Offensive Coordinator Travis Switzer (10.29.26)
Would you consider that a breakthrough game for the running game, the Titans game?
“Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of the things, we have been seeing improvement over the last couple weeks, so it was great to see the production that we had on Sunday. As far as breakthrough, I don’t know. I don’t know that any of our guys really look at it that way. I think that the things that we’ve been emphasizing to improve, we’ve been. We were a lot better on first and second down, which allowed us to get more runs called. You know, the more you’re on schedule, the more you’ll be able to run the ball. So, as far as breakthrough, I don’t know. I mean, we were certainly really happy to see the production that we did, and we’ll continue to try to improve.”
With a guy like Dylan (Sampson) coming back what do you think he adds, whether it’s running the ball or those plays out in the backfield catching it?
“Yeah, I think it’s what you just said. It’s versatility. He’s got a wide skill set, he can run a lot of schemes, he can help us out of the backfield in the pass game. He’s a pretty savvy guy. I mean, he’s got good understanding, good football IQ and good feel, if you will. So, yeah, I think it’s the versatility, probably the biggest thing he adds.”
You have a few guys like that, whether it’s him, KC (Concepcion Jr.), I mean you even moved Jerry (Jeudy) around a little bit. How does that kind of help things for you guys offensively, that so many guys can be put in different places?
“Yeah, it’s fun to be able to move guys around, you know, and try to use them in what we feel like they do best individually and then continue also to try to grow that. What else can we do with the different guys? But it’s all about, hey, we’re trying to put the guys in the best situation for themselves, which is going to be the best situation for the team.”
When you have a play like the interception where Denzel (Boston) and Deshaun (Watson) have talked about it, and Todd (Monken)’s talked about it. Denzel talked about the learning point for him. How important is that when you have a receiver and quarterback that can communicate the way they said they did in the aftermath of that?
“Yeah, I think that’s huge. And then just being able to stack those, you know, over time, which they’ve had. And the one thing I’ll say about really a lot of our guys, but Denzel and KC, they’re very diligent guys. And they’ve corrected things when things have come up and they’ve been talked about, and then they get corrected very quickly. So, yeah, the more time that they are together, the more situations where they’ll talk about things and get on the same page, and that’s always good.”
You talked about the run game a little bit, and these guys have tied the season high for under-center plays this week. How much is that something that maybe helps that, or is that something you guys can kind of use in the future to continue to have success?
“Yeah, I think that goes back to what I was saying a little bit. Was it a little bit more part of the plan? Yeah, maybe a little bit more. And then we’re also on schedule more. You’re not going to be under center on get-back-on-track second-and-long and third down. So, that’s not going to show up there. So, the more that you’re able to stay on schedule, the more you have the whole playbook open, and being under center, being able to run it, movement, actions, the more you’re on schedule, the more that those are at your disposal.”
With Quinshon (Judkins) specifically, did you notice a difference in maybe the way he was running against Tennessee than he had been previously this season?
“I don’t know that I noticed a difference. I do think that every week he’s getting a little bit more comfortable with what we’re doing. And like I said, it started a couple weeks ago. We tweaked a few things with aiming points and everything, and he’s been getting more and more comfortable every week. I would say the biggest difference is he was able to get in the open field a couple times, so you could see him, which was awesome. But I think he’s steadily improved every week. I wouldn’t say that there’s, you know, a huge difference I noticed on this past Sunday. We were just able to get him some space.”
You mentioned the familiarity with the 4-3 probably helped the run game against Tennessee. So, do you think that can translate to Pittsburgh’s defense, and what are the keys against that front to be able to run the ball like you want to?
“I think that the style is completely different. We happen to be a 4-3 defense here, so yeah, we had a lot of reps against that style. If we were a 3-4 here, it would be the opposite when we played 4-3, so. Because they are, they’re polar opposites. The 4-3, it tends to be the call of attack defense. They’re playing one gap. They’re getting up the field, versus most 3-4 teams are, ‘Hey, two gap, we’re going to try to eat up blockers, free up the second level.’ So yeah, it’s definitely different blocking those two fronts. With a two-gap team like Pittsburgh is, aiming points are huge. And it’s going to be a little bit different than what it would be with a 4-3 attack.
And then your ability to strain and finish blocks is huge, because they’re going to try to shed, right? Like, they’re going to play square, they’re going to try to knock you back, but they’re going to be trying to shed later in the down instead of just simply running up the field and trying to disrupt. So, yeah, they are very different as far as the approach is.”
The Steelers seem to be bringing a lot of inside pressure a lot more recently with their inside backers. Is that a departure from the Tomlin defenses?
“I don’t know. I guess you’d have to ask them. I think everybody in the league probably has interior pressures, you know, to stir up the front and get pressure on the quarterback and disrupt some of the run schemes. As far as who it came from, I don’t know. Like I said, I think everybody in the league has interior pressures that they’ll utilize.”
Do you think that was Deshaun’s most complete game on Sunday that he’s played this year?
“Yeah, probably? I think he was great in just his consistency. I mean, we made a lot of the ordinary plays all the time. Which, that’s what great quarterback play is. Oftentimes it’s making the plays that you feel like you should make, consistently, over and over again. And obviously we did have the one INT, which we already talked about. But outside of that, like, we took care of the ball from his perspective, pretty well as well. So, I mean, if you’re looking at quarterback, did we make the plays that we should, consistently, and did we take care of the ball and operate well? And if the answer is yes to all three of those, it’s usually pretty good.”
What makes Harold (Fannin Jr.) as good as he is after the catch? We saw late in the game and we saw it some other times too.
“Yeah, he’s just a bull. I mean, he’s just good with the ball in his hand. He’s hard to bring down. He’s got a good mix of size, contact balance, feel, just as far as where to run when he does get some space, as far as where the defenders are and where they may be coming from. So, yeah, I think it’s a combination of all those things.”
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