Haley having fun drawing up plays for Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) scores on a pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, with Kansas City Chiefs free safety Ron Parker (38) defending during the first half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Jared Wickerham)
A Pittsburgh Steelers helmut sits on the turf before an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore, Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
PITTSBURGH – You’ll excuse Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley if he dons a lab coat and expels an evil laugh or two.
Haley is feeling a bit like a mad scientist these days as he draws up game plans for the Steelers (3-1) while preparing to face the New York Jets (1-3) Sunday at Heinz Field.
The addition of running back Le’Veon Bell to the offensive chemistry made a very lethal concoction in last week’s 43-14 win against the Kansas City Chiefs. Haley mixed in a dash of Bell all over the field.
The All-Pro running back lined up in the backfield, but he also was split wide, in the slot and used as an H-back in conjunction with backup running back DeAngelo Williams.
Some teams do similar things with wide receivers or tight ends, but Bell gives the Steelers the ability to dictate the matchups he gets because of his versatility.
“I think you can get a more consistent matchup with a running back,” said Haley. “Not all the time, but most of the time, you’re going to have more matchups with linebackers.
“What we’re doing with him is a little different because he’s playing three different positions. At times, he’s a receiver. At times, he’s an H-Back. At times, he’s a running back. We’ll move him out of the formation a bunch to get him a free release.”
It’s made things interesting for Haley develops plays. He harkens back to his time as a head coach in Kansas City, when he had multi-dimensional running backs Jamaal Charles and Dexter McCluster.
“It’s fun,” said Haley. “When you have good players that are versatile, it’s fun to have those types of players. It gets your creative juices flowing.”
After struggling throwing the ball to anyone not named Antonio Brown in a loss to Philadelphia, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger shared the wealth against the Chiefs.
It wasn’t that Roethlisberger forced the ball to Brown the previous week in that humbling 34-3 loss, but he did target his top receiver 18 times, completing 12 passes for 140 yards.
Against the Chiefs, Brown caught just four passes – on five attempts – for 64 yards and two touchdowns as the Steelers bolted out to a 29-0 first-half lead.
Roethlisberger completed passes to nine different receivers, throwing touchdown passes to four different players, and leaving the Chiefs without a clue where the ball was going.
Despite coming off a game in which he completed just 12 of 26 passes to receivers other than Brown, Roethlisberger said it wasn’t a planned effort to get other guys involved.
“It’s about finding the open guy,” said Roethlisberger, who finished with 22 completions in 27 attempts for 300 yards and five touchdowns. “Then you realize when you’re on the sideline who caught balls or whatever and it’s fun when everyone gets the ball.”
It helped having Bell back because of the matchup issues he creates.
Brown led the NFL in receptions in each of the previous two seasons, but having Bell back means the Steelers don’t have to be overly reliant on their star receiver’s output.
Second-year receiver Sammie Coates had the best day of his career, catching six passes for 79 yards, as the presence of Brown and Bell ensures other players get one-on-one matchups.
The only thing the Steelers have to be cognizant of is that they don’t get too crazy with what they draw up.
“When you’ve got as many weapons as we feel we have, we can be as creative as we want to be,” said Roethlisberger. “We’ve just got to be careful that we don’t get so out of the box that we don’t get confusing to ourselves. You want to confuse the defense but you also want to play fast. Sometimes being black or white is better than being gray.”
Offensive tackles Marcus Gilbert (ankle) and Ryan Harris (shin) missed their second consecutive day of practice Thursday. Also sitting out were linebacker Ryan Shazier (knee), wide receiver Eli Rogers (toe) cornerbacks Justin Gilbert (knee) and Senquez Golson (foot) and guard Cody Wallace (knee). Safety Robert Golden (hamstring) and linebacker Jarvis Jones (ankle) were limited. … With three offensive linemen unlikely to play Sunday, the Steelers will probably sign somebody for depth. Matt Feiler is the only offensive lineman on the team’s practice squad. … Former California University standout Rontez Miles has seen action at safety on special teams for the Jets. Miles, a second-year player, has three defensive tackles and one on special teams.