SteelerWatch

Four and five wide receivers. Spreading the field. A small, quick running back.

Sound like the finesse-driven Indianapolis Colts? No, it’s your Pittsburgh Steelers.

For a team that has spent decades pounding the ball up the middle and, for the most part, only throwing when throwing was necessary, these terms sound like a conflict of interest — nay! — they sound like oxymorons. The two philosophies just can’t co-exist.

Or can they?

(more…)

New coach Mike Tomlin has very quickly earned the respect of a lot of people in Pittsburgh — from the Steelers; front office, to players, to the notoriously hard-to-please Steeler fans.  It’s going to be a lot of tough love, though, if he follows through on his promise of a grueling training camp.

The Post-Gazette is reporting that Tomlin has scheduled up to 15 two-a-day sessions, dramatically more than players from nearly any NFL team are accustom to.  A heavy emphasis in the morning session of those practices is being placed on special teams, where it was either feast or famine for the Steelers during the Cowher era.

Tomlin has said numerous times since being named head coach that he doesn’t care what his players think of him.  Well, Mike, we as fans love to see that you’re working them hard, especially after last year’s dismal performance (you know you’re a Steeler fan when 8-8 isn’t just an off year, it’s a “dismal performance”) .  Just don’t expect to be too popular with the players on opening day.

Not that we care, though, as long as you win.

Thanks to Mondesishouse.com for the heads-up: It seems the person Alan Faneca was mad at Saturday was none other than head coach Mike Tomlin himself.

Tomlin apparently called the guard out during a morning team meeting, saying he wasn’t going to put up with that type of distraction for the team. Faneca proceeded to throw a temper tantrum by skipping the morning practice session. Later that day Tomlin stated he doesn’t have a personal issue with Big Al.

Way to go Mike. SteelerWatch commends your blunt approach to crybaby millionaires.

Head coach Mike Tomlin recently poured out his corner-lovin’ heart about highly paid 2006 underachiever Ike Taylor, who late last season became former coach Bill Cowher’s whipping boy. Used largely as the scapegoat for a defense the underperformed as a whole — in fact, it could be argued that the secondary was actually the best part of the entire unit — Taylor was benched for the final few games last season, making way for Bryant McFadden, who will likely bump fellow cornerback Deshea Townsend from the starting lineup.

The story here isn’t Tomlin’s admiration of the still-capable prospect; Tomlin was a secondary coach in Tampa Bay and defensive coordinator in Minnesota last season, so he knows a thing or two about coaching cornerbacks. And we all know that, while Taylor had a bad season last year and has even been derided here on SteelerWatch for his lack of quality play in 2006, he’s more than capable of shutting down the best receivers in the league and has the afterburners to roll with the fastest guys in the league — should he actually choose to use that speed.

No, the story here is that Tomlin’s show of affection essentially rules out the cornerback position for a draft on day one. SteelerWatch’s favorite player in the draft is Darrelle Revis, inarguably the most exciting defensive player to watch last year. While there are more pressing needs than cornerback in Pittsburgh, I certainly hate to concede that they will have to skip over Revis, and that such a talent could fall into the hands of a potential opponent. Possibly even the New England Patriots, who have two picks in the first round and could use someone to play beside or behind current franchise player Asante Samuel.

Now I’m seriously bummed out.

Even though there has been football practice every August at St. Vincent College, the school hasn’t had a football team for almost 45 years. That will all change this fall for the Bearcats, and they will play their home games on a field named for former Steelers head coach Chuck Noll.

The college, which annually hosts Steelers training camp, will restart its Division III varsity football program for the first time since 1962, and they have begun constructiuon on seating for the field that will hold a modest 1,050.

The college has other structures named for Steeler-related personalities, including Rooney Hall, a dormitory used by the Steelers each summer during training camp.

Information from this post gathered from Steelers.com

Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin was present at the Pro Day workouts for the Uiniversity of Arkansas yesterday, where defensive end Jamaal Anderson (a sure first-round pick) and Keith Jackson worked out.

Anderson moved his 284-pound heft 40 yards in 4.75 seconds. What’s impressive, though, is that he managed to get that same 284 pounds 32.5 inches straight up in the vertical jump workout. Anderson would be a great fit in either a 3-4 or a 4-3, but is more suited for 3-4.

Jackson, whose father is former All Pro tight end Keith Jackson, ran the 40 in 4.85 seconds, which is more than acceptable for a 305-pound defensive tackle. If Tomlin is looking at Jackson, it’s looking more and more like he wants to start building a four-man line. The Steelers already have Casey Hampton, the best nose tackle in the league, and Chris Hoke behind him.

While it’s possible Tomlin may be planning to draft Jackson and prep him for taking over the number-two spot behnd Hampton in 2008 when Hoke’s contract runs out or just cutting Hoke this year, it seems more likely that the push for a 4-3 defense is on. We’ll keep an eye on this one.

Former head coach Bill Cowher has a new job.

“The Jaw,” or “Face,” as he was known to some close to him, has joined the CBS cast as a gameday analyst. He joins a group full of former All-Pro players, including Dan Marino, Shannon Sharpe, Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason, as well as host James Brown.

The pairing of the coach and CBS could make for an interesting inter-network rivalry: former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis works as an analyst for NBC, and in his first telecast painted a less-than-pretty picture of Bill Cowher, while Cowher was still coaching the Steelers.

The signing ends any remaining speculation that he will join an NFL team for the 2007 season in any capacity — although it was unlikely anyway, as the Rooneys probably would not have given him permission to do so. He remains under contract with the Steelers until the end of the upcoming season.

Cowher also hinted that he may not return to coaching at any level in the NFL for at least several years, saying, “I didn’t get out of it to get back into it,” referring to filling a coaching vacancy somewhere in the league. He seems to genuinely relish the new opportunity, which will allow him to spend more time with his family — his primary reason for retiring. He plans to commute from his new home in Raleigh, N.C. to the CBS studios in New York each weekend.

He also commented that he will not have any trouble critiquing the Steelers, because he would have done the same thing if he was still the head coach. That’s news to me, because it sure didn’t seem like he did much talking or critiquing at all in 2006.

Bruce Arians, recently promoted from Wide Receivers Coach to Offensive Coordinator, said in a recent interview that he plans to utilize more four-wide receiver sets on first and second downs this season. He also stated that the playbook is being rebuilt from the ground up. So does this mean we can expect the classic, smashmouth offense that has characterized the Steelers for decades to disappear?

Not so fast.

A closer look at the article shows that Arians has not just an appreciation, but a deep love for the running game. Sure, it’s true that he coached the receivers, and there’s no hiding the fact that Peyton Manning is who he is at least in part because of Arians’ guidance. But the fact remains that this is a run-first city, with run-first owners and run-first personnel.

Coach Mike Tomlin recently commented on the type of offense he wants in Pittsburgh. His response was nothing short of the traditional Steeler smashmouth football we’ve come to know and love.

So why does Arians want to add more four-receiver sets? Think back to the divisional round of the 2005/2006 playoffs when the Steelers took on the Colts. Then-coach Bill Cowher opened the game with a deep pass to Heath Miller. While not a wide receiver, it showed that this is a team capable of opening up downfield to take advantage of certain situations — something that was done way too little this season. Think even further back to the regular-season matchup between the same two teams: the Colts opened up with an 80-yard touchdown on a deep sideline throw to Marvin Harrison, while the Steelers started their offensive show up with ineffective runs.

The idea in football is first to out-think your opponent, then to out-power them. In baseball, everything that happens in a single “play” depends solely on the swing of the bat. In football, however, the plan is set beforehand, so every time the quarterback takes a snap, he knows what should (theoretically) occur. Whether it’s a hand-off, a screen, a short dump over the middle or a 60-yard bomb on an out-and-up, the play is designed and set before the ball is ever snapped.

With that in mind, it makes sense to utilize pass-oriented sets on downs where the pass isn’t necessarily expected. The old adage is that the run sets up the pass, but the pass also sets up the run. By utilizing four-receiver sets on first down, it puts the pressure on the defense, especially against a run-oriented team like the Steelers. It makes the defense second- and third-guess themselves, because the offense they are lined up against is now in a passing formation on what has historically been a running down for the team.

The other options it opens up are more effective bootlegs, QB sneaks and screens. Four-receiver sets put an emphasis on a vertical passing game, which often keeps the defenders’ eyes out of the backfield. A quick check-down block by the tailback and a short sprint outside while the receivers are running deep routes can open a huge gap in coverage, if the play is called in the right situation. Likewise, an outside receiver suddenly making an inside break while the defense is playing man-on-man coverage can make cornerbacks stand around wondering what just happened.

It all boils down to situational awareness and the element of surprise. The team now has several fast receivers (Santonio Holmes, Willie Reid, Cedrick Wilson) who can go vertical, and at least one who will go over the middle with no regard for his own safety (Hines Ward). It’s a dream combination, and they finally have it — so why not use it?

The key for Arians with this slightly altered approach to offense will be striking a balance out of these sets. If he calls passes too often while there are four wideouts on the field, it eliminates the element of surprise.