STEEL CURTAIN RADIO

What does Bruce Arians know that you don’t know?

By Dutch Wydo

Arians bashers are often criticized by a general statement that goes something like this. “You as a fan don’t know what he knows.”

And there is some truth to this.

The problem is that the statement never gets into specifics because the accuser is just playing an assuming role and rarely knows much more about the subject themselves.

Just listen to the Terry Foxx radio network in Pittsburgh and you undoubtedly catch onto  this. But I digress.

 So what does Arians know about the offense that others simply don’t quite understand?

Here it is.

In 2003, the Steelers ran a more up tempo offense with Maddox at QB. The downside to running an up-tempo offense is that unless you’re really committed to running the football, (and that era of football is over) you will leave yourself open to quick three and outs.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the problem with this is that your defense can find itself having been on the field way to long by the end of season. This is why you will often see teams get off to successful starts to begin a season, only to fall fade as the season goes on. There were times the Miami Dolphins in the Marino era struggled with this. His fast temp and quick strike offense just exhausted his season by the end of the season.

The Steelers defense is even more unique and to the point. Polamalu has often said that their defense is not designed to be on the field for long periods due to its attacking style.

Arians understands this more than anyone.

Fans get annoyed when they see Roethlisberger let the play clock run down to 1-2 seconds each time. But that is all by design to help the Steelers defense. But even Roethlisberger would like to speed up the tempo. That is why you hear the yearly request Ben makes to Arians about running more no huddle. Ben is basically saying he would like to speed up the tempo because he will perform better.  All quarterbacks would like to play fast. A fast tempo allows a QB to keep in rhythm.

The way the fans thinking often goes is that Arians is a selfish bastard that just doesn’t want to give up his play calling duties.

But that is ridiculous!

Arians knows that his slow tempo offense is the best match for the Steelers defense even if that slow tempo will sometimes keep their average points per game down and not give his QB the best chance at getting into a nice rhythm. It has nothing to do with his coveted play calling duties. This is why the Steelers offense often looks disoriented or “ugly but effective”.   

Arians also knows that Roethlisberger is talented enough to play the game at that tempo, while most quarterbacks would simply be way too inefficient.

It’s kind of like playing golf for 3.5 hours by going hole to hole and shot for shot without having to wait. There is a good chance that you will play better than having to sit for 15 minutes on every hole and end up in a 6 hour round.

It is hard to remain efficient in that environment.

But the heavily talented Roethlisberger can play that game. In fact, this is one of his incredible hidden playing traits that often go unmentioned. Roethlisberger is much better than what the fans and media are led to believe.

 In the end, Arians offense is designed to match the high energy attacking style of the unique defense the Steelers like to play.

Football is the one sport where the offense and the defense really are designed to cooperate with each other.

Arians knows this very well.

STEEL CURTAIN RADIO #177: Is Big Ben Being Held to The Standard? [ 49:32 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

THE ARIANS SAGA

The Bruce Arians offense saga
 
By Dutch Wydo
 
I figured I’d take the time to chime in on the Arians outing.
When it comes to the question of whether Arians should have been back, folks on both sides of the issue had real problems making their case and being 100% correct. Arians backers simply pointed to the number of Super bowl trips under his watch and were willing to overlook the Steelers offense that has underperformed their stats in the regular seasons. Meanwhile, Arians bashers were quick to point out the Steelers regular season offensive ranking in total points scored and then quickly credited the defense for the SB trips and ended their conversation.
But that is where the problem lies in this discussion. Yes, the Steelers offense has under achieved as an offense throughout the Arians era, but this has only happened in the regular season. What some have a very hard time coming to grips with is that once the post season began, the Steelers offense has consistently been one of the best.
Here are the playoff losses for each team in the past several years
 
Steelers
Den 29-23
GB  25-31
Jac 29-31
 
NEW England
NYJ 21-28
Bal 14-33
NYG 14-17
Ind 34-38
 
Indianapolis
Jets 17-16
NO   31-17
SD   31-17
SD   28-24
Pit  21-18
NE   24-14
NYJ  41-0
 
Colts have averaged just 15 points scored in 7 playoff losses.
Pats have averaged just 20 points scored in 4 playoff losses.
Steelers averaged 27 points scored in 3 playoff losses under Arians.
 
So as you can see, when the Colts lose in the playoffs, it is typically because their offense WAY UNDER PERFORMS based on their regular season play. You can also say the same for the Patriots as 3 of their 4 losses have come when they failed score more than 21 ( and they scored just 14 in 2 of their 4 losses).
 I wonder if their team’s fans want a change in the offense after each one of those losses?
So while the Colts and Pats offenses have cost their team the right to advance in a number of post seasons, you would be hard pressed to blame the Steelers offense that has averaged a very good, 27 points per game.
In fact, the Steelers offense has been quite consistent in all post season games (even in 04 & 05 with Whiz) as their team has scored more than 20 points in 14 consecutive post season games (league record for a QB) under the heavily talented Roethlisberger. (yes, a couple of Defensive Touchdowns in the mix, but most of your annual playoff teams have a couple of those over the years)
When the Steelers lose a regular season game, the offense is often blamed and rightly so. But when those same critics try to parlay their arguments into the post season losses, they run smack into the information I provided above.
So what is a team to do?
It’s time for a change. The regular season points scored must begin to come up while an aging defense begins to give a bit. But there are still reasons to believe that had the Steelers not been on pace by week 12 for the fewest takeaways by any a defense in the history of the league, they might have scored a lot more points. After all, when a defense gets takeaways, they often provide short fields for their offense and quick scores. The Steelers offense did NOT have that luxury this year.
Furthermore, the Steelers were ranked 30th worst in average starting field position. In fact, their average starting field position In the SF game, was the worst of any team, in any game, since  1995. Blame Tomlin for that. He was simply outcoached in many aspects this year. But it is doubtful that many will call him out for it. Some Arians bashers also point to the Steelers rather mediocre red zone play as a reason to show him the door. But let us take a look at 4 of the top redzone offenses and see what they all have in common.
 
Top Red zone offenses (what do they have in common?)
1) Jets
2) Detroit
3) NE
4) NO
These great red zone offenses have a big tall, athletic WR or TE that can simply catch the ball in tight spaces by leaping over the top of the defender. The Steelers do not have a great red zone target like that at all. They do not have a basketball like player that can cause red zone matchup nightmares that Gronkowski, Burress, CJ, and Graham can cause.
Therefore, for the Steelers to improve in the red zone,  must improve their offensive line so that their power run game is more respected inside the red zone. That in turn will open up room for the receivers and TE Miller. But until they get a freakish player like the one’s mentioned above, don’t expect a top 5 red zone TD conversion pct anytime soon. They can be better, but they won’t be great in that area.
There is one case however to be made against Arians and his red zone offense. Arians offense is a big play offense and many of their scores are from outside the 20. But being a big play offense can often lead a team to be out of their element inside the red zone. But that is why the Steelers power run game needs to be more effective. A big play offense with a power run game would be deadly. Throw in a defense that that gets a bunch of takeaways and a head coach that doesn’t get outcoached, and well, you would have all the points you need.
 
My Two Cents
 
Dutch