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 watch. This weekly feature will be entitled “Steelers’ Seven Shots.”
Shot #1 – Missi Matthews of steelers.com recently sat down with Steelers cornerback Joe Haden via Facetime to discuss with him his recent trip to Abu Dhabi as the Special Olympics Ambassador. This interview really shows that great character that Haden possesses.
Shot #2 – Just how predictable is play-calling in the NFL? Jacob Davis recently attempted to answer that question in a recent post of his using play-by-play data. If you are really into stats, you will love reading this post.
Shot #3 – Two interesting documents put together by Larry Zierlein, who was once the Steelers offensive line coach, resurfaced on the internet this past week and both are well worth your time to read. One is related to pass protection fundamentals and techniques and the other a run game study from 2003.
Shot #4 – I came across this interesting read as well on the MIT site: A new research paper from two University of Chicago public policy professors, “How Much Do Coaches Matter,” finds that coaches “explain about 20-30 percent of the variation in a team’s success.” The belief that all sports coaches are created equal (and interchangeable) “is unwarranted,” the researchers write. Christopher Berry and Anthony Fowler’s paper was one of eight finalists chosen for the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, held March 1 and 2 in Boston.
Shot #5 – Any fans of Virginia safety Juan Thornhill, who could be a Steelers draft target this year? PFF Senior Analyst Steve Palazzolo recently took a look through the site’s Ultimate Database to explain why he believes Thornhill has what it takes to make an immediate impact in the NFL.
Shot #6 – This great clip of Steelers Hall of Fame wide receiver Lynn Swann surfaced on Twitter a little more than a week ago. It is Swann’s two touchdown receptions in the 1976 AFC Divisional Playoff game on the road against the Baltimore Colts. Swann finished that game with 5 receptions for 77 yards and the 2 touchdowns in a 40-14 Steelers win.
Shot #7 – Here are the summaries of the 2019 Playing Rule Proposals that will be addressed this week at the Annual League Meetings in Phoenix, Arizona.
BONUS Shot – This video of new Steelers cornerback Steven Nelson just surfaced via his Twitter account Sunday morning.
