When the Pittsburgh Steelers’ new offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith, was hired, he was considered a zone player. Inside zone and outside zone, as a single back and with a fullback, were his daily bread. There is no question that zone systems will be the predominant running strategy in Pittsburgh this season. But it will not be the only Thing. The opening game of the preseason on Friday showed it.
Below are some of the non-zone runs the Steelers put up against the Houston Texans as we go through the All-22.
Short trap
A short pull from the backside guard to the playside three tech/defensive tackle.
The first run call of Smith’s tenure was one of those. A trap, not a zone run, LG Spencer Anderson moves from left to right. The goal is to kick out the 3T between RG James Daniels and RT Broderick Jones. This allows Daniels to immediately move up to linebacker at the second level.
Unfortunately, like most things on offense in this game, the execution was poor. Anderson tripped over Nate Herbig while attempting to pull, fell to the ground, and was unable to make the block. There also appears to be a miscommunication with RT Broderick Jones, who was supposed to scramble but tries to block the LDE with Pat Freiermuth.
There is no chance for Najee Harris and the play goes wrong. Still, it was a power run, not a zone call.
Same call later in the game. And it was better. Anderson pulls again, this time from right to left. He grabs and kicks the 3T as LG Mason McCormick and LT Dylan Cook scramble to the linebackers.
RB Aaron Shampklin has a great runway from Anderson’s hip into the second level. He should run more downhill and gets a little too horizontal here, but it’s still a solid choice and that’s how the play should look if executed correctly.
WHAM/KNOB
A quick two-block run where a tight end rips off a defensive lineman’s ear.
Wham/Crunch is not a new concept in Pittsburgh, it has been called several times in the last two years. But Smith keeps it in the playbook. This call has blocks from the TE on the 3T and the playside guard on the defensive tackle.
Here we focus on No. 80 Darnell Washington. He blocks the 3T between LT Broderick Jones and LG Mason McCormick, allowing Jones and C Zach Frazier to immediately flow to the next level and to the linebackers. McCormick would have blocked the D-tackle if there was one, but with the two 3Ts, there was no one there at the end.
The run works, a big gap for RB Jaylen Warren, who finishes with some tough yards. Also a good block from WR Van Jefferson.
One more note. It’s mostly cut off above, but you can see Darnell Washington’s movement from right to left. Nice late wrinkle to force the defense to see and adjust for his down block, rather than him lining up there out of the huddle and being easier to spot. I mention this because last year against the Texans, the Steelers ran a crunch every time from the same angle with Washington’s static demeanor. On the third call, the Texans adjusted the play and ruined it. So the ability to spice up the run with movement is a small but mighty layer.
Pin & Pull
A puller that wraps around a down block, a type of folding block.
Saw this in camp. On this call, pull C Zach Frazier out, a fold block while LG Mason McCormick blocks down. At least that was the idea. The execution was a mess, Frazier got caught in McCormick’s block and lost as the lead block for the back. This allowed the LB to fill the gap and make the tackle, RB Aaron Shampklin did well to drop forward and get something at all.
But the call was convincing and showed once again that Smith does not follow a formula.
Crack Throw
A throwing game with down blocks on the front, often with a tight end or receiver “cracking” a defender, with pullers coming in to lead block.
Smith has called this a few times, the following example was the most successful. Crack toss with frontside down blocking, including WR Van Jefferson cracking the playside DE. TE Pat Freiermuth and RT Troy Fautanu move around.
Overall, good work. Good block by Anderson from his RG spot, great attempt by Frazier to get in the way of the linebacker in open space, and WR Calvin Austin III throws a good block to get the corner. Absolutely huge gap for RB Najee Harris. I mean, just look at it.
And here’s the clip, a good win for Harris.
Without a full record, the evidence suggested that about half of the Steelers’ running decisions were man/gap. Success was hit or miss, and the team had a lot of trouble getting its defenders to retreat. The Texans’ penetrating D-tackles ruined the trail of many plays, but the attempts were there.
What I really liked was that the linemen were able to get to the second level freely, which made it easier to block and cover those linebackers rather than trying to do combo blocks like in a zone scheme where two blockers have to secure the first level before they can advance to the second, which requires more precision and time.
Although the execution is spotty, these plays show that Smith is not a pure “zone guy.” When he was hired, he said he would play to the roster’s strengths and be flexible enough to execute more than just his core concepts. There was a lot of zone running in this game, but the Steelers’ running game will be more varied instead of running in a single lane.
