It seems like one of the most basic fundamental aspects of football, and yet the Pittsburgh Steelers have had major issues with it early in the season.
That would be the center-quarterback exchange, an area the Steelers have seen pop up time and time again in a negative way throughout the preseason and in the regular season.
It reared its ugly head again on Sunday late in a comeback attempt against the Indianapolis Colts. Rookie center Zach Frazier and quarterback Justin Fields weren’t on the same page on a shotgun snap, resulting in a fumble and a loss of 12 yards, ultimately sinking the Steelers.
After the game, Fields took the blame for it, stating he was trying to get a snapshot look of the defense one last time. Meanwhile rookie left guard Mason McCormick placed the blame on himself, Frazier and Fields for the botched snap.
While head Coach Mike Tomlin acknowledged the issues after the game, he stated Tuesday during his weekly press conference that he’s not going to change course because it’s a fundamental issue that needs corrected by professionals.
“I don’t know that we change our approach to it because it’s a fundamental thing for us. It has our attention, it has had our attention, and hopefully our continued working that area will make those issues subside,” Tomlin said regarding the snapping issues, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “That’s my mentality about it, as I stand here today.”
For many reading that, seeing Tomlin saying they won’t change anything has to be maddening, but he has a point.
It’s something that you can’t schematically change, and it’s not like the Steelers are going to bench one of Frazier or Fields over it. It’s a fundamentally simple issue.
While it’s concerning that it continues, it’s something that just has to be worked out with repetition. It’s still a relatively new center-quarterback battery, so that stuff really only gets worked out with repetitions day after day.
The issues snapping the football aren’t just one thing, either. Issues have occurred with Fields under center and in shotgun.
“No, it’s a myriad of things. And really it’s about the beginnings of a relationship at times, and particularly in hostile environments where communication is strained, where there’s a third-party component to the communication, a guard tap, if you will,” Tomlin said of the snapping issues. “Some of those guards have been different people, to be quite honest with you. And so it’s been a myriad of things, and so largely we’re not gonna change our approach to developing our fundamentals in that area.
“We’re just gonna stick with it, and it’s reasonable to expect those issues to subside.”
It is reasonable to expect those issues to subside moving forward. It can’t get any worse. There have been issues with snaps under center, snaps in shotgun coming early and hitting Fields in the chest and bouncing into the running back’s arms, and on Sunday, Frazier’s snap hit him right in the helmet and bounced away, resulting in a big loss and sinking the comeback.
As Tomlin pointed out, some of the issues have been on the road in a hostile, loud environment and with center taps. In Denver, guard Spencer Anderson was next to Frazier and tapped, leading to an early snap. Sunday, it was McCormick. The imminent return of veteran Isaac Seumalo should help, especially on the road.
But it all comes down to Frazier and Fields getting the issues ironed out. At some point, it’s on the players. It’s all fundamental.
