The impact of Matt Canada’s offense on the Steelers, Part One: Scheme

The 2021 low season might be one of many extra intriguing and impactful ones in latest reminiscence for the Steelers. With so many questions on their roster to resolve, wage cap points to handle and the upcoming draft to contemplate, their choices will undoubtedly form the near-future of the franchise. For a company that likes its waters calm and glassy, the following few months might convey tidal waves of change.

Amidst this array of calculations is the system Matt Canada is more likely to implement as he strikes into his new position as offensive coordinator. The Steelers have main choices to make at each place group on the offensive facet of the ball. Ben Roethlisberger or Mason Rudolph at quarterback? James Conner or a substitute at working again? Who fills Juju Smith-Schuster’s position at receiver as soon as he leaves (as anticipated) in free company? Who replaces the retired Vance McDonald at tight finish? What is going to the reconstructed offensive line seem like?

None of those questions could be answered with out contemplating Canada’s offense. It’s well-known Canada was considered a pioneer-of-sorts as a university coordinator for his use of pre-snap motion. A few of that made its approach into Pittsburgh’s game-plan early within the 2020 season. The shifts and motions step by step disappeared, nonetheless, presumably at Roethlisberger’s request. With Canada succeeding the deposed Randy Fichtner as coordinator, it appears seemingly they’ll return.

Pre-snap movement is solely window-dressing, nonetheless, a tactic used to muddy the power of a protection to react. Once we discuss an offense, we’re speaking philosophy and scheme. Pre-snap motion is definitely part of that for Canada, nevertheless it’s no extra his “offense” than disguising protection is a “protection” for Keith Butler. Canada’s philosophy might be a lot broader and, given his historical past, troublesome to pinpoint till it’s really unveiled.

Basic supervisor Kevin Colbert hinted final week it was unlikely the Steelers would roll out all the Canada package deal without delay. This tweet from Mark Kaboly indicated as a lot:

Clearly. Colbert doesn’t consider the Steelers are geared up to execute Canada’s imaginative and prescient as at the moment constructed. This would appear to recommend an overhaul of the crew’s offensive personnel. Nonetheless, once we take a look at Canada’s historical past as a university coordinator, one factor that jumps out is his capacity to adapt his scheme to suit his expertise.

At Northern Illinois, for instance, Canada constructed an offense that averaged 34 factors per recreation round dual-threat quarterback Chandler Harnish, who threw for over 3,000 yards and ran for over 1,000. At Wisconsin it was 22-personnel energy soccer. The Badgers rushed for practically 240 yards per recreation and earned a visit to the Rose Bowl. North Carolina State got here subsequent, the place Canada ran an 11 personnel unfold scheme centered on the passing of Jacoby Brissett. He moved on to Pitt in 2016, the place his offense was an eclectic combine that highlighted his use of movement and deception. Pitt scored 35 or extra factors in 10 of 13 video games, together with a 76-point efficiency in opposition to Syracuse and 43 and 42 level outbursts in upsets of Clemson and Penn State.

So, Canada has discovered methods to achieve quite a lot of conditions. Nonetheless, like most coaches, he has a most popular fashion of play. After gathering as a lot movie as I might of his varied collegiate offenses, listed below are some constants regardless of the place he’s been.

PLAY-ACTION PASSING

The play-action move is a Canada staple. Play-action is a constraint idea that retains a protection from attacking the core performs an offense runs whereas offering alternatives for large performs by maneuvering them out of place. Play-action displaces defenders with ball-fakes and throws to the areas they’ve voided. It’s totally different from drop-back or fast passing ideas, which regularly try to outnumber a defender in his prescribed zone or exploit him in a one-on-one matchup.

Right here’s the primary play from scrimmage of Canada’s Northern Illinois offense of their 2011 recreation at Bowling Inexperienced. Canada opened in a Diamond formation that put 4 potential ball-carriers within the backfield. With Bowling Inexperienced considering run, he instantly referred to as a bootleg that resulted in a primary down:

It’s a pleasant idea from an fascinating design. The actually fascinating factor is what occurred subsequent. Watch the primary play once more. Simply because the digital camera zooms in, you possibly can rely all eleven Bowling Inexperienced defenders inside eight yards of the soccer, with the 4 defensive backs lined up at equal depth. This advised Canada they have been in cover-4, the place the safeties could be answerable for vertical routes from the within receivers.

Canada should have seen how aggressively the safeties reacted to the primary run pretend so he got here proper again to it. This time, he gave the protection a 2×2 look with an H-back to the boundary and a slot to the sector. He ran a dive pretend and despatched the H, who had run an out-cut on the earlier play, straight up the seam. The protection (#11) bit onerous on the run-action and the H ran proper by him. It was a straightforward pitch-and-catch for a landing:

I like how aggressive Canada was along with his opening script. He received right into a run-heavy set on first down, anticipated Bowling Inexperienced would assault it and went play-action immediately. Then, as quickly as he seen their safeties crowding the field, he dialed up a shot play. It was an excellent job of rapidly diagnosing the intention of a protection and exploiting it.

POWER RUN CONCEPTS

Wherever he’s been, Canada has discovered a solution to make the most of conventional energy run-blocking schemes. Energy, for individuals who are unfamiliar, is a block-down, kick-out scheme with a bottom lineman pulling round as a lead blocker. On paper, it’s usually executed like this:

Canada’s penchant for creativity has allowed him so as to add efficient wrinkles to the standard design. Take this play from his 2012 Wisconsin offense. From a 22-personnel set, Canada put one of many tight ends in movement after which introduced him again as a second lead blocker. This allowed Wisconsin to get an additional hat on the level of assault and account for the protection, who’s often a plus-one defender within the field. The additional blocker helped spring working again Montee Ball for a further ten yards:

It’s simple to say that Wisconsin, with their hulking linemen and bodily backs, ought to have the ability to run energy it doesn’t matter what. However that’s not at all times the case, as defenses usually overload the field to cease the run. Slightly than abandon his core play, Canada solved the issue with a artistic twist on the standard scheme.

Right here’s Pitt working a purple zone shovel-option with energy blocking. It seems to be nothing just like the earlier play nevertheless it’s the identical scheme. I’ve slowed the GIF down so you may get a very good take a look at it. The distinction is, fairly than block the sting participant, Canada has the quarterback learn him after which decide whether or not to pitch the soccer inside to the tight finish or outdoors to the working again. The backfield motion creates a horizontal stretch on the protection, which opens a seam inside for the tight finish as he wraps round from the again facet of the formation:

Right here’s another. That is Canada’s 2014 offense at NC State. He runs quarterback draw with energy blocking, turning out the sting participant with the tight finish after which bringing each the working again and bottom guard via the outlet as lead blockers. It’s one other “plus-one” design that will get an additional blocker on the level of assault:

Canada can even fight an overly-aggressive protection with play-action off of the ability scheme. The pulling guard is an efficient approach of getting defenders to assume run and react accordingly:

I don’t understand how Canada will run energy with the Steelers. He has proven he can do it in a large number of the way. Inevitably, he appears to suit it into his broader offensive philosophy by suiting it to his personnel.

CREATIVITY AND DECEPTION

I might spend the following month breaking down Canada’s use of artistic formations and motions to confuse defenses or put them in a bind. For the sake of brevity, listed below are some temporary examples.

That is Empty with a four-receiver bunch to the sector. Canada referred to as QB draw right here, and it resulted in a landing:

Right here’s lengthy movement from the slot who then comes again round to get the ball on a reverse:

Right here’s a reverse to an offensive sort out:

And right here’s this, no matter it’s:

Appears gimmicky, proper? The final one is perhaps. However there’s a way to the insanity. With all of those shifts, motions, misdirections and odd alignments, Canada is stressing a protection by making them change their energy calls, re-set their fronts, change their coverages, be sure that they’re not being out-leveraged and, above all, exerting self-discipline as soon as the ball is snapped.

Canada is the anti-Randy Fichtner on this regard. Fichtner’s scheme was straight-forward. The offense lined up in a couple of customary groupings and formations and the protection set themselves accordingly. Roethlisberger preferred it that approach as a result of it supplied him a transparent pre-snap image and helped him make choices about what to do with the soccer. It was primarily a “me versus you” scheme that relied on the longer term Corridor of Fame QB to be higher than his opponents.

Canada didn’t have that luxurious in lots of his teaching stops. At Indiana, NC State, Maryland and even Pitt, his expertise was usually inferior. Canada’s creativity was born of necessity, then, since he couldn’t merely line up and run performs on the opposition. He needed to gradual them down, make them uncomfortable and create confusion. With the Steelers in transition on offense, that appears an acceptable philosophy.

SUMMARY

Canada will complement his core ideas with jet sweeps, outdoors zone runs, pocket motion from the QB and a vertical passing recreation. His offense isn’t sophisticated however the window dressing he supplies when it comes to shifts, motions and formations makes it seem so. Better of all, Canada has demonstrated a transparent rhyme and cause for his schemes and appears to know learn how to use them. That’s as essential because the schemes themselves.

His core philosophy couldn’t be farther from the one the Steelers employed in 2020. It’s no marvel Kevin Colbert sees the transition from Fichtner to Canada as a gradual one. If it have been like going from English to Spanish maybe it could possibly be finished rapidly. That is extra like English to Klingon.

How, then, will the Steelers adapt their personnel, as Colbert recommended, to suit Canada’s fashion of play? Ideas on that query would be the focus of half two of this collection.