Camp Study: How Many 2 RB Sets Will The Steelers Run?

[polamalubeast]

ByAlex Kozora

Like clockwork, we hear it every season.

*This* is the year the Pittsburgh Steelers will run two running back, “Pony” sets. For 2019, James Conner and Jaylen Samuels on the field at the same time. On paper, it looks good. Conner the runner, Samuels the receiver. But we’ve heard this line before with other combinations. DeAngelo Williams and Le’Veon Bell. Bell and Conner in 2017. Heck, even Isaac Redman and Chris Rainey years ago.

So it’s fair for fans to be skeptical.

However, we did see some use of it during training camp this year. So I went back through all our camp notes, one benefit of logging every play, to see exactly how much Pony was used. Here are the results.

Over 14 practices, the offense used a 2 RB/Pony grouping on 11 plays. Here’s the day-by-day breakdowns.

Day One: 0 snaps
Day Two: 1 snap
Day Three: 1 snap
Day Four: 1 snap
Day Five: 0 snaps
Day Six: 4 snaps
Day Seven: 0 snaps
Day Eight: 2 snaps
Day Nine: 0 snaps
Day Ten: 0 snaps
Day 11: 0 snaps
Day 12: 1 snap
Day 13: 1 snap
Day 14: 0 snaps

So 11 doesn’t sound like much. But we need to put that in context. Unless we know how many total plays the offense ran, there’s no conclusion to make. Huge difference if the offense had 200 snaps versus 900.

read more

https://steelersdepot.com/2019/08/ca...-steelers-run/

It will not happens!

[Six Rings]

Well, I think a two-man backfield with Conner and Samuels, with Samuels kicking out to to a two-set TE formation, could catch a few defenses thinking run up the middle by surprise.


It's not something you show in the pre-season.