How fast can someone go from goat to genius?
Todd Haley heard a lot of scorn from Steeler fans, myself included, early this year when the offense looked shaky for great amounts of time. Rapper Snoop Dogg took to Instagram to call out Haley and I saw hashtags on Twitter saying HaleysVomit, and FireHaley.
First there was the lack of touchdowns in the second half of the opener against Cleveland. Then there was a total of six points scored against Baltimore in the first meeting between the two teams. The offense looked great against Carolina but fell back a bit against Tampa Bay in a losing effort. Add in a combined 19 points against Jacksonville and Cleveland and the calls for Haley’s head were loud and boisterous.
All of that seems a distant memory after three straight wins and the past two weeks in particular have this team looking like a reincarnation of the 90’s Rams teams dubbed the “Greatest Show On Turf.” Is it a change in coaching philosophy, better execution or a talent infusion with Martavis Bryant entering the lineup? I think all three have had a significant contribution to the recent success of this offense.
I, like many Steeler fans, expressed frustration early on at the lack of creativity I saw out of the offense. This offense never seemed to take many chances down field. It was boring and predictable and a lot of people wanted change. Adding a deep threat like Bryant helped change all that. Suddenly this team decided to let Big Ben be Big Ben and take some shots downfield and it is hard to argue with the results.
People calling for Haley’s head because of the team’s early struggles may have been justified because Haley has shown in the past he knew how to get production out of a talented lineup. The calls for his head were accurate because this team WAS grossly underperforming.
Look back at 2008 when Todd Haley took the Cardinals to the Super Bowl. That Cardinals team put up a franchise record 400 points in the regular season and made a run all the way to the Super Bowl where they would have won without a legendary drive by Ben Roethlisberger featuring a catch by Santonio Holmes we’ll all see in highlight reels for the rest of our lives. Haley was definitely good enough as a coach back then with a lineup featuring a hall of fame quarterback in Kurt Warner, an all-pro wide receiver in Larry Fitzgerald and a strong runner in Edgerrin James.
See the similarities in talent between those 2008 Cardinals and this year’s Steelers?
Hall of Fame level quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger? Check.
All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown? Check.
Top flight running back Le’Veon Bell? Check.
If anything this team has more offensive talent than the Cardinals did which is probably why a lot of fans were frustrated. Haley was brought here to shake things up and he’s done that, even if it has taken a bit longer than most of us wanted it to.
I voiced displeasure on social media mainly because I knew this team was capable of so much more and now I want to give credit to Todd Haley for doing a great job. Granted he’s finally doing what he should have been doing all along but it’s always better late than never.
This offense is exciting to watch again, and is more than capable of attacking a defense from multiple angles and I’ll tie that back into the impact Martavis Bryant has had on this team. His presence alone changes the gameplan for opposing defenses. It creates mismatches in the way teams have to cover the Steelers and Pittsburgh’s offense has taken full advantage of that in recent times.
Keep in mind this success didn’t just come at the expense of scrub winless teams. The 12 touchdowns Big Ben has thrown the past two weeks have come against one of the top defenses in the Indianapolis Colts and a fierce division rival in Baltimore. That alone should leave room for some optimism for the Steelers offense moving forward.
Roethlisberger said on his weekly radio show that both he and Haley had put aside the egos this year and that’s good to hear because working against each other wasn’t helping the team win. Now it’s up to everyone involved to keep the momentum going because this team is going to have to win a lot of games on offense this year.
Based on recent results, they are definitely up to the task.
