In recent years, the Steelers have been talking about using the no-huddle more frequently. This year, perhaps they mean it.
In 2013, the Steelers indeed found the gas pedal after an 0-4 start, increasing the use of the no-huddle attack from (per Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) 6.5 percent of the time to 25 percent of the time.
“We practice it all the time,” center Maurkice Pouncey said, via Robinson. “When we’re in the no-huddle, guys are locked in and communicating at a high level. It’s been very, very good for us, and we’ve got to keep building on it.”
“It’s big for us,” receiver Antonio Brown said. “[It’s] going to be a key for us this year to get things going fast and catch defenses off-balance and let Ben pick and read his reads, and it gives us the opportunity to play fast.”
In Thursday night’s dress rehearsal against the Eagles (a team that used the no-huddle extensively in 2013), the Steelers have a chance to experiment with the placement of the proverbial pedal to the metal.