INDIANAPOLIS — The Pittsburgh Steelers have a Najee Harris problem. It isn't solely about Harris, however after a efficiency wherein Harris posted 19 yards on simply 13 carries, one thing has to offer, proper?
Well, there are underlying considerations for Harris on this offense. A 12 months after his effectivity soared in the post-Matt Canada firing offense, Harris is much less environment friendly than ever with Arthur Smith calling performs.
He is averaging simply 3.4 yards per carry over the first 4 video games of the season. Harris has obtained most of the first-down carries for the Steelers this 12 months, and no group averages much less yards per keep on first down than the Steelers. The Steelera are final in success fee on these runs, too.
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This is the place the Harris problem lies, to a diploma. He is constructed to be a workhorse again in an offense selling that fashion. Smith needs to ascertain the run and make environment friendly beneficial properties all through a recreation. Yet, Harris has a big half in not maximizing beneficial properties. According to Next Gen Stats on Sunday, he had -32 speeding yards over expectation.
Some of that will lead folks to consider that Harris is lacking open holes, however that's not what is going on. Of the 13 carries, Harris ran 9 zone runs. Four have been hole runs when Cordarrelle Patterson was in the recreation for his six carries. Does it appear backward in utilization?
The 6-foot-2, 240-pound operating again ought to observe pullers and get downhill. Yet Smith has waned away from that with Harris, an odd utilization resolution. In the context of changing into a mid- and wide-zone runner, Harris simply doesn't have the burst downhill nor the lateral quickness to maximise cutback lanes.
The concept of the stretch play, courting again to Mike Shanahan’s days with Terrell Davis, was to emphasize a protection horizontally or pressure them to overpursue and lower it again. Harris lacks the burst to hit holes and appropriately hit the set factors’ timing on this scheme. It doesn't match him as a runner. Meanwhile, Patterson and Jaylen Warren hit the gap with explosiveness and get going immediately. They are runners that may maximize themselves on this scheme.
Then comes the level the place the Steelers block hole runs horribly. Throughout the season’s first 4 weeks, hole runs have apparent free runners coming to hit Harris instantly, both because of poor blocks or missed assignments.
Smith has develop into predictable in a few of his play calls and personnel utilization. So, groups are dropping guys down into the field and blitzing a security, forcing the Steelers to lose the numbers recreation. Meanwhile, Smith continues to ask large receivers which are subpar blockers to dig out key defenders as the insert block, and people defenders proceed to stifle Harris close to the line of scrimmage.
Due to his athletic limitations, Harris will all the time be a restricted participant in scope, however he's a sturdy, arduous runner who may be environment friendly. He was final season, so it's already recognized that Harris may be a problem in the proper spot.
Yet, by way of a poor scheme and a few odd personnel selections that cater to Harris’ weaknesses, the begin of the season has been disappointing for Harris. He can do some issues to attempt to repair it, however this may largely be about Smith tweaking utilization and the different personnel executing at a greater degree.
