Steelers Confident Offense Has Overcome Injuries With Smart Personnel
By Christina Rivers
One of the biggest issues the Pittsburgh Steelers have dealt with during the 2015 NFL regular season has been a rash of injuries. During the bye week, one of the focuses has been on getting players who have moved into starting positions ready for the last six games of the season. Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak said earlier this week, "I've been on teams with injuries, but never like this." Munchak isn't the only assistant coach to face the often daunting task of getting his players in backup roles to step up and take a starting role. Running backs coach James Saxon has had his share of acclimating players to a new workload. The Steelers, as a team, have been plagued week after week by everything from minor issues to serious questions when it has come down to healthy personnel.
In Week 10 alone, the Steelers had 13 players on their injury list. The only week that saw Pittsburgh with less than five players on that list was Week 1 when quarterback Landry Jones was coming back from a concussion received during the preseason. The list has included players considered starters, the top of the depth chart at their position, in nearly every squad on both sides of the ball. By creating an atmosphere and expectation that every player on the 53-man roster be ready to enter a game in any given week, the Steelers have remained competitive. On offense, that has been a key to a surge in success.
Untested experience to playing at next level
When the Steelers lost All-Pro center Maurkice Pouncey in an August preseason game, Munchak was tasked with getting Cody Wallace, a six-year veteran who had started only six games in the league before this season prepared to be the go-to guy. Munchak then watched tackle Kelvin Beachum go down in Week 6 with a torn ACL and be sent to the injured-reserved list. The depth along the offensive line was a concern heading into the season, and first-year lineman and former Army Ranger Alejandro Villanueva was the guy in line to fill Beachum's position having taken zero starting snaps.
The entire offensive front could have broken down, but they've shown amazing resilience in the face of adversity, protecting three different quarterbacks and allowing the Steelers offense to get back on track and creating 1,261 total rushing yards and a total receiving yards mark of 2,737. They have allowed 23 sacks in 2015, but that number has been a combination of breakdowns that didn't always come down to their assignments and included substitutions throughout the offense as a whole. With Villanueva in the lineup, the Steelers have only allowed seven sacks.
"You have to step up when other guys fall down," said right guard David DeCastro. "You just try to pick it up and try to do the best (you) can." DeCastro pointed out that the consensus was that there hasn't been a large drop-off in the way the line has played with Wallace and Villanueva in place of Pouncey and Beachum.
Veteran leadership stepping up
When Pittsburgh lost star running back Le'Veon Bell, they were fortunate to have signed DeAngelo Williams during the offseason as "insurance" after his release from the Carolina Panthers. Behind Williams, the Steelers had young guys with very little playing time in Dri Archer and Jordan Todman. After Archer was released, the Steelers moved free agent acquisition but limited career rusher Isaiah Pead into the third slot on the depth chart. Williams may have initially been seen as nothing more than a guy who would occasionally give Bell a breather, but he has turned into a valuable asset. Williams has carried the load, rushing for 534 yards and five touchdowns through Week 10.
"He has done a great job," said Saxon this week. "It always helps to have veteran guys around. (Williams) is smart. He was here through the whole offseason so he really had a chance to get acclimated with the whole offense. We're just very fortunate to have him."
Roosevelt Nix and Will Johnson have combined with tight ends Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth and Jesse James to give an extra level of protection and blocking, allowing the Steelers to keep the ball moving.
Christina Rivers has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers and National Football League professionally as a journalist and photographer for over a decade. Rivers studied Exercise Physiology and Sports Psychology at Brigham Young University as a student-athlete. Christina is a freelance writer covering all things NFL as well as a published author. Her work can be found on
Examiner.com.
