Todd Haley watched Aaron Rodgers bait the Indianapolis Colts into jumping offsides in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 34-22 win on Sunday, and it took him back to his years calling plays for Antonio Brown. The former Steelers offensive coordinator said the tough numbers were a key part of his offense in Pittsburgh, and that it paid off more than most fans realize.
“I copied Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay and Mike McCarthy, and we did it in Pittsburgh all the time,” Haley said Monday on Dave Dameshek’s Football America show. “I mean, AB probably scored 15 touchdowns from that exact concept.”
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The idea is simple. When a quarterback gets a defender to jump before the snap, the offense gets a free play. Haley said Rodgers did exactly that against the Colts, but the throw didn’t connect.
“We saw him get to the right play. We saw him create offsides by the defense, giving them potential shots,” Haley said. “They missed a big opportunity because, you know, that one time they jumped… And the receiver dropped it. I understand.”
Brown was the perfect target for this in Haley’s six seasons as coordinator. From 2012 to 2017, he caught 648 passes for 8,635 yards and 57 touchdowns, including back-to-back seasons with at least 129 catches in 2014 and 2015. Haley’s “maybe 15” is his own estimate, but it gives an idea of how often Brown jumps cash.
Season | Pass Yds/G (NFL Rank) | Rush Yds/G (NFL Rank) | Points/G (NFL Rank) |
|---|---|---|---|
2012 | 236.7 (14th) | 96.1 (26th) | 21.0 (22nd) |
2013 | 251.1 (12th) | 86.4 (27th) | 23.7 (16th) |
2014 | 301.6 (2nd) | 109.5 (16th) | 27.3 (7th) |
2015 | 287.7 (3rd) | 107.8 (16th) | 26.4 (4th) |
2016 | 262.6 (5th) | 110.0 (14th) | 24.9 (10th) |
2017 | 273.8 (3rd) | 104.2 (20th) | 25.4 (8th) |
Haley also said Sunday’s game was “a thousand times better” for Rodgers than last week, when a heated microphone exchange with McCarthy during Thursday night’s loss to the Cleveland Browns made headlines. Haley called it “very un-Steelerlike” and said, “You can’t call the coach on national television, and the coach can’t yell at him, but we’ve all done it.”
Rodgers finished 22 of 31 for 235 yards and three touchdown passes against Indianapolis, and Jaylen Warren piled up 188 yards from scrimmage. Haley liked that Pat Freiermuth finally got the ball, saying he was “disappointed all year last year” that the Steelers didn’t throw him more.
For a fan base that remembers Brown’s defenses on those free plays, the message from Haley was clear. Give Rodgers time at the line, and he can still pay the defense before the ball is even snapped.