we didn't run the ball as well as we would have liked."
The Steelers had a 1,000-yard rusher -- second-year back Rashard Mendenhall -- but their touchdown rate of 48.2 percent when inside the opponents' 20-yard line ranked 21st in the NFL.
That is a reflection of the team's inability to consistently run the ball near the goal line and in short-yardage situations. Those shortcomings prompted Rooney to say the Steelers need to run the ball better in 2010 and that "it's certainly something that traditionally has been one of the foundations of the team."
The Steelers have run the ball differently since 2007, Bruce Arians' first season as offensive coordinator.
Arians has opened up the offense and has not had much use for a traditional fullback.
The Steelers typically use a tight end as a lead blocker in short-yardage situations if they run at all in them.
No play served as more of a flashpoint for fan and media criticism than when the Steelers went with an empty backfield early in a must-win game Dec. 10 at Cleveland. They tried to throw the ball on third-and-1, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sacked on the play that set the tone in the Steelers' 13-6 loss.
There had been speculation that Arians might lose his job even though the Steelers had a 4,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,000-yard rusher in a season for the first time in franchise history.
Arians survived what could be considered a minor shakeup to Mike Tomlin's coaching staff. But he may be under pressure to nudge the offense in the other direction after the Steelers have gone from running the ball 54 percent of the time in 2007 to 51 percent in 2008 and 44 percent last season.
"My last year there we kind of got away from that dedicated ground-and-pound aspect," said Faneca, who left the Steelers as a free agent after 2007 following 10 seasons with the team. "We were more of a mix-the-run-and-pass together. We weren't necessarily just trying to jam the ball down your throat."
The 2009 Jets and 2004 Steelers did just that. The two offenses were remarkably similar in that each protected a rookie quarterback by taking advantage of two talented running backs and a physical offensive line flush with first-round draft picks.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the 2009 Jets and '04 Steelers averaged 172.2 and 154.0 rushing yards per game, respectively.
If the Steelers want to get back to what they did in the middle of last decade -- they ran the ball 59 percent of the time in 2005 and averaged 124.5 rushing yards that season -- it may not happen right away.
No starters along their offensive line were drafted before the third round.
And they haven't had an offensive lineman make the Pro Bowl since Faneca in 2007.
By comparison, three of the Jets' offensive linemen played in the Pro Bowl on Sunday night, including Faneca. All three were first-round draft picks.
The one significant change the Steelers made before the free-agent signing period and draft is replacing Larry Zierlein with Kugler.
Kugler, whose patchwork unit in Buffalo helped Fred Jackson rush for 1,062 yards this season, said the linemen that compete and finish plays are the ones who will be on the field next season.
What the Steelers do in the NFL Draft in late April may also be an indicator of how committed they are to running the ball next season.
ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay said the Steelers could use their first-round pick (No. 18 overall) on an offensive tackle and play him there or move him inside to guard.
McShay said the 2010 draft class is deep at offensive tackle.
"I get the sense from talking to people in the league that (the Steelers) want to get back to becoming a little bit more of a physical offensive football team," McShay said. "As much as they love Ben and as much as they love throwing the ball, they need to be able to run the ball when push comes to shove."
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