There seems to be a feeling the Steelers can’t or won’t win in 2021 because of their offensive line. But history shows that might not exactly be the case.
The Steelers lost three-fifths of their starting offensive line from 2020, seeing center Maurkice Pouncey retire and left guard and left tackle Matt Feiler and Alejandro Villanueva leave in free agency. Top running back James Conner left in free agency, as well.
But what exactly did the Steelers lose or have to lose by moving on?
Analytics on offensive line play can be tricky, but Football Outsiders breaks it down as well as anyone. Using that site’s Adjusted Line Yards ranking, the Steelers were 32nd in offensive line play in 2020. Their average of 3.78 adjusted yards per play was the team’s lowest since Football Outsiders began tracking the metric in 1996.
That also isn’t all on the offensive line. Running backs factor into the equation, as does blocking from the ancillary positions, the tight ends and wide receivers. If you look at things such as second-level yards, a true measure of the running backs, you see the Steelers have been well below average in each of the past three seasons, ranking 20th, 26th and 31st, respectively, in that statistic.
But the fact remains, the run blocking was not good in 2020.
However, if we look back at the Steelers’ last three Super Bowl teams, they weren’t at the top of the heap in Adjusted Line Yards rankings. In 2005, they ranked 12th. In 2008 they were 24th, while in 2010 they ranked 19th.
In terms of adjusted sack rate, the Steelers were No. 1 in the league in 2020 after allowing a league-low 14. In 2005, they were 22nd. They were 29th in both 2008 and 2010.
Where the Steelers did well last season -- or at least better -- was running to the outside, perhaps showing that their blocking on the edges wasn’t necessarily the issue.
On runs around left end, the Steelers averaged 4.44 yards per carry, which ranked 18th in the league On runs round right end, they averaged 4.76 yards, which was 14th-best in the league.
Many of those carries came on jet sweeps or end arounds from the wide receivers.
Part of fixing the problem is realizing that you have one. And the Steelers did that, replacing offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett along with a number of personnel changes.
That is where new offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s offense could make an impact. Canada’s offense uses a lot of motion and the wide receivers will carry the football.
With Canada's input from the quarterback coach position, the Steelers used some of those concepts early last season with some success. Ray-Ray McCloud had 64 rushing yards on just four attempts, though 58 of that came on one carry. Chase Claypool was used largely at the goal line on jet sweep carries and gained 16 yards on 10 carries, scoring two touchdowns. Diontae Johnson had three carries for 15 yards.
“We tried every week to do the best things we could as a staff and it didn’t work out the way we wanted it to at the end of the year,” Canada said when I asked him why the team got away from some of the jet sweeps and end arounds with the wide receivers after featuring it early. “We had different parts and different focuses each week based on game plan. I was certainly part of it, right in the middle of it. I wish we would have been more successful at the end. This year, we’re focused on just that, putting our players in the best position to make plays and doing what they do best. Whatever form that comes out in, that will be what you see.”
Expect to see more of that to supplement the running game in 2021. In fact, you could even see some of the running backs mixed into the equation in the slot, as well, either motioning there and then getting the ball on sweeps or simply lining up in the slot and getting the ball.
One other big change that could help the offensive line will be how the Steelers use that unit.
The team had become passive up front during the Le’Veon Bell years. They had a line built to pass block and Bell’s patient style or running melded perfectly with that.
That’s why from 2014 through 2017, when Bell was at the height of his powers, the Steelers ranked in the top 10 each season in adjusted line yards.
The line was good and so was the running back, with the Steelers’ running backs ranking in the top 10 in 2014, 2015 and 2016. That began to slip in 2017, with the team’s running backs ranking 16th in running back yards. But that still ranked in the upper half of the league.
The Steelers have been 18th, 27th and 32nd in running back yards per play in each of the past three seasons.
That’s where Najee Harris comes into play. The Steelers are switching to a more power-based attack up front and a 230-pound running back mixes well with that.
But the mentality will start with the line. As opposed to lining up in a two-point stance and catching defenders, the Steelers are going to be in three-point stances more often. They want to deliver the blow instead of simply catching it.
They want to be more physical.
“You can stray away from it,” first-year offensive line coach Adrian Klemm said. “You set the tone for what it’s going to be and you create an environment in a room, carry that out onto the field. You’re demanding of it every single day.
“It’s not that we’re trying to find ourselves. This is who we’re going to be. If you’re going to live in this world, that’s how we’re going to live. If you can’t do it, you’ll be at home or you’ll be on the sideline with a hat on. It’s not a democracy in our room. This is what it is.”
Can that make a difference with a young offensive line? It certainly can’t hurt. After all, there’s nowhere to go but up.
