Steelers, Mendenhall find success with '22 Double'

[Galax Steeler]

Move over Counter 34 Pike. Make way, Boss play. The Steelers have a new quick-strike, big-play running play, even though it is as old as the franchise itself.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10312...#ixzz14gJtMT1C

[SteelerSal]

Even though the play has several different looks and options, all three touchdowns came out of the same formation with Johnson, the third tight end, lined up in the backfield.

Well nothing like tipping off the play now by mentioning that it's run when a player who is barely on the field (David Johnson) is lined up in the backfield.

[Merchant]

Uh oh... they're onto us!

[GoSlash27]

This is like our own little version of WikiLeaks

[pepsyman1]

The answer is to have Johnson on the field as a fullback in more situations. He's doing a good job blocking, I'd rather set up in a base 21 personnel for more of the plays than what we are typically using. That still gives us plenty of playmakers on the field, but having a FB on the field instead of a 11 or 12 set seems to make our blocking more effective on the run. Not that we shouldn't use those other sets, but we use a base i formation so infrequently that teams usually know that we're planning on running. If we mixed it in a little more it would make all of the sets more effective and give us the option to run or pass effectively from more setups.

[Chidi29]

I'm sure other teams didn't need this article to figure out the formation used when we run the play.

[Psycho Ward 86]

EDIT: Nvm, i was curious as to what counter 34 pike looks like. i got it now

[Chidi29]

The answer is to have Johnson on the field as a fullback in more situations. He's doing a good job blocking, I'd rather set up in a base 21 personnel for more of the plays than what we are typically using. That still gives us plenty of playmakers on the field, but having a FB on the field instead of a 11 or 12 set seems to make our blocking more effective on the run. Not that we shouldn't use those other sets, but we use a base i formation so infrequently that teams usually know that we're planning on running. If we mixed it in a little more it would make all of the sets more effective and give us the option to run or pass effectively from more setups.

For the record, we used a FB on 70% of running playv against New Orleans.