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One of the weaknesses of the 2020 Steelers, aside from lousy coaching, was the lack of speed in the backfield. The Steelers must have had the slowest trio of backs in the league in 2020. An excessive amount of short passing compounded this problem by bringing the defenders closer to the line of scrimmage, giving defenders the positioning they need for a very predictable short passing attack while at the same time moving DB's up to stop a very predictable short rushing attack, which featured little outside the tackle running aside from the overused Jet Sweeps ( It is supposed to be a surprise call, not an every game call )
Once teams adjusted to us ( Washington game, ) we were cooked. The coaches had no counters. We were predictable, slow, and Due to the OL and Ben's age, had to get rid of the football very quickly.
One man can change all of the above. Travis Etienne. Etienne has rare acceleration and speed for the position. His acceleration from zero to max speed is rare, and his top end speed, which he can quickly reach, is too fast for all of the defensive lineman, 95% linebackers to deal with.
They better hope to have the sideline close to them and safety help, otherwise they are getting burned on the outside. Playing against good competition, Eitenne had 55 runs in his college career of 20 yards or more, which is unheard of at his level. 55 runs of 20% of the field or more. These runs were made both inside and outside. Wow. The Steelers have not had such a player in a long, long time.
This speed would do several things.
1 ) Crowding the LOS, even playing for pass would be dangerous as Etienne could take a quick pitch out or counter play for a lot of yardage.
2 ) Suddenly the off tackles runs would need to be defended. The Steelers actually have excellent WR's to block outside with Claypool and Ju-Ju, which would really open things up.
3 ) As a pass catcher Eitenne is a good one and a dangerous one. Too fast for LB's to cover him on wheel routes or flat routes.
Safety blanket? Ha, suddenly we have a weapon that will have the D backing off, giving Ben more time, and allowing our receiver to get deeper more often. Eitenne's best set might be the 3 WR 1 RB set. I don't don't care if I seldom use the FB or the wimpy blocking TE that we have. I say make them cover us, and stop calling plays into the teeth of their defense.
I want the opposing defense backing off, Ben having a little more time to throw the ball, and no less than 2 game breakers on the field more often then not. Not to sell Etienne's ability to make men miss, or being hard to tackle in the open field. He does that too. That and spending two picks on the OL ( One in round 2 or 3 ) after drafting Etienne and suddenly we'll have speed and a running game in 2021. Of course it would be nice to mix in play action and screen plays with this type of speed too.
Once teams adjusted to us ( Washington game, ) we were cooked. The coaches had no counters. We were predictable, slow, and Due to the OL and Ben's age, had to get rid of the football very quickly.
One man can change all of the above. Travis Etienne. Etienne has rare acceleration and speed for the position. His acceleration from zero to max speed is rare, and his top end speed, which he can quickly reach, is too fast for all of the defensive lineman, 95% linebackers to deal with.
They better hope to have the sideline close to them and safety help, otherwise they are getting burned on the outside. Playing against good competition, Eitenne had 55 runs in his college career of 20 yards or more, which is unheard of at his level. 55 runs of 20% of the field or more. These runs were made both inside and outside. Wow. The Steelers have not had such a player in a long, long time.
This speed would do several things.
1 ) Crowding the LOS, even playing for pass would be dangerous as Etienne could take a quick pitch out or counter play for a lot of yardage.
2 ) Suddenly the off tackles runs would need to be defended. The Steelers actually have excellent WR's to block outside with Claypool and Ju-Ju, which would really open things up.
3 ) As a pass catcher Eitenne is a good one and a dangerous one. Too fast for LB's to cover him on wheel routes or flat routes.
Safety blanket? Ha, suddenly we have a weapon that will have the D backing off, giving Ben more time, and allowing our receiver to get deeper more often. Eitenne's best set might be the 3 WR 1 RB set. I don't don't care if I seldom use the FB or the wimpy blocking TE that we have. I say make them cover us, and stop calling plays into the teeth of their defense.
I want the opposing defense backing off, Ben having a little more time to throw the ball, and no less than 2 game breakers on the field more often then not. Not to sell Etienne's ability to make men miss, or being hard to tackle in the open field. He does that too. That and spending two picks on the OL ( One in round 2 or 3 ) after drafting Etienne and suddenly we'll have speed and a running game in 2021. Of course it would be nice to mix in play action and screen plays with this type of speed too.
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