If there's one element of his offense new Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley isn't worried about hiding during the preseason, it's the screen pass. Haley told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac it's a wrinkle he's consciously looking to add as the regular season approaches.
"We got a bunch of different screens -- that's been an emphasis for us," said Haley, the team's new offensive coordinator. "We want to get a bunch of them called in real action and see if we can't get pretty efficient at them because it can be a real weapon."
During Pittsburgh's first offensive drive in its 24-23 preseason loss against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed seven passes, but six went for fewer than 10 yards. Running back Isaac Redman and fullback David Johnson caught four of those six passes out of the back field, showing Haley is putting his money where his mouth is when his first team is on the field.
Granted, Pittsburgh's offense will become much more complex when the games begin to count, and the screen pass won't be quite as prominently featured. But at least at this point, it appears Haley plans to make sure it's something defenses have to account for.
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