What kind of team will this be on offense

[BURGH86STEEL]

Re: What kind of team will this be on offense

Right now I think they should still rely a little more on the run. Especially with the addition of Mendenhall. It appears we have 2 possibly 3 backs that can do very well. The biggest area of strength in this team may be RB. My other point is it is probably easier for any Oline to run block as opposed to pass block. They should probably run a little more till they can get the Oline and pass protection to play a little better.

I think the bottom line is the offense should be able to do what ever is necessary to win a game. Run or pass, just win baby.

[stlrz d]

Re: What kind of team will this be on offense

They will continue to pass in order to set up the run.

I like that shiznit.

Dude! :P

[papillon]

Re: What kind of team will this be on offense

Of course winning is the default assumption. All else is fluff. The point is it seems that based on our current composition the "old" way isn't the "best" way.

As of right now the old way has 5 Super Bowls and any other way has zero Super Bowls. Until, I see the Steelers handing the Lombardi Trophy to Druckenmiller :P by passing more than they run I'll take the old way.

Pappy

[Steel Life]

Re: What kind of team will this be on offense

I believe they will want to be balanced, but the sub-par line will keep the running game from being a consistent threat, thus putting the burden on Ben & the passing game. Surely there will be games which either - or both - Parker or Mendenhall are dominant, but like last year, it will be sporadic. Ben will be counted on to bail the team out with his passing & usual "sandlot" contribution.

But what I would like to see is Tomlin turn this team into a mind-numbing, soul-grinding running attack that rips the spirit from every team we face with Mendenhall being that once-in-a-generation back that everyone wants on their team. I would like to see a passing game that plays off of that running game without getting "cute" (you hear me Arians?!?) - especially in the "red-zone". I want to see Heath Miller even more involved in the game plan & Sweed to make everyone regret passing him up. I want to see a defense that is truly physically dominant, where offenses look silly even trying. I want to see Woodley & Silverback in opponent's backfields so much that Lawrence Taylor's name is invoked on a weekly basis. I want to see Troy be the All-Pro we know he can be & Ike Taylor to become elite. And last, but not least - I want the special teams to be special...or least better-than average...please.

And almost more than anything else besides winning the Super Bowl & for Ben to be the league MVP, I want to drub the Pat*s this year & I want Anthony Smith to be the hero. I want him to torment Brady so much that he sees Smith in his dreams from his hospital bed & Belichek has to praise him for his play.

Other than that, I don't expect much...but I'll predict 10-6 & an AFC North Championship.

[AkronSteel]

Re: What kind of team will this be on offense

I think that the offense will rely on Big Ben even more this year. I wouldn't be surprised to see a New England type offense with lots of three and four wide out sets. I think that the advantage that the team does have is that they will have the ability to run the ball when needed (that is why the two backs are so important). The team will be able to mix it up better with Mendy and Parker complimenting each other. It seemed at times last year that Parker just couldn't get in a groove b/c he is a one trick pony (a good one but....) I think Mendenhall will help this team re-establish what has made the Steelers so successful over the last 19 years and that is being able to grind it out in the 4th quarter.

My question regarding the offense is of course the O Line, I hope that we can see some better consistency this year from the group over all. I guess we will just have to wait and see. As much as AF did for this franchise his play has not been the same since '05, I remember a play last year in Denver where he looked so bad I was embarrased for him, and it seemed that alot of pressure came right over AF and Mahan all year. If it was my choice I would go like this:

LT: Marvel
LG: Colon
C: Hartwig
RG: Simmons
RT: Starks

I believe we need to find a way to put our best 5 on the field and this seems like the logical choice.

[Mr Smartmonies]

Re: What kind of team will this be on offense

Right now I think they should still rely a little more on the run. Especially with the addition of Mendenhall. It appears we have 2 possibly 3 backs that can do very well. The biggest area of strength in this team may be RB. My other point is it is probably easier for any Oline to run block as opposed to pass block. They should probably run a little more till they can get the Oline and pass protection to play a little better.

.

They had more rushing attempts on 1st and 2nd down then all but 1 team in the
league last year. And that isn't good enough for you? Just keep taking the Ball out of Ben's hands huh? You really don't get it Burghsteel. You just refuse to believe that we found the end zone last year because of the QB. We moved the ball becuase of the QB on third down. He's moving into the prime of his career and if you were the coach you would take the ball out of his hands even more. unreal. You just don't get it. You never will . Very sad. Live Long Ben basher. Live Long!

[Mr Smartmonies]

Re: What kind of team will this be on offense

Of course winning is the default assumption. All else is fluff. The point is it seems that based on our current composition the "old" way isn't the "best" way.

As of right now the old way has 5 Super Bowls and any other way has zero Super Bowls. Until, I see the Steelers handing the Lombardi Trophy to Druckenmiller :P by passing more than they run I'll take the old way.

Pappy

you may want to revisit the 2005 Playoffs. Watch the first half of the Colts game and the first half of the Broncos game. Then take a look at the box scores and view what the Steelers averaged per carry. Then re examine your postion.

By the way, the Steelers no longer have a power running game. Maybe Mendy brings some of that back. But Cowher gave up on the Power run game in 2006 against Denver.
ANd Tomlin found out last year we don't have it anymore. Most fans could tell that the Steelers no longer had it. That identity is gone. Their not going to be able to control the line of scrimmage against these great teams they play this year with this offensive line. They have to come out in 3 and 4 WR sets and pas the ball. A lot. The steelers in 3 or 4 WR sets last year was near the very top of the NFL.

[Oviedo]

Re: What kind of team will this be on offense

Of course winning is the default assumption. All else is fluff. The point is it seems that based on our current composition the "old" way isn't the "best" way.

As of right now the old way has 5 Super Bowls and any other way has zero Super Bowls. Until, I see the Steelers handing the Lombardi Trophy to Druckenmiller :P by passing more than they run I'll take the old way.

Pappy

you may want to revisit the 2005 Playoffs. Watch the first half of the Colts game and the first half of the Broncos game. Then take a look at the box scores and view what the Steelers averaged per carry. Then re examine your postion.

By the way, the Steelers no longer have a power running game. Maybe Mendy brings some of that back. But Cowher gave up on the Power run game in 2006 against Denver.
ANd Tomlin found out last year we don't have it anymore. Most fans could tell that the Steelers no longer had it. That identity is gone. Their not going to be able to control the line of scrimmage against these great teams they play this year with this offensive line. They have to come out in 3 and 4 WR sets and pas the ball. A lot. The steelers in 3 or 4 WR sets last year was near the very top of the NFL.

This team and its fans needs to stop worrying about "persona" and "style" and exploit what the league rules grossly benefit--passing the ball. I'm not saying we pass the ball 60% of the time, but we need to use the the weapons we have with Ben, our WRs, RBs and TEs.

You can control the ball and the clock just as easily with a short, controlled passing game. The cumulative tiring effect of LBs chasing TEs and RBs on short passing patterns will be just as effective come the 4th Qtr as ramming the ball down their throats.

Three yards and a cloud of dust won't win against the elite teams in this league because they will simply outscore you. It is how the rules are enforced right now. The league wants scoring so you had better be able to score in bunches.

[Bob]

Re: What kind of team will this be on offense

If I could label the offense I would say: Power Spread.

Given our lack of faith in the OL having 2 TEs on the field at once which also offer mismatchs vs. LBs and Safeties as well as our speed at RB I think this would be a good offense to run.

I also gives us the option to use MS as an H-Back or to even split Miller out wide.

Lastly it gives us the option to make the D play even as they could not overload a specific side.

We did this to some degree last year but I would like to see this as our base O given our roster.

My 2 yen.

[Oviedo]

Re: What kind of team will this be on offense

If I could label the offense I would say: Power Spread.

Given our lack of faith in the OL having 2 TEs on the field at once which also offer mismatchs vs. LBs and Safeties as well as our speed at RB I think this would be a good offense to run.

I also gives us the option to use MS as an H-Back or to even split Miller out wide.

Lastly it gives us the option to make the D play even as they could not overload a specific side.

We did this to some degree last year but I would like to see this as our base O given our roster.

My 2 yen.

I'll take your two yen. I really hope we give the TEs more opportunities. IMHO they are the key to opening up this offense by getting LBs out of the box and chasing them with their backs to the LOS. Add Mendenhall to that.

You need to copyright the term "Power spread." I really like the term and what it suggests.

[Bob]

Re: What kind of team will this be on offense

I'm in contact with the copy writers as I type this hehehe!!!!!

In Miami, when Coker was in charge, we called it "The Coker T" FWIW...hehehe

[papillon]

Re: What kind of team will this be on offense

Of course winning is the default assumption. All else is fluff. The point is it seems that based on our current composition the "old" way isn't the "best" way.

As of right now the old way has 5 Super Bowls and any other way has zero Super Bowls. Until, I see the Steelers handing the Lombardi Trophy to Druckenmiller :P by passing more than they run I'll take the old way.

Pappy

you may want to revisit the 2005 Playoffs. Watch the first half of the Colts game and the first half of the Broncos game. Then take a look at the box scores and view what the Steelers averaged per carry. Then re examine your postion.

By the way, the Steelers no longer have a power running game. Maybe Mendy brings some of that back. But Cowher gave up on the Power run game in 2006 against Denver.
ANd Tomlin found out last year we don't have it anymore. Most fans could tell that the Steelers no longer had it. That identity is gone. Their not going to be able to control the line of scrimmage against these great teams they play this year with this offensive line. They have to come out in 3 and 4 WR sets and pas the ball. A lot. The steelers in 3 or 4 WR sets last year was near the very top of the NFL.

Nothing to re-examine you're picking one game or series of games to identify that the passing attack carried them to the SB. They rushed the ball about 57% of the time in 2005, it's the cumulative affect of being able to run the ball almost at will that makes the passing game successful.

The Steelers no longer have a power running game and they don't have any more SBs either.

So, as I stated, until the Steelers pass the ball more than they run the ball and win a SB I will stay with the running game augmented by Ben's ability to make big plays as the formula for success.

Pappy

[frankthetank1]

Re: What kind of team will this be on offense

I feel that we will have the same style of "Ball Control" offense as we have loved with the great option of weapons if the opposing defense want's to crowd 8-9 in the box.
Ben was givin the green light to audible but learning a new offense(Ariens) made it hard enough to just run the play that was given to him, now with 1 season under his belt, Ben should feel more comfortable making the change at the line.IMO

It would be a shame to see the Steelers run ball control. We have " go for the jugular" weapons. Not to mention our O line is not the best. In order to control the clock, you really need to be strong in the trenches. Ball control IMO...would be trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Run with what you got...and that is a superb selection of arial weapons.

I want to destroy teams much like the Pats did. Particularly AFC North teams just to watch them and their fans cry

If we are going to beat the Pats, Jags, Indy and Dallas this season we will have to do it by scoring lots of points. We need to get ours running on hyper speed before we play those games. I think each of them have a weakness on defense dealing with that kind of offense. Let's go for it.

how are the pats going to stop any passing attack let alone the steelers offense? we saw last year they couldnt stop willie parker. well add mendenhall and sweed to the offense, thats scary. but i guess it all still comes down to the o-line

[Shawn]

Re: What kind of team will this be on offense

Good point Frank. And maybe I'm smokin the BnG crack pipe but I think the Steelers have a better shot at stopping the Pats then they have stopping us. We have 4 good DBs...Ike, McFadden, Townsend and Gay. We don't have a star at DB but we are fairly deep.

[frankthetank1]

Re: What kind of team will this be on offense

Good point Frank. And maybe I'm smokin the BnG crack pipe but I think the Steelers have a better shot at stopping the Pats then they have stopping us. We have 4 good DBs...Ike, McFadden, Townsend and Gay. We don't have a star at DB but we are fairly deep.

i forgot to include that in my post and it was actually my main point
who will they even have at cb? losing samuel was awful but losing gay on top of that is even worse. no team can rebound the year after losing your top two cb's. they can score all the points in the world and it wont matter. their d-line is still solid, but even at lb they are very thin. no more colvin and the stroke is a year older