Steelers' Mike McCarthy May Try Aggressive Formation To Ignite Offense

The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering a period of their franchise where the offense could begin to take a step forward in terms of production. Newly hired head coach Mike McCarthy is a quarterback guru who has always featured a high-scoring offense in the NFL. The Steelers haven't had a consistent offense in years, giving the hometown coach a difficult opportunity to make a dramatic impact on this organization.

Putting the points on the board is the priority, while also finding ways to preserve the energy of the defense. Time of possession and points to show for it will really reflect this shift in staff working to what they were hired to do. This team has the talent to be successful on paper, but they need to make a statement early in the season to gain trust from this fan base. One thing they can do right out of the gate is utilize their highly paid stars on the offense. That includes their two stars at receiver in DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr., along with their highly paid tight ends in Darnell Washington and Pat Freiermuth. 

Each of these players comes with some uniqueness to their game, especially thinking about what Washington has to offer as a receiving offensive tackle on the field. Utilizing a formation to get all four on the field at one time will be very effective for this team to start scoring at a high rate.

Steelers insider Christopher Carter talked about this on the Locked On Steelers Podcast. He discussed a formation that McCarthy will try to enforce early with this group of guys.

"You’re going to see Darnell Washington used, but I would not be shocked if the Steelers come out in 12 personnel formations, but use it like 11 personnel formations where Washington lines up as the traditional tight end," Carter stated. "But Pat Freiermuth moves around lining up as a split end, a flanker, a slot, moving him around the formation and they sort of have a big receiving group where they have DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman, Washington, and Freiermuth as your four primary receivers."

This strategy will limit the usage of highly regarded rookie Germie Bernard, but it does give the Steelers an opportunity to have four reliable veterans on the field at one time. This formation will also allow Pittsburgh to get creative with Freiermuth, a guy that puts up solid numbers when on the field, but his snap count has been limited over the years. Injuries have played a role there too, but when healthy, he's a very valuable asset to an offense.

Spreading these playmakers around gives Aaron Rodgers a lot to work with this season. This formation should also open up the running game too, with more eyes focused on the downfield threats.

There's plenty of talent on this team and this early idea that McCarthy has suggested is encouraging for early results from the offense. They've needed to complement their defense for years with an above average offense. With the weapons around Rodgers and a coach like McCarthy to lead them, it may finally work out in Pittsburgh's favor as they look to win their first playoff game in almost a decade. Using formations like this, McCarthy featured a very productive offense in Dallas. This organization desperately needs similar results with the Steelers.

Steelers' Offense Trending Up With Mike McCarthy's Formula

After years of mediocrity, fans are waiting for a big splash early on from this offense to really give hope of a postseason run. This defense is getting older and this is the last year of Rodgers' career, so they need to trend upwards immediately. 

This early update from Carter gives some hope that McCarthy is taking this offense seriously with a strong formula for more points on the board. 

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