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In Week 9 of the 2020 season the Steelers confronted the Dallas Cowboys. JuJu Smith-Schuster had performed each sport, however had been on the damage report and sat out each Wednesday apply from week 2 to week 8, week 9 was his first full week of apply for the reason that season opener.
It will transform his greatest sport of the season statistically, however it actually didn’t begin that means.
1st quarter, 10:56, JuJu Smith-Schuster is the third receiver from the underside, Chase Claypool is second.
Take a look at the three defensive backs to the underside of the display screen for the Cowboys, on the snap Ben Roethlisberger is aware of that prime security has to take both Smith-Schuster or Claypool, and when that security comes as much as guard Smith-Schuster he has Claypool 1 on 1 deep.
1st quarter, 2:31, JuJu Smith-Schuster is the slot receiver to the highest of the display screen.
The tight finish, and operating again come off the snap trying to block, Smith-Schuster and James Washington to the highest of the display screen run the protection again then look to dam. This complete play is organising the drag to Diontae Johnson. This play was on third and 16, it gained 6 yards.
Smith-Schuster for lots of the season was successfully relegated to being a decoy and a blocker. In 2018 Randy Fichtner took over and began operating his offense. Antonio Brown immediately struggled, as a result of Fichtner’s offense has each receiver run routes and lets the quarterback discover the open man. The issue is that model of offense permits the protection to remove your greatest gamers with larger ease, and the offense turns into depending on the opposite gamers to win their matchups.
In 2018 that led to a incredible season from JuJu Smith-Schuster, in 2020 Smith-Schuster was the receiver defenses had been most devoted to taking away, and he struggled to get good targets.
2nd quarter, 14:51, JuJu Smith-Schuster is the slot receiver to the underside of the display screen.
Watch Smith-Schuster’s head, he watches the security. The protection is figuring out his route on this play, and the dedication is a slant to Chase Claypool whereas Smith-Schuster turns right into a blocker. As groups found out this offense you may see why two predominant staples confirmed up in defensive sport plans in opposition to the Steelers. First, a hook defender to remove the slants beneath the safeties, and second, to get rid of the fixed drag routes, they’d drop a defensive lineman a couple of yard deep to defend the drag. When Randy Fichtner’s contract was not renewed, it was as a result of his offense not solely didn’t make the most of one of the best gamers, but additionally was predictable, permitting the protection to inform receivers which routes to run after which defend these routes particularly.
2nd quarter, 13:40. JuJu Smith-Schuster is the second receiver from the underside of the display screen.
Smith-Schuster’s first catch in week 9 was a typical route for the Steelers greatest receiver. It’s second and three, run your most dependable receiver three yards and convert.
2nd quarter, 3:46. JuJu Smith-Schuster is the third receiver from the underside.
His different commonest routes had been these easy cease routes. This one is a 4 yard route that Smith-Schuster provides 3 extra yards onto.
Smith-Schuster was dependable and nonetheless helpful to the Steelers, however this isn’t the easiest way to make the most of a participant who boasts the groups greatest deep ball catch fee and is tied with Hines Ward for probably the most 60+ yard receptions (6) for the Steelers within the final 25 years (Antonio Brown has 4).
third quarter, 2:13. JuJu Smith-Schuster is the third receiver from the highest of the display screen, the within receiver within the bunch.
The Steelers would periodically run a play designed for Smith-Schuster, like this large receiver display screen. You may see Smith-Schuster’s yards after catch capability remains to be there, he simply didn’t get a whole lot of performs designed to get him in area in 2020.
third quarter, 1:28. JuJu Smith-Schuster is the third receiver from the highest of the display screen.
Later within the second half, the Steelers turned the offense over to Ben Roethlisberger, and also you get a route like this one, The place Smith-Schuster makes a pleasant first step exterior to achieve the lane he needs, then cuts inside for a simple twenty yards.
third quarter, 0:14, JuJu Smith-Schuster is to the highest of the display screen, behind Chase Claypool within the stack.
We additionally received this good two stage assault on the sideline. As quickly as the surface nook turns and deepens his drop due to Chase Claypool’s route Roethlisberger hits Smith-Schuster for 9 yards on a primary and 15. This led to a rating to start out the 4th quarter, pulling the Steelers to inside 4 factors of the Cowboys.
4th quarter, 15:00. JuJu Smith-Schuster is the third receiver from the highest.
That’s a great playcall by Ben Roethlisberger and a incredible job by JuJu Smith-Schuster to arrange the security for that reduce to the center, and naturally, Smith-Schuster powers his means into the tip zone to complete the play.
Take a look at that second reduce.
That’s a nasty transfer, and the defender does a great job simply to maintain his toes and get again within the play, solely to get dragged into the tip zone. That’s not dangerous protection, that’s an important participant being nice.
It’s more and more unlikely that JuJu Smith-Schuster will return to the Steelers in 2021, and whereas he will likely be missed, the final two years he has suffered by means of a season of poor quarterback play and an offense that allow defenses simply relegate him to a decoy, irrespective of how effectively he ran his routes.
It stands out to me in hindsight that Antonio Brown blew up, JuJu Smith-Schuster was critically restricted and damaging physique language began exhibiting up from a whole lot of receivers since 2018. Taking what the protection offers you means the protection will get to decide on who you throw the ball to, and in the event that they know find out how to dictate receiver routes, they’ll shut down your passing sport. The Steelers ended up more and more counting on Ben Roethlisberger to run the offense, and now have turned the job over to Matt Canada.
The unhappy factor is we aren’t going to get to see JuJu Smith-Schuster in that new offense. We noticed what he did as a rookie below Todd Haley, we noticed what he did when defenses targeted on stopping Antonio Brown in 2018, and we’ve seen the boundaries of Randy Fichtner’s offense. Now we’ll get to see what he can do on one other workforce.
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