Changes Steelers Can Make to Get Season Back on Track
Despite what you may have heard, the Pittsburgh Steelers season isn't over as they sit at 1-2 through three weeks.
They certainly are in a less than ideal situation, though. Their schedule is tough (especially to end the year), they are battered with injuries, and their offense looks a few levels below competent. Head coach Mike Tomlin has already said he does not see major changes on the horizon for the Steelers. There are, though, small changes he could make that would get the team trending back in the right direction.
One change that feels obvious to fans is utilizing a lot more Pat Freiermuth and a lot less Eric Ebron. This change would speak just as much about Ebron's struggles as it would about Freiermuth's success.
Through three games, Ebron has been targeted seven times and has recorded just one reception. More importantly, he has recorded, depending on the source you use, three or four dropped passes. He is not reliable in the passing game right now, and he doesn't offer the team anything as a run blocker, either.
Freiermuth, on the other hand, has played well through his first three career games. Six of his eight receptions so far have gone for first downs. He is a reliable weapon for Ben Roethlisberger, with just one drop on ten targets. That 10% rate sounds high (fifth-highest on the team), but it's a small sample size; expect that number to keep dropping as Freiermuth gets more targets. He's also a much better blocker than Ebron, by a long shot.
Despite all that, Freiermuth has played 92 offensive snaps to Ebron's 98. Moving forward, Freiermuth needs to start really eating into Ebron's snaps if the offense wants to raise its ceiling and become more productive.
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Elsewhere offensively, Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Canada need to change the way their offense looks and performs. Without making major changes (they should make major changes, but Tomlin has already alluded to not doing so), they can still make serious improvements.
The changes should start with Roethlisberger using the intermediate and deep middle portions of the field. A quick look at his passing chart tells you all you need to know about the Steelers' lack of a passing threat in the middle of the field.
Without using the deep middle of the field, the Steelers become easy to defend. Two high safeties can take away the deep boundaries, while the other nine defenders play close to the line of scrimmage, helping to prevent underneath passes and stop the rushing attack. And in reality, teams don't even really need two safeties; one can get the job done.
Look at Roethlisberger's efficiency on deep passes to the sidelines. He is 3/13 with an interception on passes thrown further than 20 yards downfield. If he can't complete passes downfield, teams don't have to respect the deep passing game at all, making the Steelers even easier to defend. Crowding the box to stop the run and pressing receivers to take away short passes is all it really takes.
To fix this, Roethlisberger could greatly help himself by being willing to get under center and run play action more often. Even without a successful running game, play-action can still be effective. The aforementioned Freiermuth is a great candidate to get down the seam in that 15-20 yard range off well-designed play action. JuJu Smith-Schuster can go across the middle and make the tough catches, too. But it all starts with Roethlisberger being willing to make the adjustments that open the middle of a defense. Without any passing threat over the middle, the offense will continue to be terrible.
Defensively, there aren't really changes that need to be made beyond getting healthy. The defense is just two weeks removed from their all-world performance against the Buffalo Bills. Since then, though, they've been without T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Joe Haden, Devin Bush, and Tyson Alualu for either one or both games. Alualu won't return this year, but the rest of the defensive front will. When Watt and Highsmith return, the pass rush should return to its best. Don't forget about Stephon Tuitt, either. When he returns from IR, he will join Cameron Heyward in creating havoc from the interior of the defensive line.
The Steelers need to make serious changes. Like, "new identity" changes. Mike Tomlin doesn't seem interested in going that route, though. They would be wise to make personnel changes on the offensive line and in the secondary. Instead, they think they can compete with who they have on the roster. If that's the case, they need to make some of these changes, especially to the offense. Utilizing the standout rookie tight end and using the middle of the field like any competent NFL offense would help make this offense at least a respectable unit. Right now, it's anything but respectable.
Connor Deitrich is a Contributor with AllSteelers. Follow Connor on Twitter @CDeitrich22, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
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