Film Room: James Conner Shows Major Strides In Pass Protection

Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner made the first start of his career on Sunday, carrying the ball 31 times for 135 yards, and adding another 57 yards on five receptions. He totaled 192 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns on 36 touches. And today I’m going to talk about his pass protection.

While I know that such topics as running back pass protection and special teams jammers are the bane of some fans’ existence, coverage of stuff such as that is frankly what makes us who were are, and differentiates us from other outlets. Not just for offering it, but for pointing out its value and importance.

The Steelers were not comfortable with where Conner was from an assignment and execution standpoint in pass protection during his rookie season, which is why he did not play more. He more than doubled his career touches in one game after playing in 14 a year ago. Now they trust him, and the body of work below is why.

read more

https://steelersdepot.com/2018/09/fi...elers+Depot%29

To the casual eye, it looked like he tightened up some stuff in protection - even from preseason. I don't see us taking a RB in the first 2 rounds next year.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DesertSteel

To the casual eye, it looked like he tightened up some stuff in protection - even from preseason. I don't see us taking a RB in the first 2 rounds next year.

---

Yeah he's definitely proving he's a starter-caliber back. Likely we won't select a RB, but I wouldn't be surprised if we have some talent drop to us that you absolutely have to take. The Steelers have made many picks on players that weren't necessarily needs but just the best player there, and it's paid off more often than not.

With that said though, I'd be surprised any time we spend a 1st rounder on a skill position. I'm accustomed to Steelers first rounders to almost always be OL/DL/LB

This is sooooooo much better than last year. In terms of both process and results. Really good preparation and coaching displayed here. Not concerned about the Steelers going forward w/out Bell.

Am I ready to be a Twitter analyst yet?

In all seriousness, this is solid work by Conner. But there is a big difference between he and Bell in pass protection. Bell moves to meet the rusher quicker and frankly more violently. In several of those, Conner stopped the rush, but was not the aggressor. Bell put dudes on their butts pretty regularly.

Still, all of this is a vast improvement by Conner and he looks like he should only get better as he retains leverage and starts being more decisive in his reads.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mojouw

This is sooooooo much better than last year. In terms of both process and results. Really good preparation and coaching displayed here. Not concerned about the Steelers going forward w/out Bell.

Am I ready to be a Twitter analyst yet?

In all seriousness, this is solid work by Conner. But there is a big difference between he and Bell in pass protection. Bell moves to meet the rusher quicker and frankly more violently. In several of those, Conner stopped the rush, but was not the aggressor. Bell put dudes on their butts pretty regularly.

Still, all of this is a vast improvement by Conner and he looks like he should only get better as he retains leverage and starts being more decisive in his reads.

---

Why always compare Conner to Bell

No need to be Bell .... if he is solid like DeAngelo Williams in 2015, I'll be happy.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by polamalubeast

Why always compare Conner to Bell

No need to be Bell .... if he is solid like DeAngelo Williams in 2015, I'll be happy.

---

Because I argue and others have written about this - -that Leveon Bell is one of the best if not the best pass protecting back in the NFL up until he stopped playing this year.

So the standard is the standard and all.

Conner did not see the field after the first portion of his rookie year because he repeatedly demonstrated that he was not only bad, but dangerous when asked to pass protect. In his first regular season action in his second year, we can see a great improvement. Remarkable, really. But we can also see a noticeable gap between how he does it and the level it was done at by the guy he is replacing.

Kinda like how we evaluate Jesse James against Heath Miller. Sure, Jesse James has made a lot of improvements since he broke into the league. It is still a yawning chasm between his level of play and Heath's. Pointing that out is not unreasonable since Heath Miller's level of play is attainable by a number of NFL players. It would be different if I was just looking at safeties and being like "Well, he played okay I guess. But he's not Polamalu, so pass."

I'm not sure what a great blocker Bell would/will be this year? Can't risk injury you know...

Who is Heath Miller??

Quote:

---

Kinda like how we evaluate Jesse James against Heath Miller. Sure, Jesse James has made a lot of improvements since he broke into the league. It is still a yawning chasm between his level of play and Heath's. Pointing that out is not unreasonable since Heath Miller's level of play is attainable by a number of NFL players. It would be different if I was just looking at safeties and being like "Well, he played okay I guess. But he's not Polamalu, so pass."

---

Now... If he had the attributes of a RB like 'Redzone' Redman, OTOH... :D

He doesn't have the suddeness and glide. :chuckle:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 43Hitman

He doesn't have the suddeness and glide. :chuckle:

---

Thank you! :D