As we did for the defense, the notable offense takeaways from our charting. Special thanks to Nick Richetta for collecting the data for the offense during the year. A tedious task but worth it in the end.
From the regular season, excluding the “no plays,” the Pittsburgh Steelers had 1068 snaps. That’s the figure we’ll use for any overall percentages.
OVERALL
– As we looked at when charting the defense, the Steelers ran 478 – 44.8% – of plays in enemy territory.
– This is a relative stat I have nothing to compare to, but of their 170 offense drives, 39 of them went at least ten plays. That’s 23%, a tick under a quarter. Not too shabby of a figure.
– Breakdown of the direction each run went from most to least.
Middle: 112
RG: 71
LG: 59
RT: 45
LT: 39
LE: 31
RE: 21
You can see the lack of outside zone runs with runs off end being the least used. Inside runs, made up of a lot of inside zone, dominated.
What’s most interesting is how few runs were off right tackle, the traditional strong side of the formation. It’s barely more than off left tackle.
– Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell were involved in the offense (attempts + targets) on 580 of the 1068 snaps. That’s a total of 54.3% of snaps. Or in other words, the offense running through 84 and 26.
We’ll break down the individuals below.
– The offense had 66 plays that went for 20+ yards. Brown accounted for 19 of them, Bell 18, while Martavis Bryant had eight in relatively limited playing time (184 pass attempts).
– Personnel usage from the year. 11 – 1 RB, 1 TE – dominated, especially early in the season. The top four below.
11: 689
22: 177
12: 162
21: 18
– Not dedicating a section to the offensive line, too little to note, but Kelvin Beachum and David DeCastro played every single snap in the regular season. DeCastro did miss one in the playoff game. Maurkice Pouncey missed just six.
QUARTERBACK
– Ben Roethlisberger’s stats on playaction. 133 dropbacks with 128 attempts. 87/128 1180 yards 9 TD, 1 INT. That lone pick came in Week One.
– He was used in shotgun on 691 snaps. Nearly three-quarters of his dropbacks came out of the gun. It’s a new league.
RUNNING BACK
– Le’Veon Bell was involved (attempts + targets) on 395 snaps. That’s 37% of the time. Probably a high in the NFL. Can’t imagine anyone has that figure beat.
– Despite 290 carries, Bell lost yards on less than eight percent of them. For comparison’s sake, LeGarrette Blount’s percentage was nearly three points higher.
– Excluding injury, following the bye week, Bell was on the field for 292 of 303 snaps. 96.4%. Now that’s a workhorse running back.
– He was split out as a receiver on 110 snaps. And not that many came on third down. Just 27. Lower than I figured.
– Dri Archer was never on the field for more than five straight snaps. That happened only once.
– The rookie out of Kent St was used as a WR 19 times. 31 times as a running back.
WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END
– Antonio Brown was targeted on 185 occasions. Over 17% of the time.
– Martavis Bryant’s rookie production was similar to what he had at Clemson. Caught only half his targets but for a lot of yards and a ton of splash plays.
– Will Johnson’s snaps are a little interesting. Got 197 of them but only 44 of them as a traditional fullback. 120 came at TE with another 18 split out as a WR.
– Heath Miller did get 246 snaps split out as a WR but 195 were them as the inside receiver, closest to the tackle (the #3 WR in a 3 WR surface). Another reason why I’d love to get a move tight end. Someone you can be more flexible with.
– Following the bye, Darrius Heyward-Bey saw 12 snaps. Because I know you were dying to know that.
– The Steelers’ top three receivers all got work in the slot. Great for their future and doesn’t limit you as on offense formationally or matchup-wise.
Bryant, even as a raw rookie, had 43. Markus Wheaton received 176. And Brown picked up another 141. Kudos to Todd Haley for being creative with 84. According to the chart, Brown lined up 17 different ways.
– Bell led the team in YAC with 808 total yards and 9.7 YAC per catch. Nature of the position.
– Brown was second in yards with 601 but only 4.7 yards after catch.
– Wheaton’s YAC needs to increase. Three per catch and 157 total on 53 receptions. Bryant, on less than half the catches, racked up more YAC (178) while averaging 6.8.
– Miller’s numbers: 321 yards of total YAC, 4.9 per.
