PITTSBURGH — To Najee HarrisThe Pittsburgh Steelers It is similar to sculpting a statue: offense is like taking offense. It takes patience to work slowly and to fine-tune a work.
“You gotta keep crafting and keep working, you know what I mean?” Harris said Tuesday. “Obviously you guys want answers right now, but that’s just not how things work around here. The next day is not the best day to ask questions. Things are not always resolved the next day. It takes time. We understand that and that’s why I try to keep everyone together.”
However, after eight weeks, the Steelers offense seems closer to a slab of unpolished marble that it is to a masterpiece. With the Steelers at 2-6 and last place in AFC North, it is unlikely that this season will see a significant turnaround.
The Steelers, though, aren’t a franchise that accepts mediocrity as a ceiling. And Harris, with his Alabama pedigree and well-documented work ethic, isn’t one to stop searching for answers.
On the laundry list of the Steelers’ offensive ails, identifying the solution for their run game should be a major priority at the bye. After finishing last in rushing for three years, including the 2020 season, the Steelers made a major investment in Harris. Harris will be a first-round selection and 24th overall in the 2021 Draft. But the return on their investment hasn’t been immediate. Harris’ rookie year was quiet. He ran for 1,000 yards behind an offensive line that had problems with pass protection and run blocking.
Even in this season, with a new quarterback and a revamped offensive line, the run game numbers still aren’t where Harris or the Steelers would like. Harris was injured in a lisfranc accident and had to wear a metal plate in the shoe for the first month.
With the plate out Harris still hasn’t been producing at the consistent level expected. Harris has only 361 yards from 108 runs, an average of 3.3 yards per run.
Harris is patient, even when frustration builds. “Obviously things take time,” he said. “… “… I don’t know all the answers. Each year you work harder to be better at something. I’m still learning. Me being me, I do get judged pre-emptively, which is great. I’m not sitting here complaining about none of that at all.”
Harris expects scrutiny and outside criticism, and he’s received plenty of it this season for his tendency to move laterally in his runs rather than attacking down hill from the handoff. Harris’ running style can sometimes be affected by his desire to win. He wants to make a big play to get the offense going when it seems dull. It’s a load that running backs coach Eddie Faulker tries to take off Harris’ shoulders.
“Nobody cares more than that dude,” Faulkner said. “When that’s the case, you’re always continuing to remind him like, ‘Hey man, we just need you to be yourself. We just need you to go do what Najee Harris is capable of doing and cleanse yourself of any other baggage that you’re toting.”
In the meantime, you can be a rookie undrafted agent for free Jaylen Warren has morphed into the Steelers’ third down back for his versatility and pass blocking ability. He averages 5.3 yards per rush on 29 carries, which is a remarkable feat given his limited opportunities. He also has 88 yards from 12 catches, which is an average of 7.3 yards per catch.
Even though Harris has scored more touchdowns than Warren, Warren’s averages per carry and per catch are at least two yards more than Harris’.
“Reckless,” Warren said with a laugh, describing his running style. “Sometimes I just put my head down and run. I don’t look at the obstacles that I run into. I’m a downhill runner…I did try doing the east and west (style) back in high school and I got in trouble for it, so I never did it again. So I just run straight.”
Does this mean Warren should be given more attention than Harris? Not necessarily. Sometimes, there are differences in defenses or situations that can cause discrepancies.
The Steelers offense has largely been predictable, often favoring runs on first and second downs followed by a pass play on third, making Harris’ job more difficult.
Steelers have called a planned run on 42%of their first-downs. Harris has been the ball carriers 65 times in those situations, gaining an overall average of 3.89 yard. Warren has carried the ball 37 times for 2.85 yards on first down. With Harris only gaining 2.14 yards and Warren only 1.85 yards, neither back has much room to run. After first contact, Harris is averaging 1.75 yards to Warren’s 1.85. Harris has had a big play run of at least 10 yards on 12.3% of first-down those runs — including an 18 yard carry — while Warren hasn’t had any.
Harris faced eight or more defenders during 21 carries and gained just 48 yards. Warren, on the other hand, ran three times against a stacked block for 15 yards. While Warren is averaging five yards per carry in those situations to Harris’ 2.3, it’s still a small sample size.
“I really like Jaylen’s development and where he is at,” Faulkner said. “We’re late in the game last week and we’re driving and he’s getting a couple draws and he’s got space to run. They are playing two high, so there will be some creases. Versus sometimes in the game where it’s not as clean or they’re playing one-high type defenses or loading the boxes then, Najee’s running into a lot of those things sometimes. So I think you gotta just consider all of it.”
Steelers offense was able to take Tuesday and Wednesday off to work on their game before going on a four-day vacation.
An amateur painter, third-year of offensive guard Kevin Dotson agrees with Harris’ statue analogy, and sees things in the Steelers’ offensive evolution that remind him of his own creative process. Dotson sees the Steelers as staring at a partially finished canvas and wondering if their colors are correct to realize their vision.
“We have the best material,” Dotson said. “We have the A1 paint. “We have the best canvas. We have the finest brushes. But it just doesn’t look the way we want.
“When I’m painting and then something just is not coming out, I’ll stop painting. Then, I’ll return to the painting and say, “Oh, this would be better.” Why did I think so hard? I believe this will be the same. Everyone will feel rejuvenated after we come back from this. It probably won’t be just like starting fresh, but we’ll get out of that despair we’re feeling at the bottom.”