When the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired tight end Jonnu Smith, strengthening the tight end room in a significant way, they believed they could live in 12 and 13 personnel, making life difficult for defenses.
They needed to see it to truly believe it, though.
Now, after the Week 1 showing against the New York Jets, which resulted in a 34-32 win, the Steelers’ offense believes that, due to the personnel available to them, they can truly dictate what defenses can and can’t do against them.
Appearing on FS1’s First Things First on Wednesday afternoon, Freiermuth said that the film proved that point for the Steelers.
“Yeah, I think the coolest thing is, Art [Arthur Smith] was telling us, and we can see it on film and stuff, especially with the Jets, is we can dictate what they can and can’t do on defense and schematically and they kind of limit what they can be in,” Freiermuth said of the Steelers’ offense, according to video via the show’s YouTube. “And it’s just great for matchup personnel. This past week, when the Jets were in dime personnel or base personnel, it’s kind of hard to match up on two great tight ends that can win versus man coverage, or get open and stuff. So, it’s been great.”
Against the Jets, the Steelers saw Smith, Freiermuth and Darnell Washington play 37, 28 and 26 total snaps out of 56. That allowed them to do largely whatever they wanted from a formation and schematic standpoint.
Though the Steelers couldn’t consistently run the football against the Jets, they remained multiple offensively, forcing the Jets to play certain personnel packages.
When in 12 and 13 personnel, the Steelers can either line up and try to run the ball, or they can throw out of it due to the talents of the three tight ends. It becomes challenging for defenses because you either need to play heavy personnel to try to defend the run, or you play your sub-package football to defend the pass. It leaves you vulnerable to both.
It’s good that the Steelers got an initial return on investment right away in Week 1 against the Jets and saw those possibilities on tape. Moving forward, assuming health for the Black and Gold, that will be challenging for defenses to deal with.
If the run game can start to get straightened out and the offensive line can better protect Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh’s offense could really be humming and do essentially whatever it wants from most personnel packages, thanks to the talent at tight end they have on the roster.
