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Steelers vs. Miami......by STEEL PACKAGE

November 29, 2007 by Swissvale72

Steelers vs Miami � By The Numbers

Steelers vs Miami � By The Numbers

By SteelPackage

 

 

I think Steve Young summed it up best in his post game comments, and I�m paraphrasing, �You really can�t take anything meaningful away from this game since it was played in such a non-competitive environment�.�

 

I�m not sure what to take away from this game either, but I have to admit, for a moment, I was embarrassed to be a Steelers fan watching a game played on that monstrosity of a field in front of a national television audience.

 

And while there�s no doubt the conditions helped even the playing field for the NFL�s only winless team, the Dolphins, we still came away with a �W� and now stand at 8-3.� To me that�s all that really matters.

 

Having said that, there are always useful tidbits to walk away from any game so let�s dig a little deeper and take a look at the numbers.

 

 

Play-calling:

 

Arians has justifiably been criticized for his play calling. �Run, Run, Pass against stacked defenses has been a recipe for disaster and his multiple TE formations have not helped in this regard.�

 

Common sense dictates we should be putting the ball in the hands of our best player, Ben Roethlisberger, more often.� Open up the offense to set up the run.� Develop a game plan to maximize the talent on this team.� Unfortunately, Arians has failed on all accounts.

 

 

Let�s review the play-calling for this game:

 

 

 

 

Zebra

Tiger

Regular

E

U

Eagle

Negative� Plays

 

Runs

Pass

1RB 3WR 1TE

1RB 2WR 2TE

2RB 2WR 1TE

2RB 3WR

2RB 1WR 2TE

* 4WR *

Drive 1

3

5

2

1

3

 

1

1

Interception

Drive 2

4

5

8

 

 

 

 

1

Ben Sack+Fumble

Drive 3

2

2

1

2

 

 

1

 

Dookie Stuffed

Drive 4

2

1

1

 

2

 

 

 

Dookie Penalty

Drive 5

2

2

1

 

3

 

 

 

Miller Penalty+Sack

Drive 6

4

2

2

2

2

 

 

 

Sack

Drive 7

5

0

1

3

1

 

 

 

Dookie Stuffed

Drive 8

4

4

7

 

 

 

 

1

Sack

Drive 9

2

6

4

2

2

 

 

 

Miller Penalty+Sack

Totals

28

27

27

10

13

0

2

3

 

 

I created a table to chart what formations were called by drive.� The names designate typical NFL personnel packages.� For example �Eagle� refers to any play utilizing a 4-WR set.� I also indicate the run/pass mix along with any negative plays, more commonly known as drive killers.

 

Observations:

�         Overall, I�m OK with Arians play-calling. Probably more so than some.� He did some of the things I�ve wanted him to do but still reverted back to old habits.

�         Pros:

o        Spread the offense early and often (14 of the first 17 plays utilized 3 or more wide receivers)

o        Finally saw glimpses of the no-huddle

o        Called more lead blocking and quick hitting running plays with less counters, delays and pulls.� Got away from this somewhat in the 2nd half.� (necessitated by field conditions but maximizes Parkers skill-set nonetheless)

o        Quick passes and slants to his receivers

�         Cons:

o        Went into �turtle� mode starting late in the 1st half and continued thru the 3rd quarter.� Attempted to run the ball almost exclusively from 2-TE sets and power running formations.� This is where we find the most occurrences of R,R,P

o        2nd half -- Played not to lose versus playing to win.� It required Ben having to convince the HC and OC that they could win the game if they �just let him throw the ball�.� Note the play selection on the last 2 drives.

o        Some questionable play-calling on 3rd down and why would you ever run a reverse given those field conditions

o        Miller was a non-factor in the passing game.� May have been due to staying in to block.

 

 

Winning Stat Indicators:

 

��� ������� Defined as what statistics that matter the most to NFL head coaches.

 

  1. Yards Per Attempt (YPA) � Not much to write home about for either team but not surprising considering the circumstances. (Note: I include sacks and lost yards in the totals since they are technically pass plays)
    1. Pittsburgh� - 26 attempts for 132 net yards = 5.08 YPA ��(7.86 YPA not including sacks)
    2. Miami� - ������27 attempts for 100 net yards = 4.07 YPA�� (5.74 YPA not including sacks)
  2. Average Starting Field Position
    1. Pittsburgh � PIT 44 (9 drives)
    2. Miami � MIA 22 (10 drives --� 4 drives started at Miami 11 or less)
  3. Red zone efficiency
    1. Somebody had to win this one.� Goes to Pittsburgh on a field goal with 17 seconds remaining in the game.� Miami had no red zone opportunities.
  4. Explosive Plays

The theory is the more yardage a team can gain the fewer chances there are to mess up on a long drive.� Defined as a run > 10 yards and a pass > 20

    1. Pittsburgh � 1 pass completion of 21 yards
    2. Miami � 2 pass completions of 21 yards
    3. There were no runs by either team over 10 yards.� Once again field conditions played a major role.
  1. 1st Down Success

Most important down in a series and most numerous call in a game.� Success defined as gaining 3 or more yards and will keep the offense in makeable 3rd down situations

    1. Pittsburgh � 21 opportunities (16 Run and 5 Pass plays) for a success rate of 62% (13 of 21)
    2. Miami � I didn�t chart this but after reviewing it was apparent Pittsburgh was more successful
    3. Pittsburgh had a string of 10 consecutive runs on 1st down for the following yardage:

8, 1, 5, 9, 7, 4, -3, 5, 2, 9

While I don�t agree with running on 1st down to the extent Arians has shown a proclivity for, in this case they were highly successful. ��However, I do have a problem with Arians continuing to stick with the run on subsequent 2nd down plays, the dreaded R, R, P scenario.� I�m sorry, but you need to mix it up with the pass.

1.        

�

Summary:

 

This game should never have come down to Pittsburgh scoring the first points of the game with 17 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter.�

 

Pittsburgh dominated starting field position all night, basically starting from near midfield on all 9 drives.� Miami meanwhile was usually starting deep inside their own territory with 4 drives starting inside their 11 yard line.� Pittsburgh had the advantage in YPA and was quite successful on 1st down plays even though running on the majority of them. (75%).� Willie ran as hard as I�ve seen and while he didn�t break one he also wasn�t getting stuffed for no gain.� Ben quietly (or at least it seemed to me) tied a team record with 15 consecutive completions. �

 

So what happened?

 

Negative plays, better known as drive killers, crippled the Steelers offense all night and kept the Dolphins hanging around with a legitimate chance to steal a victory.� How many of you envisioned a Ted Ginn punt return for TD or a critical turn over late in the game � I sure as hell did!��

 

Examining the 1st half drives:

  • Drive1: Ended on an interception to Porter.� This is Ben�s typical one bone headed play per game.
  • Drive 2: Sack and fumble caused by CB coming in clean on Ben.� Put Pittsburgh into 3-24 with shuffle pass to ����Davenport.� No chance for 1st down.)
  • Drive 3: 3rd down Ben rushed up the middle as Mahan flails on his block. Pittsburgh goes on 4th and 1with Davenport stuffed for a 1 yard loss.
  • Drive 4: Holding penalty on Davenport after Ward had pass reception for 1st down.� Put Pittsburgh into 3-17 with a screen to Davis, no chance for 1st down.
  • Drive 5: Penalty (setting a pick) called on Miller after Ward had pass reception for 1st down.� Put Pittsburgh into 3-11 in which Ben was sacked.

 

While Pittsburgh was living in Miami�s backyard they absolutely killed themselves with penalties, sacks of the quarterback and the interception by Ben.

 

In the 2nd half Arians reverted to his 2 TE/Jumbo formations and ran on 9 of the next 11 plays.� It�s not a coincidence this resulted in a Sepulveda punt and a field goal attempt that really had no chance of making it.� Finally, after reverting back to the pass, with some coaxing from Ben, the Steelers somehow manage to win a cliff-hanger in one of ugliest, most gut wrenching and strangest games I�ve ever seen.� The outcome of this one should never have been in doubt.

 

As previously mentioned, the playing conditions make it extremely difficult to objectively assess any phase of Pittsburgh�s game plan. However, the nagging areas that keep surfacing like pimples that come to a head are the sacks and stupid penalties.� And it�s these fatal flaws that will continue to be drive killers for the remainder of the season. I�m not going to rail on the O-Line or Ben�s tendency to hold onto the ball too long.� The pass protection issues have been well documented elsewhere and the issues with penalties go back to team preparation and ultimately the head coach.� Internally I hope the organization realizes these areas of weakness and intends to address them because I haven�t seen anything to indicate that they have.� And that to me is probably what is most troubling.� ��

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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