The Steelers Overrated OL

The Steelers Overrated OL
By CK Stiller

For a long while now, I have been of the mind that the Steelers run game, and by extension the Steelers OL, have not been all they are cracked up to be. This season has just reinforced that view, and made it painfully obvious to everyone. This unit collects a quarter of the teams payroll and is the teams biggest weakness.

The stats don�t lie here. The Steelers OL does not match the production seen on other quality teams. It has been underachieving for years (even 05). It does not stack up favorably compared to other top run teams:

It's pretty clear when you see those numbers that the Steelers were able to rack up their yardage against inferior competition last year. The respectable run defenses stifled the vaunted rushing attack. Of course, it goes beyond just the run game. Last year the Steelers gave up 32 sacks, which as a raw number does not appear to be that bad. However, the Steelers dropped back to pass the fewest number of times in the league last season. They gave up a sack 7.7% of the time they dropped back, the 23rd worst rate in the league. This year they have allowed 40 sacks - or a sack 8.3% of the time they've passed It's painfully obvious that the Steelers OL has struggled in pass protection, even more so than run blocking.

Earlier this week Steel Phantom wrote an article detailing the lack of success in the run game so far this season. I would agree that it has generally just been ineffective. The OL, in my view, solely takes the blame. It isn't a matter of Parker not being good enough, as some believe, or the lack of a RB to compliment Parker in the backfield, as Phantom concluded. No, it's just the poor OL.

It's been documented in the past the Steelers run game last year performed poorly in the first half. For instance, even New England out performed the Steelers run game here. It doesn't even compare when you look at the Steelers compared to other elite AFC teams:
First half run games
Bengals - 214 carries, 956 yards, 4.5 YPC
Colts - 184 carries, 757 yards, 4.1 YPC
Patriots - 186 carries, 671 yards, 3.6 YPC
Steelers - 197 carries, 674 yards, 3.4 YPC

The run game was ineffective against top run defenses, and as well as in close games. Last season, the Steelers ran the ball far more effectively when they played with a big lead, which they were able to establish against the poorer teams (or defenses) faced.
Willie Parker
Final Margin 0-7 Points: 95 ATT, 329 YDS, 3.5 YPC
Final Margin 8-14 Points: 70 ATT, 347 YDS, 5.0 YPC
Final Margin 15+ Points: 90 ATT, 526 YDS, 5.8 YPC

Jerome Bettis
Final Margin 0-7 Points: 37 ATT, 89 YDS, 2.4 YPC
Final Margin 8-14 Points: 49 ATT, 225 YDS, 4.6 YPC
Final Margin 15+ Points: 16 ATT, 40 YDS, 2.5 YPC

Bettis had the majority of his carries playing in blow-outs. Bettis would not be touching the ball frequently this year, unless it was in a game where the Steelers were struggling bad enough that they felt they needed a different kind of runner. Maybe against Jacksonville or Cleveland. It's doubtful he would have had success as any sort of change of pace, though. He never did last year. Truth is, Bettis ran the ball well in pretty much one game, and was a closer for the rest of the year. He was never a compliment to Parker. The Steelers run totals would not be up just because they had another back.

Steelers racked up their carries and yardage last year playing with the lead. We saw what happens when they had a lead this season against Kansas City. Davenport and Parker both had big days sharing the ball. The Steelers did not win or run better because this was happening, though. It was just a result of how the game played out, as well as an efficient passing game that opened things up.

That takes us to the real change from this year from the last - Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger, for a good chunk of this season, was not the same QB. The Steelers last year were able to establish early leads quickly. The Steelers actually scored 14 first half points on average with Roethlisberger, identical to first half points scored by high-powered offenses such as Indianapolis and Cincinnati (both averaged 14). The Steelers first half passing totals, and point totals are drastically reduced so far this season. The Steelers have 132 first half points, which comes out to 11 points per game. However, the Steelers were able to score 24 and 31 points twice (ATL and KC). They've been held scoreless 3 times in the first half (JAX, CLE, BAL). The Steelers have started far slower this season, which is also the reason why they have been such a poor road team (1-5). This OL and run game have never been the catalyst for the Steelers offense, and since Roethlisberger came, he has been able to make the line and offense look much better with his ability to improvise. When he played poorly, or appeared gunshy early this season, the OL couldn't even keep defenders off his back, let alone open up holes for the run game.

Of course, you don't just need to look at the stats on the OL. You can just use a simple eye test. Watch the Steelers OL in action, and compare them to what you see when watching other teams. The Steelers vaunted OL rarely gets any sort of push, often lets defenders walk into the backfield, and there are no running lanes to speak of. I don't believe there is one player on this line that gets consistent push, and I think two of them shouldn't even be starting (Starks/Simmons). You can blame whoever you want for this. Russ Grimm or a lack of talent; the bottom line is the same. The OL isn't getting it done, and there is no denying it anymore.