Scorp
01-09-2011, 05:50 PM
Re-emphasis on run game doesn't mean this team won't pass through playoffs
Sunday, January 09, 2011
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It's playoff time, it's cold and the Steelers may be ready to test the long-held theory that the way to win in such circumstances is to run and play good defense.
Playing good defense goes without question for the team ranked No. 2 overall and that was the third-toughest to run on in the history of 16-game schedules in the NFL.
But, as they have the previous two seasons, the Steelers lean more heavily on Ben Roethlisberger and their passing game to get the job done on offense.
The passing attack has gotten better as the season matured along with their two rookie receivers, Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown. There are other reasons, such as Roethlisberger's absence through the first four games and the time it took for him to re-adjust to his receivers and the instability of the line through the first half.
The Steelers averaged 181.9 yards passing per game through the first eight games. In the second half, they averaged 268.3. That's a 47 percent jump.
Even better news for their offense is that their running game did not suffer as the passing game improved. It produced five more yards per game in the second half of the season than the first, to 122.8.
Clearly, however, their strength on offense entering their first playoff game next Sunday is the pass. Yet unlike last season, they have paid attention more to the running game and developed more of a semblance of balance.
"We were pass happy," Hines Ward said of the 2009 season. "We just didn't complement our defense. That's always been the case when we were a pass-happy team -- we tore it up statistically, but we have to ... make sure we don't leave our defense on the field too long."
The Steelers traditionally have held the ball on offense longer than their opponents. It happened this season and it happened in 2009. Ward says there is a difference.
"If you really look at it you're supposed to score a point a minute. If you have the ball 30 minutes, you should score 30 points. If you have the ball for 35 minutes and only score 10 points then you didn't do good with time of possession. That's how I look at time of possession."
Whether that equates is difficult to judge because the Steelers scored an average of 23.44 points with an average time of possession of 31:53. Yet for all of the high-flying offense of 2009, they averaged just 20.7 points with a time of possession of 32:24.
Either way, they enter the playoffs this season with a more balanced offense and a more efficient passing game -- Roethlisberger's interceptions and sacks have declined.
And three of their top four wide receivers include two rookies and a second-year player. Hines Ward was the only holdover from last season at his position. Mike Wallace moved from No. 3 to starting split end and Sanders and Brown are new as is, technically, veteran Antwaan Randle El.
No one knew quite what they had at the start of the season and that also might be reflected in those lower passing yards through its first half.
"At first, we really weren't sure,'' Wallace said. "It was me moving over and then El coming back. Hines was the only person still in the same spot. So it's not going to be overnight for things to click for a whole new group except for one person.
"That's why you're starting to see good thing happen."
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11009/1116357-66.stm#ixzz1Aa6CenOC
Sunday, January 09, 2011
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It's playoff time, it's cold and the Steelers may be ready to test the long-held theory that the way to win in such circumstances is to run and play good defense.
Playing good defense goes without question for the team ranked No. 2 overall and that was the third-toughest to run on in the history of 16-game schedules in the NFL.
But, as they have the previous two seasons, the Steelers lean more heavily on Ben Roethlisberger and their passing game to get the job done on offense.
The passing attack has gotten better as the season matured along with their two rookie receivers, Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown. There are other reasons, such as Roethlisberger's absence through the first four games and the time it took for him to re-adjust to his receivers and the instability of the line through the first half.
The Steelers averaged 181.9 yards passing per game through the first eight games. In the second half, they averaged 268.3. That's a 47 percent jump.
Even better news for their offense is that their running game did not suffer as the passing game improved. It produced five more yards per game in the second half of the season than the first, to 122.8.
Clearly, however, their strength on offense entering their first playoff game next Sunday is the pass. Yet unlike last season, they have paid attention more to the running game and developed more of a semblance of balance.
"We were pass happy," Hines Ward said of the 2009 season. "We just didn't complement our defense. That's always been the case when we were a pass-happy team -- we tore it up statistically, but we have to ... make sure we don't leave our defense on the field too long."
The Steelers traditionally have held the ball on offense longer than their opponents. It happened this season and it happened in 2009. Ward says there is a difference.
"If you really look at it you're supposed to score a point a minute. If you have the ball 30 minutes, you should score 30 points. If you have the ball for 35 minutes and only score 10 points then you didn't do good with time of possession. That's how I look at time of possession."
Whether that equates is difficult to judge because the Steelers scored an average of 23.44 points with an average time of possession of 31:53. Yet for all of the high-flying offense of 2009, they averaged just 20.7 points with a time of possession of 32:24.
Either way, they enter the playoffs this season with a more balanced offense and a more efficient passing game -- Roethlisberger's interceptions and sacks have declined.
And three of their top four wide receivers include two rookies and a second-year player. Hines Ward was the only holdover from last season at his position. Mike Wallace moved from No. 3 to starting split end and Sanders and Brown are new as is, technically, veteran Antwaan Randle El.
No one knew quite what they had at the start of the season and that also might be reflected in those lower passing yards through its first half.
"At first, we really weren't sure,'' Wallace said. "It was me moving over and then El coming back. Hines was the only person still in the same spot. So it's not going to be overnight for things to click for a whole new group except for one person.
"That's why you're starting to see good thing happen."
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11009/1116357-66.stm#ixzz1Aa6CenOC