{"id":5971,"date":"2016-11-11T16:53:46","date_gmt":"2016-11-11T21:53:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=5971"},"modified":"2016-11-11T16:53:46","modified_gmt":"2016-11-11T21:53:46","slug":"pittsburgh-steelers-offensive-line-struggling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2016\/11\/11\/pittsburgh-steelers-offensive-line-struggling\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Line Struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following the Pittsburgh Steelers <\/strong>latest loss to the Baltimore Ravens<\/strong>, fans and analysts were throwing the blame around; a lot of it going toward head coach Mike Tomlin<\/strong>. Watching the game, though, it was clear to see that the Steelers\u00a0offensive line\u00a0was struggling to get into sync. Maurkice Pouncey<\/a><\/strong> left the game early with a thumb injury and was replaced by backup center B.J. Finney<\/a><\/strong>. Besides that, the Steelers offense couldn\u2019t find their rhythm. A first half with zero points and more penalty yards than the total offense was the main talking point, but the offense\u2019s struggles may have come from the offensive line\u2019s inability to live up to their expectations.<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Line Struggles<\/h2>\n

Coming into this season, Ben Roethlisberger<\/a><\/strong> claimed that he wanted the Steelers offense to average 30 points per game. Halfway through the season, the Steelers are averaging only 23 points per game, ranking them 16th<\/sup> in the NFL in scoring offense. Granted, the Steelers have only had Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown<\/a>,<\/strong> and Le\u2019Veon Bell<\/strong> for less than four of their eight games this season, but all three of them played last week against the Ravens and the offense had one of its worst performances of recent memory. Some blame the poor performance on the fact that Roethlisberger wasn\u2019t 100% and others blame Tomlin for not having the team prepared, but Roethlisberger offered another reason when speaking with 93.7 \u201cThe Fan\u201d on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds crazy, but sometimes a little thing, like when B.J. Finney came in, the timing of his head bob (is different from Pouncey’s). \u00a0Having a young guy like him coming in against a great defense, we started getting penalties. It’s a good defense, they got after us, and when you have two or three bad mistakes on one play, it equals a really big mistake.” Clearly the timing between Finney and Roethlisberger was off, leading to some inopportune false start penalties, but one person doesn\u2019t define the entire offensive line.<\/p>\n

Injuries<\/h3>\n

Some may say that the Steelers offensive line\u2019s struggles have come from injuries, but compared to past seasons, the offensive line has been relatively healthy. The five starting offensive linemen altogether have started a total of 36 games out of a possible 40. Backup offensive tackle Chris Hubbard<\/a><\/strong> had to step in for the injured Marcus Gilbert<\/a> <\/strong>and start three games earlier this season, while offensive guard David DeCastro<\/a><\/strong> has missed one game. Pouncey recently had surgery on his dislocated thumb but isn\u2019t expected to miss the game against the Dallas Cowboys<\/strong> this week. While there have been injuries to the offensive line, there haven\u2019t been enough to blame their poor performances on them.<\/p>\n

Inability to Run the Ball<\/h3>\n

The Steelers offensive line has allowed an average of 1.6 sacks per game this season. While those aren\u2019t the worst numbers, the Steelers have averaged only 96 rushing yards per game. The Steelers are known for being hard-nosed and running the ball down opponents\u2019 throats. Bell\u2019s early absence definitely has something to do with those numbers, but even since Bell\u2019s return, the Steelers are only averaging 93.6 rushing yards per game. Last week against the Ravens, the Steelers were only able to rush for 36 yards, while Roethlisberger threw the ball 45 times and was sacked twice. The Steelers offensive line clearly needs to step it up in order to allow Roethlisberger to run a more balanced offense.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n