It turns out Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Pat Meyer isn’t such a technique tyrant after all. At least that was the general perception going into last season given all the talk of the linemen having to adjust to what their new position coach was instructing them to do.
While there may have been a transitional period, however, to hear his own charges talk, Meyer is actually rather flexible on this issue. Rather than drill everybody to do the same exact thing, he gives each lineman the opportunity to find what works best for them.
“Individually, he hounds us on technique, but, at the same time, he lets us play and see how it works”, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quotes C Mason Cole as saying recently. “Maybe it’s not exactly what he wants, but he’s cool with it if it works”.
A novel concept, to be sure, allowing players to play in the style that suits them. But they have to experience the range of options, first. Perhaps the technique most associated with Meyer is his preference for his linemen to use their hands independently rather than with a two-hand punch to contact defenders.
That’s something LT Dan Moore Jr. struggled with a lot. But he stuck with it throughout the season and got a lot more comfortable using his hands independently. He was able to adapt to it and found that it does work well for him.
That won’t apply in all cases, however, as Cole clearly implies. Without concrete examples of what he prefers and what his linemen ultimately practice, it’s really impossible to get into specifics of technique, but the fact that he is prepared to be flexible to get the best out of his linemen is significant—and sort of in contrast to how he may have been perceived.
“He knows how to coach everyone differently”, Chukwuma Okorafor said of him. “He still has his method, but he knows different players play different ways. I’m not the same player as Dan, and Dan isn’t the same player as me. He kind of gives us the leeway to give us a couple options, and everyone can kind of pick what kind of technique they want to use”.
So it’s pass protection à la carte. You get the menu, in this case you even get to sample each item, and then you ultimately decide which one best suits you. Of course, all of the items on the cart have been pre-selected to harmonize with the other dishes so that everyone at the table can enjoy a like meal.
Will this all translate into a significant step up for Meyer’s group in their second year of his instruction? They do carry over four starters from last season, the only exception being Isaac Seumalo, a very experienced and very intelligent veteran added via free agency.
