The Pittsburgh Steelers have had considerable success, particularly on the scoreboard, after halftime this year. They have allowed the fewest second-half points in the NFL at just 36, under five per game. They have also scored nearly two-thirds of their points offensively after halftime. For Mike Tomlin, their second-half success is not entirely a coincidence.
“I think that we do a good job of identifying our issues in-game, and I think we do a good job of organizing our thoughts in terms of how we choose to address them in-game”, Tomlin said of the Steelers’ in-game adjustment capabilities, via the team’s website.
“Oftentimes, halftime is the cleanest opportunity to get the bulk of that work done. But we don’t wait until halftime”, the Steelers head coach added. “Adjustments and adapting to in-game circumstances, I think, is just a component of good football. I think you’ve got to challenge your staff in that way. And I think you also have to train your players in that way”.
Of course, Steelers fans may disagree with Tomlin here. They frequently argue that his teams are terrible at making adjustments, but even he admits they sometimes come up short in that area. Earlier this season, for example, he acknowledged they were slow to adjust to Joe Flacco at quarterback. But nobody’s perfect, right? And their numbers are real. But what do they mean?
Tomlin does pride himself on his Steelers’ ability to adapt, even if the results don’t always show it. Every coach will tell you that they consider adaptability crucial, because, well, it is. And you do have to make constant in-game tweaks. If you have a play that stops working because the defense figured it out, you either have to take it out or modify it.
The Steelers reached their nadir in adaptability with Matt Canada as offensive coordinator. With Arthur Smith this year, they have unsurprisingly done a better job. Now with Russell Wilson in the starting lineup, we will see how far they can take things. This week, they have one focus, which is preparing for the next game.
“We try to simulate that in practice-like settings. A component of that is practicing good on good sometimes, even when sometimes the schematics may not necessarily benefit you”, Tomlin said. “We’ll work Steelers versus Steelers this week.
“It might not necessarily benefit the units directly in terms of preparing for the Giants, but that competitive environment where you’re thinking on your feet and you’re adjusting, and you’re having to adapt to some of the different things that you see, whether it’s personnel or schematics, I think whets our appetite to do the things that you outlined”.
