One report I always look forward to each year is the Football Outsiders offensive staff analysis, where they break down the use and effectiveness of different staff groups in the previous NFL season.
In 2019, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t feature the offense fans have grown accustomed to, with Ben Roethlisberger gone for most of the season, the offense doesn’t have Antonio Brown playing a major role in the first season since 2011, as well as JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner lose significant time.
One surprising thing to me was that even though the Steelers clearly saw the top three wide receivers on offense, 2019 was the first time in years that the Steelers had worse results in 11-man ERA (1 TE, 1 RB. , 3 WRs)) than from other staff groups. While no part of the crime stood out, the Steelers were ranked 31st on the DVOA of 11 staff members, and 29th on the DVOA out of other sets.
When you look at the depth chart and stats, it makes even less sense.
The Steelers had a questionable playing field in 2019. James Conner struggled with injury and production, Jaylen Samuels had a terrible year, and the team ended with rookie Benny Snell Jr., the practice squad and the team player. specials Trey Edmunds and Kerrith Whyte Jr., who signed the practice squad from other teams. Considering that they lost fullback Roosevelt Nix for almost the entire season, it doesn’t seem like several runners perform better than three sets of wide receivers. Tight end depth was no better, with the Steelers trading for Nick Vannett and using rookie Zach Gentry as the number three tight end when they bothered to keep him active on game day, the depth chart offered less certainty than in previous seasons. when Jesse James and Xavier Grimble were on the list.
Compare 2019 to 2016, when the Steelers ranked 4th in ERA of 11 employees and 8th in ERA of other teams. That season the Steelers had Le’Veon Bell, DeAngelo Williams and Roosevelt Nix, while injuries decimated the wide receiver room, leaving the Steelers with Antonio Brown, Eli Rogers and Cobi Hamilton for most of the season. It is surprising that Cobi Hamilton replacing Roosevelt Nix or DeAngelo Williams would improve the effectiveness of the offense, but that is what the statistics show.
Similarly, in 2018, with Vance McDonald and Jesse James recording impressive yards per goal, and Ryan Switzer or James Washington being much less efficient options, the Steelers ranked sixth on DVOA of 11 staff members, but ranked 17th on all other sets of personnel. The difference in effectiveness was the fifth largest in the NFL that year.
Lastly, since the NFL apparently peaked at using 11 people on about 60% of the plays, the teams that rank as most effective at 11 people are the teams that use it the least. Most of the teams at the top in DVOA of 11 staff in the last 4 seasons were in the bottom half of 11 staff usage. There are a few notable exceptions each season, with the Los Angeles Rams utilizing 11 people at a high rate and high DVOA in 2017 and 2018, Dallas in 2019 and the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2016, 2017 and 2018, only falling with Ben Roethlisberger. On the bench.
The conclusion? As long as Ben Roethlisberger is the Steelers’ quarterback, expect the Steelers to use many of the three sets of wide receivers and be incredibly effective in using them, regardless of who is playing the positions.
So while we may get excited to see a tight end pairing with Eric Ebron and Vance McDonald, a running back who is diverse and deep, and Derek Watt joins the team in the fullback, the Steelers are likely to continue to line up with one. running back, a tight end and three wide receivers for more than two-thirds of offensive plays, and they hope that is their best formation.
The Football Outsiders articles referenced in this piece:
2016 offensive staff analysis
2017 offensive staff analysis
2018 offensive staff analysis
2019 offensive staff analysis