Todd Haley Trying To Get Off The Hot Seat

Offensive coordinator Todd Haley has drew much criticism this season. Even though the Pittsburgh Steelers record is 3-2 Haley hot seat seems to get hot in a loss cool off a bit when the Pittsburgh Steelers and then gets hotter in a close loss.

The previous offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers was Bruce Arians. Arians was criticized for throwing the ball to much,lack of a,running game,Ben Roethlisberger took to many hits and was injured too much. Last but not least Arians play calling led to the offensive line having to block to long. This season the offense led by Haley has done some good things.The top two running backs Le’Veon Bell and Legarrette Blount are both averaging over five yards a carry. Wide receiver Antonio Brown is on pace for over 1500 yards receiving. Roethlisberger is looking healthy once again. The offense line does not to block as long. Haley has done a above average job moving the football with a offensive line that is dealing with injuries,and players in new postitions In four out of the five games this season Haley offense has led deep in the fourth quarter.

On the negative side Haley has drawn serious criticism for his play calling in tight games. In multiple games this season in the second half the Pittsburgh Steelers offense did not score a touchdown in the second half. The Pittsburgh has not shown much productivity with it’s deep ball offense. Antonio Brown and Darrius Heyward Bey are proven deep threats. So it will be beneficial for those two to be given more chances to catch the ball down the field. Wide receiver Markus Wheaton needs to be developed quicker if Haley hot seat is to cool off. When Wheaton was productive in the first game vs the Cleveland Browns the entire offense functioned properly. In the four games since Wheaton has struggled making the offense more predictable with one reliable receiver in Brown. In the red zone and short yardage situations the offense has struggled in the second half allowing opposing teams to hang around. If Haley can coach more consistently in the second half the hot seat will cool off significantly. If he doesn’t it will just be a matter of time before he is fired.