TribLIVE
By Alan Robinson
August 13, 2012


What was supposed to be the talk of Steelers’ training camp isn’t being discussed at all, and that might be the most encouraging sign to new coordinator Todd Haley that his offense is ready to roll.

So much for that springtime chatter that a playbook differing greatly from Bruce Arians’ will require, as Ben Roethlisberger said, a Rosetta Stone translation.

Players who grew comfortable with Arians’ methods aren’t grumbling that the terminology is difficult to learn or overwhelmingly complex. That might be because Haley is employing a “less is more approach” in which players aren’t being avalanched but asked to get comfortable — and good — at what they’re doing.

Players surely liked this message from Haley following the game in Philadelphia: The playbook is essentially finished.

“Not a lot of new is going to be showing up,” Haley said Sunday. “Now, we’ve got to fine-tune, get good and figure out what we do real well.”

The Steelers didn’t do much schematically against the Eagles, partly because the teams play again Oct. 7. Staying with three basic formations, Haley estimates he called only six run plays and 10 to 12 pass plays.

“That’s pretty extreme,” Haley said of the slimmed-down scheme. “The regular season, I think, we will expand a little more.”

One challenge for Haley is opening the playbook enough for players to become proficient with it but not provide a regular-season blueprint for opponents.

Read More: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/...n-guys-offense