Every Sunday during the offseason I plan on recapping for you seven items related to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the rest of the NFL that may have fallen through the cracks the past week that should be worth your time to read or view. This weekly feature will be entitled “Steelers’ Seven Shots.”
Shot #1 – NFL.com is now running a series of videos under the heading of “NFL Film Sessions” and they really are full of great information. In one of the early videos in the series, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson sat down with analysts and former NFL players Ron Jaworski and Brian Baldinger to discuss how and why the RPO (run-pass option) is used in the NFL today. Make sure you watch this as not only do the Steelers run quite a bit of RPO, new quarterback Mason Rudolph ran a ton of it during his career at Oklahoma State.
Shot #2 – Speaking of RPOs and the Steelers, last season their offense finished 3rd overall in the NFL in yards per passing attempt when using it and 29th overall in yards per rush when using it, per Pro Football Focus. Here is more on the topic.
The #Steelers finished third in yards per passing attempt on RPOs last season!
????: https://t.co/ZQ5xXJX8z3 pic.twitter.com/HXPgGIAk61
— PFF PIT Steelers (@PFF_Steelers) June 29, 2018
Looking to turn around the #Colts RPO’s next year. https://t.co/r8FkM4aog3 pic.twitter.com/OGN2X7XHZR
— PFF IND Colts (@PFF_Colts) June 30, 2018
Shot #3 – Also according to PFF, Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was the ninth-most productive receiver in the NFL during his rookie 2017 season when going against off-man coverage. Smith-Schuster registered a 127.4 passer rating for 2017 when facing that particular type of coverage.
Shot #4 –Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey was on NFL Network quite a bit last week and during one outdoor segment he demonstrated how he attempts to defend Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown in coverage. Later in the segment, Ramsey talked about how he tries to defend Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen.
“He’s got a mean push-off at the end that never gets called,” Ramsey said of Brown.
Shot #5 – Rich Eisen recently chimed in on his podcast with his thoughts on Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell and his ongoing contract negotiations with the organization with the July 16 deadline looming.
“Pay him his money. Just pay the man,” Eisen said.
Shot #6 – The official online store for the NFL recently announced the 24 best-selling player jerseys so far this offseason for the period of April 1 – June 23 and while no Steelers made the top 10, Brown is ranked 12th overall while Smith-Schuster is ranked 21st.
The best-selling jerseys so far this offseason!
Top 24 sellers: https://t.co/0y44JPWgAw (via @OfficialNFLShop) pic.twitter.com/SLDOqv70SO
— NFL (@NFL) June 29, 2018
Shot #7– Do you know the Greensburg Muffler Man? Rachel from Third Stop on the Right recently blogged about the oversized Steeler roadside attraction that currently wears No. 8.
