Steelers 2011 Passing & Rushing Stats By Formation Through Week 4

Below are the formation rushing and passing stats from the week 4 game against the Houston Texans along with the year to date stats through the first 4 games of the 2011 season.

One word of caution. The formations are different from the actual personnel on the field as my game charters will list an h-back player at the snap as a running back. This would mean that players like Hines Ward, David Johnson or Heath Miller for example were charted formation wise as being a running back as this gives you a better picture of the formation actually used on a play.

If you want to look at the actual personnel used on a specific play, I suggest you look at the weekly offensive participation charts that show where all players are lined up on all non-penalty plays. The charting data is likely around 98% accurate as we are prone to make mistakes, but the stats below certainly give you a better picture.

Rushing wise through 4 games the Steelers best success comes from the 2RB 1TE 2WR formations. This could include a player lined up as a fullback or a h-back along with a running back. The Steelers have rushed 17 times for 113 yards out of these types of formations.

5 of the 14 sacks have come on 46 drop-backs that the Steelers used an empty set. Not surprising the way the offensive line has played thus far. Another 5 sacks came out of the 1RB 0TE 4WR formation, but that same formation has produced 391 of the 1163 passing yards. Nearly 700 passing yards have come from 3 and 4 wide receiver formations that include a running back.

The Steelers struggle to run out of formations that use 2 running backs with 2 or 3 tight ends as the stats show below.

Feel free to post any more observations below or any questions you might have about the stats.

Week 4 Rushing & Passing Stats By Formation Versus Texans

Year To Date Rushing & Passing Stats By Formation