polamalubeast
08-11-2013, 05:55 PM
The Steelers offensive linemen were mostly pleased with their overall body of work during the preseason opener against the Giants on Saturday night at Heinz Field.
However, they conceded there's room for improvement, particularly with the newly installed zone-blocking scheme. They tossed out the numbers and focused primarily on how well they executed.
Yet if numbers matter, the offensive front made inroads from a relatively inconsistent 8-8 season in 2012.
The first-string line cleared the way for 81 of the Steelers' 94 rushing yards in the first half including a game-high 40 on seven carries by LaRod Stephens-Howling. It allowed only one sack but couldn't capitalize on its only red-zone opportunity.
We had a lot of productive plays, center Maurkice Pouncey said. It's an awesome start for us, and we just need to keep building throughout camp.
The offensive line will have more than a week to iron out the kinks before taking on the Redskins on Monday Night Football on Aug. 19 at FedEx Field. It'll evaluate the effectiveness of the zone blocking, particularly on short-yardage downs.
It's tough to evaluate, especially during training camp when you're not scouting an opponent, guard David DeCastro said. We ran the ball pretty well and had a couple of good zone blocking runs.
The Steelers used the zone blocking nearly 10 times, most in their base offense. Stephens-Howling had much of his success between the tackles.
The Steelers had 42 negative run plays last season. While Stephens-Howling had some space to run, the Steelers had six run plays stopped at the line of scrimmage four for losses, including two on third-and-1, and two for no gain.
Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/4509448-74/offensive-zone-blocking#ixzz2bhiDONQm
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook
However, they conceded there's room for improvement, particularly with the newly installed zone-blocking scheme. They tossed out the numbers and focused primarily on how well they executed.
Yet if numbers matter, the offensive front made inroads from a relatively inconsistent 8-8 season in 2012.
The first-string line cleared the way for 81 of the Steelers' 94 rushing yards in the first half including a game-high 40 on seven carries by LaRod Stephens-Howling. It allowed only one sack but couldn't capitalize on its only red-zone opportunity.
We had a lot of productive plays, center Maurkice Pouncey said. It's an awesome start for us, and we just need to keep building throughout camp.
The offensive line will have more than a week to iron out the kinks before taking on the Redskins on Monday Night Football on Aug. 19 at FedEx Field. It'll evaluate the effectiveness of the zone blocking, particularly on short-yardage downs.
It's tough to evaluate, especially during training camp when you're not scouting an opponent, guard David DeCastro said. We ran the ball pretty well and had a couple of good zone blocking runs.
The Steelers used the zone blocking nearly 10 times, most in their base offense. Stephens-Howling had much of his success between the tackles.
The Steelers had 42 negative run plays last season. While Stephens-Howling had some space to run, the Steelers had six run plays stopped at the line of scrimmage four for losses, including two on third-and-1, and two for no gain.
Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/4509448-74/offensive-zone-blocking#ixzz2bhiDONQm
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook