5 2014 Stats Pittsburgh Steelers Must Improve Upon in 2015
One of the most prolific offenses in team history was not enough to get the Pittsburgh Steelers past the first round of the playoffs.
Last season, the Steelers finished second in the NFL in total offense all while setting numerous franchise records. With offensive coordinator Todd Haley back for another season and the offensive personnel intact for 2015, Mike Tomlin believes that they can be even better, via Mike Prisuta of Steelers.com:
"My expectation is they’re capable of being the very best because we have the goods. We’ve got guys who are capable. We’ve got guys who know what they’re doing. We’ve got guys who have played together for an extended period of time now.
(Being the very best) is a reasonable expectation.
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However, the Steelers cannot win with offense alone. The defense needs to improve for the team to make a deep playoff run in 2015, but that is easier said than done as Keith Butler replaces Dick LeBeau as defensive coordinator.
Will Butler return the defense to its roots of stopping the run, preventing the big play and rushing the quarterback, or does he have something new up his sleeve? If not, how does he plan to improve a defense that has fallen from the top overall defense in 2011 to 18th last season?
Of course, special teams is another area that can help control the outcome of a game—particularly when considering field position. The return game will play a key role this fall, but the Steelers must first find a player to man the return game.
It is not the individual team stats that will decide the Steelers' final record next year, but rather the integration of each phase of the game. By improving key statistics in 2015, Pittsburgh will make a return trip to the playoffs.
Here is a look at the five areas the Steelers will have to improve upon.
Kick Return Average
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One of the most underrated aspects of the NFL is special teams play, which is one of the reasons why the Steelers drafted Dri Archer in the third round. General manager Kevin Colbert felt that Archer could be much more than a role player given his ability in the kick return game, via Scott Brown of ESPN.com.
"In my mind, return guys are starters," Colbert said. "His kick-return ability is unique. It really is special. Whatever he can add to us offensively, we see some value there."
The Archer experiment did not last very long, as he only had nine kick returns for an average of 17.9 yards per return—well below Jarvis Landry's league-leading 31.3-yard average—before losing his job. Markus Wheaton would eventually win the kick return duties and averaged 24.7 yards per return.
Even with the improvement, Pittsburgh only averaged 21.7 yards on kick returns, which ranked 27th. According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the Steelers are in the market for another option in the return game:
"While the Steelers are generally very quiet in free agency/trades they are quietly exploring options for a returner.
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 12, 2015
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Whether they continue to explore their options in free agency or trade or attempt to find another returner in the draft, the Steelers have at least acknowledged one of their weak spots from last season. An upgrade in this area will have a wide-ranging impact on the team.
Starting field position for an offense is important in terms of production. Early in 2014, the Steelers were near the bottom of the league in this category, which made scoring difficult. An extra 10 yards on returns puts the offense in much better position.
An upgrade in the return game may mean the difference between another top-10 finish in points per game next year compared to having the top scoring offense in the entire NFL.
Average Yards Per Rush Against
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Since Dick LeBeau rejoined the Steelers in 2004, the run defense was annually one of the best in the league. In eight of 11 seasons, the Steelers finished in the top five in the NFL against the run.
After falling to No. 21 in the league in 2013, Pittsburgh’s rush defense bounced back last year to rank sixth. However, this statistic is deceiving considering that opponents routinely attacked the porous pass defense.
The other issue was that the defense allowed 4.4 yards per carry, which ranked 25th in the NFL. By comparison, in 2010, the Steelers allowed just 3.0 yards per carry and just under 63 yards per game. Less time in the base 3-4 defense and more time in the nickel have contributed to this fall.
Another issue is the lack of talent in the front seven. When they were at their best, the Steelers had a physical defensive front that could control the line of scrimmage, something that their current defensive line does not do well. The linebackers are also weaker against the run, which makes things easy for opposing offenses.
When the Steelers can’t control the ground game, opponents can dictate the tempo on offense. Here, opponents are no longer in 3rd-and-long situations and can take a balanced approach. It also opens up the defense for big plays through the air.
According to SportingCharts.com, “big plays are categorized as rushing plays that are over 10 yards and passing plays that are over 25 yards.” The Steelers were sixth-worst in the league with 86 big plays against last season.
However, there is hope for improvement.
Stephon Tuitt is entering his second year and has potential to develop into a top run-stopper. With Cam Heyward on the other end of the defensive line, the Steelers are in good shape. They will be even better with a healthy Steve McLendon in the middle.
The X-factor, though, is Dan McCullers. The 6’7” and 353-pound nose tackle has the ability to be a monster in the center of the defense. When he is on his game, he is nearly unblockable and will be a force against the run.
Takeaways
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The lack of playmakers took a toll on the defense in 2014. The Steelers’ 21 takeaways ranked 23rd in the league and is a problem that has plagued them for two seasons. Based on the defensive personnel returning for 2015, there will once again be concerns.
Takeaways are more than just luck, but forcing an opponent into making mistakes. Defenses can achieve this by making an offense one-dimensional or by playing an aggressive style of football—particularly by rushing the quarterback.
A poor run defense prevents them from dictating the tempo on defense, and a lack of pass-rushers allows quarterbacks to pick the secondary apart. So what’s the answer?
That is complicated. William Gay and Brice McCain tied for the team lead with three interceptions each last season—four of which they returned for a touchdown. Behind these two, Cortez Allen had two interceptions; and Antwon Blake, Brett Keisel and Jason Worilds had one each.
Half of these players are now gone, and the Steelers will now have to look to their young defenders to develop into playmakers not only in the secondary making plays on the ball, but also forcing fumbles in the trenches.
Heyward and Tuitt will need to lead the way up front while Jarvis Jones and Ryan Shazier must justify their status as first-round draft picks. In the secondary, they need Mike Mitchell to live up to his contract and Allen to finally develop into a starting-caliber cornerback.
It also may require the Steelers to draft defensive backs with strong ball skills. According Tomlin, the Steelers plan to acquire additional talent through the draft, via Scott Brown of ESPN.com:
"I expect the guys that we have to continue to grow and get better. I expect to add credible, competent men to add to that mix to provide competition and put them in a competitive environment and see who comes out on top. I'm completely comfortable that at the end of that we're going to have above the line corner play.
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The Steelers can have all of the some of the best talent at cornerback in the league, but if they continue to give quarterbacks all day to throw, turnovers will remain tough to come by and they’ll once against rank near the bottom of the league.
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Sacks
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Although it’s hard to believe, the Steelers have not had more than 40 sacks in a season since 2010. Last year, their pass rush was virtually non-existent as they finished the season with only 33 sacks. After losing one of their best sack artists from 2014, how are the Steelers going to generate a pass rush?
Colbert apparently has a plan, as he recently stated that Jason Worilds’ retirement had no impact on the team’s offseason plans.
“His decision to retire really didn’t affect us one way or another, because he really wasn’t in our plans,” Colbert said, via Scott Brown of ESPN.com. “I am surprised that Jason [retired] at this point, but I respect his wishes to move on with his life. He had a good career with us. He helped us win a lot of games. We wish him nothing but the best.”
Instead, the Steelers will have to rely on Heyward—who tied Worilds for the team league with 7.5 sacks—and three outside linebackers who started a combined 16 games last season.
Arthur Moats, Jarvis Jones and James Harrison comprise what is one of the worst groupings of outside linebackers that the Steelers have had since installing the 3-4 defense. Last season, they combined for 11.5 sacks, but they have potential to produce at a higher rate in a full-time role.
According to the Tribune-Review, Tomlin said that there is an “open competition” for the outside linebacker spots, so all three figure to compete for a starting job. Behind them, Shawn Lemon and Howard Jones will look to earn a role as a backup.
No matter how you look at the depth chart, though, the Steelers do not have any proven starters beyond Harrison, and he is near the end of his career. The lack of a blue-chip prospect likely means that they will look for one in the draft.
It is a lot to ask a rookie to step in and become a dominant pass-rusher, so instead, Butler may have to employee a linebacker-by-committee approach to his defense. It will take some creative scheming, but as long as he can devise a way to get his defenders to the quarterback, the lack of a bona fide starter at the position will not matter.
Toxic Differential
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Toxic differential is an interesting statistic that SportingCharts.com—fully explained at their website—defines as a statistic “used to measure a team on their ability in creating and preventing both turnovers and explosive plays.”
The higher the toxic differential, the better. SportingCharts.com has tracked this stat and found that “over the last 15-plus seasons, a majority of teams that have won the Super Bowl finished the regular season in the Top 10 for Toxic Differential.”
In their last Super Bowl appearance, the Steelers were the best in the league with a Toxic Differential of 58. Over the past 15 seasons, they have had a value above zero 12 times, but have finished in the negatives over the past two seasons.
Last year, the Steelers finished at minus-one, which perfectly summarizes their inconsistent play over the course of the season. At any given point in 2014, they played like one of the worst teams in the league, one in the best and as one looking to finish with eight wins.
Brian Billick of NFL Media took note of the Steelers erratic play at the halfway point of the 2014 season:
"Teams that are spinning their wheels are usually guilty of giving up a lot of big plays or a lot of turnovers. The Pittsburgh Steelers have been potent offensively, with Ben Roethlisberger increasingly comfortable in Todd Haley's scheme, generating 35 big plays [fifth in the NFL]. But Dick LeBeau's defense has been atypically leaky, giving up 40 explosive plays [second-worst in the league].
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Billick added that this stat “does a good job of showing how well teams balance risk and reward.”
Given its growth over the past three seasons, Pittsburgh’s offense is poised to hold up its end of the bargain. Now it is up to the defense to step up its game to help make the Steelers legitimate contenders for a title.
Note: Unless otherwise noted, all stats are courtesy of ESPN.com, and all roster information is courtesy of Steelers.com.
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