Randy Fichtner was riding high a year ago in his first season as an offensive coordinator in the NFL. Ben Roethlisberger led the NFL in passing yards. He had two 1,000-yard receivers and a running back that accounted for 1,470 yards from scrimmage.
Everything wasn’t perfect. The Steelers missed the playoffs after a late-season swoon. Roethlisberger led the league in interceptions and there were some other untimely turnovers in games down the stretch. But no one was questioning whether Fichtner was capable of coordinating an NFL offense.
That’s changed this season. Fichtner has become a lightning rod for criticism as he tries to steer a wobbly ship that’s been thrown off course by injuries.
Roethlisberger was lost in the second game of the season, and undrafted rookie Duck Hodges is leading the offense. Losing your franchise quarterback would be enough to ruin almost any team’s season, but injuries to receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, tight end Vance McDonald and running back James Conner have made 2019 even more challenging.
Those gaudy statistics from 2018 seem like a distant memory now as the Steelers try to avoid being the league’s worst offense. Entering their game against Jets on Sunday, the Steelers are 30th in total offense, averaging 286 yards per game. That’s 117 yards fewer than last season, when they ranked fourth in the league.
For Fichtner, who has been an NFL coach since 2007, it’s unlike anything he has ever seen.
“At this level, no,” he said. “I have seen injuries. We’ve all seen injuries. We’ve had years here when we’ve had injuries. I think the magnitude of some injuries at some positions is weighted differently. But I’ve been impressed and have loved this group for staying together, working together, believing in each other. I believe that when given an opportunity, the next guy has delivered to the best of his ability.”
Roethlisberger will miss 14 games. Conner has missed five and Smith-Schuster has missed four. Their absences have created plenty of opportunities for others, but it’s been a struggle to replace their production.
Last week, the Steelers dressed five running backs due to some uncertainty about the health of Conner and his top backup, Jaylen Samuels. The Steelers have had six running backs get carries in games this season. They’ve had eight different receivers catch passes. And more names could be added in the final two weeks.
It would be hard to find another team that’s made as many roster moves as the Steelers this season. They made another this week when receiver Amara Darboh was signed off the practice squad and Tevin Jones, who played more than half the offensive snaps against the Bills, was cut.
They’ve signed players off the street and off other team’s practice squads. They’re not just bodies for practice. They’ve been inserted into the offense. It happened with running back Kerrith Whyte and receiver Deon Cain when they were poached off the Bears and Colts practice squads, and it could happen this week with Darboh, who was out of a job after being cut by the Buccaneers last month.
“It was kind of like that last year,” Samuels said. “I was like, ‘Dang, we’re really getting people mid-year and they’re just coming in and getting implemented into the offense?’ I thought it was crazy. But you’re seeing it this year, too. You see Whyte come in and have a role. He’s making the most of his opportunities. That’s big. We’ve needed that. Everyone who has come in has contributed.”
But using so many different players certainly complicates thing for the coordinator. It was much easier when he had a healthy complement of skill position players. It’s been much harder this season because the reserves that are filling in have different still sets that can help the team, but not complete skill sets to be full-time players.
“It’s exciting to some degree because each one of them brings something special to the table,” Fichtner said. “I think the flow in-game can be an issue. You go into the game, come out and then go back in three plays later. It’s not the kind of flow you really want. It makes it more difficult. You’re asking the backs to bear some of that weight. It’s great as a group, but I can see at times, if I was a back, I would want that ball and I would want to stay in there. It’s not that they can’t. You’re just trying to isolate some things guys do better.
“If I’ve grown in any way, it’s maybe you don’t have to be perfect. Let’s play the back that’s in there. Let’s play the receiver that’s in there. We’ve had to play the quarterback that’s in there. Let’s play them. Let’s play.”
The 2019 season won’t be a memorable one for the offense. The Steelers probably won’t have a 1,000-yard rusher or 1,000-yard receiver this season. The previous time that happened was the 2012 season.
The leading rusher is Conner, who is on pace to run for 493 yards. That would be the fewest number of rushing yards in a season for the team’s leading rusher since Don Shy had 341 rushing yards in 1967.
The leading receiver is James Washington, who is on pace for 793 yards. That would be the fewest for the team’s leading receiver since 2000, when Hines Ward and Bobby Shaw tied with 672 yards.
And finally, Steelers quarterbacks this season are on pace to throw for 3,321 yards. That would be the fewest passing yards in a season for the Steelers since 2005, when they didn’t eclipse the 3,000-yard mark.
Juggling so many different players and finding ways to use all of his assorted personnel has been challenging for Fichtner. It’s also been a valuable learning experience in his second season running the offense.
“There are a lot of times when you say, ‘Boy, I’d like to have that back,’” Fichtner said. “Or, ‘Man, I’m just so thankful we have the guys who can make the play.’ I’m not going to call the game scared. We’ve done some things this year that’s given us opportunities to win games. And we’ve done some things when we didn’t execute, and it didn’t give us a chance to win. I will say, if we protect the football, we have a chance to win any game, and that’s why last week was so disappointing.”
Injury update
Smith-Schuster, who has missed the past four games with a knee injury, went through a full practice on Thursday. Cornerback Joe Haden did not practice due to a foot injury. Tight end Nick Vannett did not practice due to an illness.
Charitable donation
The Steelers announced a donation of $10,000 Thursday to the Light of Life rescue mission on the North Side as part of the Steelers Social Justice Grant program to help support community efforts.
The check included a donation from tight end Vance McDonald as well as from the Steelers organization.
“With Light of Life, they are consistent and persistent with finding people who need help and sticking with them no matter what,” McDonald said in a statement. “They’re trying to make a lasting impact. They’re trying to pull people out of poor circumstances and see them living in a better place, receiving more, getting what they need in a long-term basis. That is the kind of giving that is dynamic.”
Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @rayfitt1.
First Published: December 19, 2019, 9:15 p.m.
