2 Things I loved this week from Todd Haley

1. We FINALLY used the QB sneak in a short yardage situation. Lo and behold, we converted easily.

2. Using the fullback in a power run situation. It's a thing of beauty http://www.nfl.com/videos/pittsburgh-steelers/0ap3000000398825/Blount-8-yard-TD-run

great week

 

Haley finally used Spaeth and Will Johnson along with Heath to get the running game going, forget that no huddle let's pound teams running the football.

 

I was ready to go through the TV if Ben handed that ball off! A QB sneak with a 6'5" QB will always work.

 

I like the fact we can do both. We can ground and pound and we can carve you up with our speed on the outside. You pick which you are going to stop. Bell and Blount hopefully will continue to be a dynamic duo like they were Sunday night!

 

Well the offense was not that good in the first half. In fact, they were borderline bad. It wasn't until Bell's 81 yard burst that the running game even began to look good. Of course Blount at the end of the game as a finisher was reminiscent of Bettis closing out games, but it was not like the runners were getting much success early on.

It was nice to see effective running though, we have been missing that since before Willie Parker broke his leg. I do not however suspect that we will be able to attain long-term power running success like we saw against the Panthers. We will still need to pass.

Even how awesome the running offense looked in the second half of the Panthers game, the passing attack in the first half of the Browns game was much more efficient and effective. Now the key is to find the equilibrium between the two styles and create unstoppable execution.

 

huh? Here's every rush in the first half. Outside of two plays I would say the running game was pretty solid. The thing that bothered me was the fact we didn't attempt a pass past the line of scrimmage until inside of 2 minutes.We essentially played into the teeth of the panthers defense in the first half.

[TABLE="class: mod-data mod-pbp, width: 100%"]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]2nd and 10 at PIT 20[/TD]
[TD](14:17) L.Bell up the middle to PIT 31 for 11 yards (R.Harper; C.Cole)
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[TABLE="class: mod-data mod-pbp, width: 100%"]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]2nd and 10 at PIT 31[/TD]
[TD](13:10) (No Huddle) L.Bell right guard to PIT 39 for 8 yards (T.DeCoud; A.Klein).[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[TABLE="class: mod-data mod-pbp, width: 100%"]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]3rd and 2 at PIT 39[/TD]
[TD](12:25) (Shotgun) L.Bell right end to PIT 43 for 4 yards (L.Kuechly)[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[TABLE="class: mod-data mod-pbp, width: 100%"]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]2nd and 10 at PIT 43[/TD]
[TD](11:30) L.Blount left guard to PIT 46 for 3 yards (A.Klein; L.Kuechly).[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[TABLE="class: mod-data mod-pbp, width: 100%"]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]1st and 10 at PIT 20[/TD]
[TD](6:40) L.Bell up the middle to PIT 18 for -2 yards (D.Edwards; W.Horton).[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[TABLE="class: mod-data mod-pbp, width: 100%"]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]2nd and 12 at PIT 18[/TD]
[TD](6:06) (No Huddle, Shotgun) L.Bell right end to PIT 27 for 9 yards (D.Edwards). PENALTY on PIT-A.Brown, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at PIT 27.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[TABLE="class: mod-data mod-pbp, width: 100%"]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]1st and 10 at CAR 33[/TD]
[TD](2:30) (Shotgun) L.Bell left tackle to CAR 27 for 6 yards (M.White).[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[TABLE="class: mod-data mod-pbp, width: 100%"]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]2nd and 4 at CAR 27[/TD]
[TD](2:12) (No Huddle, Shotgun) L.Bell left tackle to CAR 22 for 5 yards (L.Kuechly; T.DeCoud).[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

I mean, you can have a lot of sub-10 yard runs and still not score a lot of points. Granted we did score in the first half, but mostly field goals. It wasn't until the second half where the running game began to lead to TDs.

And yes, the non existant passing game in the first half definitely contributed to my perception of a lack of overall offense. The running game was better until Ben began running the show at the end of the 2nd quarter.

 

It all comes down to stupid penalties on our own side of the field. That will lead to field goals all day long when you have to constantly drive 85+ yards to get into the end zone. I love TH's offense but idiotic penalties stifle the drives. Clean those up and this team may be capable of putting up >30 points a game as Ben has long desired.