Despite Win, Tomlin Deserves Criticism for Questionable Play Calls in Week 5

Let me start by saying, I cringe at the idea of even broaching the subject of coaching and play-calling. When it comes to Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, I have tried to always err on the side of the coaches when it comes to the shortcomings of the offense.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

However, after the Week 5 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, I admit my stance on this really came into question. To a man, I expect high-paid NFL players to execute regardless of the call. I go back to the fateful play at the end of the Week 4 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Steelers have the football on their own 19-yard line. With the Buccaneers out of timeouts, the Steelers are one first down away from salting the game. On 3rd-and-5, Pittsburgh lines up in the shotgun, using multiple wide receivers. Pittsburgh has had success running and throwing out of this formation, so it was hard to get a read before the snap just what was going to happen.

What happens at the snap is quarterback Ben Roethlisberger takes the ball and the Steelers run that inside delay to running back Le'Veon Bell. Unfortunately, the Buccaneers stack the play up in the backfield and Bell is stuffed for a two-yard loss. The quick reaction to this is that the Steelers dropped the ball on that call.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

However, upon further review, it really wasn't the call that was suspect. It was the horrible job of blocking by the Steelers offensive line that created the loss. If the Pittsburgh front had done its job, Bell likely gets the five yards, and the rest, as they say, is history.

But while this play was a matter of execution, Sunday’s game against the Jaguars had some real head-scratchers. Plays that were doomed to fail even with the best execution.

It took Pittsburgh exactly two plays to toss one out there that was inexplicably poor. On the heels of a five-yard gain by Bell, Pittsburgh decided to squander that gain completely with as ill-conceived a play as it has called all season.

NFL Game Rewind

As you can see, before the snap the play seems normal enough. Wide receivers Antonio Brown and Markus Wheaton are at the bottom of the screen and wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey at the top. Everything looks solid. Then the ball is snapped.

NFL Game Rewind

Rather than go with Brown at the bottom on the screen, they use him and Wheaton as a diversion for their true intentions. A slip screen to Heyward-Bey while Jacksonville has press-man coverage on him. But hey, what can go wrong? All that has to happen is for tackle Kelvin Beachum to run a third of the field and make a block on a cornerback a yard away from Heyward-Bey. Right on cue the play crashes and burns.

Why was this play doomed from the beginning? Not to labor the point, but you only need a fundamental understanding of football to see where this play design was flawed. Opting to throw to Heyward-Bey, who hadn't made a catch all year was the first mistake. Throwing to him while the Jaguars were playing him in press-man coverage was the second.

By comparison, later in the quarter, the Steelers came out in the same formation, but instead of using a fake screen to one side and a screen to the other, they apply more traditional route concepts, and Brown gets a 15-yard gain. Against one of the worst defenses in the league, there is no reason to get overly clever with play design.

As bad as the play was, things get worse. Moving ahead to the fourth quarter, the Steelers are moving the football. Faced with a 3rd-and-1, they do the only logical thing. They pull their star running back and put in rookie speedster Dri Archer. The Steelers line him up in the I formation with fullback Will Johnson in front of him.

NFL Game Rewind

Now understand that while this formation might seem out of place, it has potential. A toss to Archer with the Jaguars packed in tight could give him the corner. A well-placed play-action pass to tight end Heath Miller could net a big gain.

NFL Game Rewind

Instead, the Steelers opt to use Archer as a marginal diversion and give Johnson only his second carry of the year. It of course goes nowhere, and the Steelers are forced to punt. Again, you don't have to be an NFL coach or coordinator to see the problems with this play. 

Archer and Johnson have barely seen the field thus far this season. Putting them both on the field in short yardage doesn't put the best players in the best places to get the first down. And by best player I mean one of the top two or three running backs in the league in Bell.

In fact, taking the discussion even further, in my charting of the game, Bell only had one touch on third down against the Jaguars, a 12-yard completion. The trend of not taking advantage of a poor defense continues. 

These are just two examples of plays that offensive coordinator Todd Haley called and Tomlin approved that no amount of execution was going to make right. Tomlin needs to tear these pages out of the playbook and never see them again.