Steelers players reaction to Todd Haley’s playbook shows how weak Arians playbook was

[NorthCoast]

Something is not adding up here. The recent comments from Starks after his signing suggest that the playbook should not look all that unfamiliar as it is "50-60%" of the offense Whiz used to run. Only the names have changed.

So who is fooling who here?

[NorthCoast]

Haley’s chapter begins Wednesday


Torry Holt, a NFL Network analyst and former Rams star receiver, can’t wait to see how this plays out.

“Coach Haley has a strong personality. Ben has a strong personality. I’m sure Todd wants him to hone in on this or hone in on that, and Ben will try,” Holt said. “But out there on the football field, your instincts kick in and your competitive nature kicks in, and you kind of resort back to what you’ve always done.”


[URL="http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2195481-85/haley-steelers-coach-todd-former-parcells-camp-nfl-ben-didn"]http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/...p-nfl-ben-didn[/URL]

This statement speaks volumes. Haley/Ben's success will depend on whether Haley believes Ben's instincts are good. If Haley has a lot of second-guessing of Ben when the play breaks down, I predict the relationship won't last. If Haley can manage to see what Ben saw on a given play, then the relationship at least has a chance to succeed. For Ben's part, he needs to become more of a student of the game, and rely less on "instincts". That's the problem with people that have an opinion or vision, they usually think their's is correct and everyone else is not. Hopefully they will both have the vision of shared success, not whether an individual play was good or bad.

[hawaiiansteel]

The Future of the Pittsburgh Steelers Rests in the Hands of the Explosive OC Todd Haley

Published: 19th Jul 2012
by David Abeyta



“…I don’t ever put any pressure on my line because just as many of my sacks are my fault as they are anybody’s.” Well, some things never change. For a guy that’s been sacked so much, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sounds like he’s keeping a good attitude coming into the new season under new offensive coordinator, Todd Haley. Haley has had an interesting career in the NFL, thus far, working as a wide receivers coach for multiple ball clubs before serving as offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals under Ken Whisenhunt. Perhaps most notably, though, he became the fiery head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs for just under 3 years, before getting the boot. Now that he’s in Pittsburgh, will the Steelers benefit from his expertise?

My answer is a conditional “no”. Haley’s nature goes against what the Steelers are about. Roethlisberger is a cool, calm, and collected individual. The receiving core has been used to their former offensive coordinator, Bruce Arians, and his laid-back style of coaching. Go from that, to a yelling, in-your-face feisty personality constantly throwing out cuss words and telling you how much you suck. Someone’s going to get offended, boys.

Now, let’s be fair, Haley’s past has shown that he can be a good NFL coach. In Arizona, the Cardinals went to the Super Bowl during the year he was offensive coordinator. Then, despite the terrible 4-win outing he had during his 1st year with the Chiefs, he led Kansas City to a 10-win season that surpassed all expectations (which ended with the Chiefs getting their lids blown off by the Baltimore Ravens). Then; the final year in Kansas City came about, it was clear the Chiefs organization was tired of Haley, a freak-like string of injuries doomed Haley’s chances for redemption, and Haley was fired after suffering an embarrassing loss to the New York Jets.

As in Kansas City, Haley’s aggressiveness can work to, either, help or hurt. If Haley is the same guy in Pittsburgh as he was when he cussed out former Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle and mocked players like wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, his tenure in Pittsburgh may be a short-lived one. However, if Haley can keep his temper down, focus on the football, and really get to know the offense, Pittsburgh may just have another Super Bowl trophy in their near-future. And that, undoubtedly, would be a welcome event as Steelers fans are, no doubt, ready to get the disgusting taste of the playoff loss they suffered at the hands of Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos out of their mouths. Here’s hoping Haley is the mouthwash that can make it happen.

[URL]http://www.rantsports.com/pittsburgh-steelers/2012/07/19/the-future-of-the-pittsburgh-steelers-rests-in-the-hands-of-the-explosive-oc-todd-haley/[/URL]

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers camp report: Haley’s offense looks promising

By Alan Robinson
Published: Sunday, July 29, 2012



Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger runs during the Steelers' practice on Thursday, July 26, 2012, at St. Vincent

Will the quarterback be reined in or restricted? Will the Steelers run the ball better? Did they throw out everything Bruce Arians put in? Most of all, how will Ben and his new boss get along?

Todd Haley’s hiring as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator five months ago generated surprise and a great number of questions. Only now are they getting answered.

First, Haley’s personality — term it an edgy intensity, with a slice of sideline combustibility — seemed to be quite the departure from the lower-key Bruce Arians, Ben Roethlisberger’s longtime friend, mentor and golfing buddy.

Now that training camp has begun, it’s becoming apparent that there will be much in Haley’s offense that made him such a successful coordinator with the Arizona Cardinals. Namely, lots of quick-release, high-percentage passes mixed in with enough running to keep an offense guessing, plus short throws to the running backs. The entire system appears to be designed to keep Roethlisberger on his feet, throwing with a steady rhythm and away from pass rushers.

Maybe there won’t be quite as many deep throws — especially if Mike Wallace’s holdout extends into the season — but Roethlisberger must have noticed that Kurt Warner threw for 57 touchdowns and 8,000 yards in two seasons of Haleyball in 2007-08.

And that supposed complexity and radical reshaping of what the Steelers did under the Ben-friendly Arians offense? Antonio Brown said Haley’s offense is simpler for the receivers because there are fewer reads and in-route adjustments. And cornerback Ike Taylor is suggesting this might be the best Steelers offense he’s seen.

Tight end Lawrence Pope played the last five seasons under Haley with the Cardinals and Chiefs, so he pretty much knows what’s coming — a system that puts an emphasis on quickness and precision.

“You can expect a pretty good offense,” Pope said. “I don’t want to speak (in detail) about what we’ve got going on, but I’m pretty sure we’re going to be a good team. ... Todd has a great passion for the game. I’ve seen him on very nice days, and I’ve seen him when he’s mad. I love the guy. He’s a great, great competitor.”

3 QUESTIONS: JERRICHO COTCHERY

As a former Jets player, what will it be like in New York with media darlings Tim Tebow and Mark Sanchez on the same team? “I know Tebow has a huge following. But Brett Favre? You’re talking Brett Favre. His following was something I hadn’t seen up there in New York. People showed up two, three hours before practice, just sitting there and the sun cooking them. They’re kind of built for that type of atmosphere because they’ve had so many guys in the past that attracted those kinds of (media) crowds.”

Did he consider the now-retired Hines Ward to be a dirty player before joining the Steelers last season? “I’ve always admired the way he played the game. Defensive players don’t like to get hit. They want to be the ones doing all the hitting, they want to deliver all the blows. Once you start dishing out all the hits on them, it’s like, ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute, I’m the one who’s supposed to be doing it. This guy’s dirty.’ A lot of those guys who were screaming dirty, screaming foul, they would love for him to be on one of their offenses.”

Jets coach Rex Ryan has a reputation of being a master motivator. Did any of his tricks not work? “I never saw anything that didn’t work as far as speech-wise. I think he’s a great motivator. There’s one thing about him, he can get guys ready to play. And I think that’s a good thing.”

CAMP BATTLE

If fans want to watch any of the position battles in person, this will be the only uninterrupted week of training camp. Camp will be interrupted by games starting next week, and the Steelers break camp two days in advance of their Aug. 19 game against the Colts.

The most intriguing competition is developing at left cornerback, where Keenan Lewis believes he will start but neither Curtis Brown nor Cortez Allen — drafted a round apart last year — can be counted out. Coach Mike Tomlin and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau had high praise for both in the spring.

PLAYER TO WATCH

First-round draft pick David DeCastro was easily the most-watched player during the first contact drills of camp Saturday and understandably so. It’s a big deal when any offensive guard is compared to Alan Faneca, one of the best of his generation, as DeCastro has been. It was a given he would start immediately, and DeCastro clearly appears to have the physical makeup, personality and proper mental perspective to grasp the nuances of the job and start as a rookie.

Still, the Steelers believed another first-round guard was certain to have a Pro Bowl-caliber career — John Rienstra, the No. 9 overall pick in 1986. He turned out to be a major flop despite possessing exceptional strength and a work ethic that impressed even Chuck Noll.

There has been nothing to suggest that DeCastro will undergo the struggles that Rienstra did, especially with his confidence, but that 1986 draft offers a cautionary tale that no player is a lock and that DeCastro still must win a job that is his to lose.

[URL]http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2287868-85/steelers-camp-offense-haley-decastro-player-seen-start-alan-arians[/URL]

[RuthlessBurgher]

Tight end Lawrence Pope played the last five seasons under Haley with the Cardinals and Chiefs, so he pretty much knows what’s coming — a system that puts an emphasis on quickness and precision.

Pope is a Leo, not a Larry.

[phillyesq]

Good read on the way the offense has operated early in camp:

[URL]http://pit.scout.com/2/1206898.html[/URL]

I don't think the Steelers will be a ground and pound team this year, but I think you will see a balanced offense. I think right now Haley is working on instilling a new mindset for the offense.

[steelfin]

Good read on the way the offense has operated early in camp:

[URL]http://pit.scout.com/2/1206898.html[/URL]

I don't think the Steelers will be a ground and pound team this year, but I think you will see a balanced offense. I think right now Haley is working on instilling a new mindset for the offense.

Crash's dream come true...

I want the offensive to have a physical presence and the ability to run, but our best skill players are the QB and receivers....

Time will tell...

[Djfan]

Crash's dream come true...

I want the offensive to have a physical presence and the ability to run, but our best skill players are the QB and receivers....

Time will tell...

No issue with that, but a legit running game will REALLY open up this strength.

[Slapstick]

I don't know why people argue about it...

This says it all, right here:

The [URL="http://pit.scout.com/"]Pittsburgh Steelers[/URL] have run the ball 44 percent of the time or less only four times in franchise history
:
* After they did it in 1991, they fired Chuck Noll.

* After they did it in 2003, they changed offensive coordinators.
* After they did it in 2009, they publically demanded an improved running game.

* And after the same coordinator did it again last year, he was fired.

1991 - 7-9
2003 - 6-10
2009 - 9-7 (no playoffs)
2011 - 12-4 (Yay!...but, one-and-done in the playoffs)

[RuthlessBurgher]

Todd Haley bringing some old school back to Steelers O
Posted by Darin Gantt on August 1, 2012, 8:09 AM EDT

Todd Haley grew up working as a water boy at Steelers training camp, looking up to stars such as Joe Greene.

But as different as they are, they share a philosophy on how to improve the Steelers offense, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

This offseason, the legendary defensive lineman revealed the unhappiness with the way former offensive coordinator Bruce Arians treated the run game.

“You have to practice it, that’s the thing,” Greene said. “There is always a weakness in a defense for the run, but you have to be able to look for it. You don’t just call the run because you get tired of throwing it or because someone wants you to.”

So when Haley came in to put his stamp on the offense, it’s no accident someone who grew up on the Steelers of the 70s (his father was a personnel man who helped build those teams) had a similar blueprint.

“If you can run it when they know you’re going to run it — successfully — and you can throw it when they know you’re going to throw it, you have a chance to be real good, and that’s what we’re working on.”

Haley’s brought the fullback back into the offense, and put a bigger emphasis on the run game in practice.

“I’m staying away from last year because I had my own set of encyclopedias going on somewhere else,” said Haley, who had his own problems in Kansas City. “But I think that’s the name of the game on offense is being able to get the yards you need on the ground when the defense knows your running, wherever that falls in the game, if it’s critical short-yardage, if it’s a four-minute situation.”

The Steelers aren’t necessarily going to reverse the ratio and suddenly go back to running 60 percent of the time. But if they can bring a sense of balance (after 539 pass attempts against just 434 runs last year), there’s an opportunity to open more things up for Ben Roethlisberger and a group of receivers that may or may not include Mike Wallace.

[URL]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/08/01/todd-haley-bringing-some-old-school-back-to-steelers-o/[/URL]

[hawaiiansteel]

Antonio Brown praises Todd Haley's coaching style and personality

August 2, 2012
By Dan Gigler / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



While there has been much concern over how new offensive coordinator Todd Haley's schemes would be handled by the Steelers and whether or not Haley and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger would get along, wide receiver Antonio Brown is effusive in his praise for Haley's style.

"It's definitely a big difference," Brown said Wednesday.

"Todd's really a cool guy -- shaking guy's hands, communicating with guys, putting in that extra time for guys, visiting with guys. Bruce [Arians] wasn't really that type of guy -- he just went about his business.

"Todd is more team-oriented and more communicative with players and trying to work together with all the men, so he's getting to know everyone," Brown said

"That's something special to be a part of."

That flies in the face of the image of Haley's supposedly thorny personality and his clashes with star players and management while he was head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.

"Not at all," Brown said. "He's a great guy. Definitely not what people made him out to be."

"You can't go off of what you hear about a person until you really get to meet him, and, since I met this guy, he's been first class. ... [Haley] asks me what I'm seeing on the field and [makes suggestions] -- 'look at this route, you can do this better.' When you have men like that who are willing to ... be on the same page as players it makes it better for you, and you're more willing to want to play hard for them."

"That's what we're establishing in camp. Establish our identity, get on the same page, know the way he thinks, build that relationship."

[URL]http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/antonio-brown-praises-todd-haleys-coaching-style-and-personality-647249/#ixzz22WmeMpZh[/URL]