Do the Pittsburgh Steelers not target the middle of the field enough? After the team’s 31-28 loss to the Chicago Bears, there was a noticeable hole in the middle of the field on quarterback Mason Rudolph’s passing chart.
Even when Aaron Rodgers is the quarterback, he is throwing to the middle of the field six percentage points lower than he did a year ago with the New York Jets.
So, when head coach Mike Tomlin was asked about throwing more to that area of the field, it was no surprise to hear the head coach admit his team should target that area more in the future.
“It’s week-to-week depending on the schematics that the team or the teams that we compete against choose to deploy,” Tomlin said. “But certainly larger, if you look at the large body of work, there’s probably some more opportunities for us in the interior portions of the field.”
The Steelers have been known over the years as being a team that refuses to throw to that area of the field. Most studies done show that is where most explosive plays happen in the NFL, but that is also the most dangerous portion to throw to, with most of the NFL’s interceptions occurring there.
The Steelers still have to target that area of the field more regardless, and that is a crucial spot for them to get more explosive passing plays going, something they continue to lack.