Yesterday, we brought you the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive and defensive charting notes for the team’s most recent game. Today, we bring you a broader, more comprehensive look at what the team has done on offense and defense, now that we have a broader body of work to revisit. Here are your 2016 first quarter offensive charting notes.
- Offensive personnel breakdown:
- 01: 9/266 (3.4%)
- 11: 155/266 (58.3%)
- 12: 50/266 (18.8%)
- 13: 25/266 (9.4%)
- 14: 1/266 (.4%)
- 20: 2/266 (.8%)
- 21: 10/266 (3.8%)
- 22: 9/266 (3.4%)
- 23: 1/266 (.4%)
- VF: 3/266 (1.1)
- 10 men: 1/266 (.4%)
- Before the season started, we probably would have anticipated a bit higher usage of the 11 personnel, maybe closer to 70 percent. With the Steelers able to operate often with commanding leads in three of the four games this season, however, they have used more two-receiver sets with extra running backs and tight ends.
- Tight end Jesse James has played all but 10 snaps this year, but those snaps have come in the past two weeks. Xavier Grimble has taken over the eight of those snaps on which a tight end was used.
- Only Alejandro Villanueva and David DeCastro have played every snap through two games. Ben Roethlisberger and Maurkice Pouncey would also be on this list if they were not removed late in the last game due to a blowout.
- Usage of the no-huddle has been sporadic compared to what was anticipated. It has been used on just 51 snaps, less than 20 percent overall. Again, this is probably attributable to big leads.
- The Steelers have used play-action 22 times in 160 designed passing plays, roughly 14 percent of the time. Roethlisberger has completed 12 of 21 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 12.6 yards per pass attempt. He also has a 14-yard scramble.
- Against 29 blitzes, Roethlisberger has completed 19 of 29 passes for 292 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, averaging 10.1 yards per attempt. A random interesting note, this includes both fumbled snaps, on which he completed the throws for 42 and 19 yards. Two incompletions were drops.
- Wide receiver Sammie Coates has logged 157 snaps, but only 20 of them have come in two-receiver sets.
- Third-down conversion rate by distance:
- 1-3: 11/16 (6.2 YPP)
- 4-7: 14/25 (10.64 YPP)
- 8+: 4/15 (9.3 YPP)
- The Steelers have run 113 plays in opposing territory, an impressive 43 percent.
- On 25 plays run inside the red zone, the Steelers have gained 99 yards, averaging 3.96 yards per play, scoring nine touchdowns. They have only faced third down four times, and converted two of them.
- With Roosevelt Nix still ailing, the Steelers have employed a fullback only 11 times with David Johnson.
- By my count, the Steelers have used empty sets, with all skill positions lined up as wide receivers, 20 times.
- A random stat, but the Steelers have used three different ‘victory’ backs so far this season: Lawrence Timmons, Darrius Heyward-Bey, and Markus Wheaton.
- Average depth of target:
- Markus Wheaton: 17.5 (6 targets)
- Sammie Coates: 20.25 (20 targets)
- Eli Rogers: 9.73 (15 targets)
- Le’Veon Bell: .67 (6 targets)
- Fitzgerald Toussaint: -2 (1 target)
- DeAngelo Williams: -.4 (22 targets)
- Jesse James: 6.26 (19 targets)
- David Johnson: 4 (2 targets)
- Antonio Brown: 10.97 (47 targets)
- Xavier Grimble: 10.2 (5 targets)
- Darrius Heyward-Bey: 19.75 (4 targets)
