Often overlooked about an offensive line's production is how synchronized the footwork of the group is off the snap of the ball. When you hear analysts and coaches talk about "chemistry" and "cohesion" of the best offensive lines in the NFL, their footwork is one of the key factors.
The Steelers' offensive line is one of the league's best and will have their fourth consecutive year with the same starting group of Alejandro Villanueva, Ramon Foster, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro and Marcus Gilbert. But last season the group struggled to have any consistency in the Steelers' early games.
While some of the early struggles were attributed to Le'Veon Bell missing training camp, a better indication can be seen when keeping a closer eye on how the line was firing off the ball.
One of the earliest drills that offensive linemen will work on is called the "quarter eagle," where linemen get into a typical standing position with bent knees and execute different steps and jumps upon command. The point of the drill is to work on foot speed and working together.
The next step of the drill would be for offensive linemen to practice the steps for a given play by taking one step at a time with each step coming only by command from their coach. They practice different steps like a "right-lead" where the offensive line simply uses the right foot as the first step towards that direction, or a "left-reach" when you take a lateral step with the left foot to attack horizontally down the line.
It takes hours of repetition in those drills to develop the synchronization to make sure that each lineman steps at the same time and in the same direction to develop the kind of chemistry that leads to success and puts everyone in the spots necessary to make the proper play.
Stepping at the same time isn't about one player stepping slower in order to be on the same pace, but rather making sure there is no weak link along the line when it comes to firing off the ball. All the linemen should be able to fire off the snap of the ball quicker than anyone else on the field and use that advantage to get each of the players the extra step to win at the line.
When that synchronization isn't there, defensive lines have a much easier time breaking through and finding a crack in the offensive front and create penetration. Watch in this red zone play where DeCastro does a good job being the first off the ball, but because the rest of the line isn't with him, no surge is created and Bell is held to a single yard:
Having the advantage of a simple step is enough of an advantage to establish an important foundation for the success of every play. That wasn't happening consistently enough early in the season and was a factor in most of the plays which the offensive line was unable to open up holes for Bell.
Watch here how differently each player fires off the ball and how that prevents them from getting any surge against the Browns' defensive line to open up the right hole:
Fast forward to the Steelers' Thursday night game against the Titans when the offensive line had overcome those issues and were more in sync with their footwork. On this touchdown, watch how Pouncey, Foster and DeCastro are all able to get on their assignments and control their opponents because they're able to get off the ball quickly and execute the rest of their fundamentals:
To show how accurately timed those initial steps have to be, here's a cutup of a different play from that game against the Titans. This is an example of a "right-reach" step as both Gilbert and DeCastro are working to extend themselves laterally to the right for a stretch run to give Bell more space to work. Notice how both Gilbert and DeCastro's feet are perfectly in step with each other and how they can both execute their assignments to win their gaps:
The Steelers' offensive line is one of its most intact personnel groups with five starters that are familiar with each other and with the entirety of the offense in both run blocking schemes and pass protection. Over the past three seasons this group has been together, the common theme has been that their synchronization is among the best in the league when it's firing on all cylinders. That usually comes to fruition going into the middle of the season, but with a fourth year together, maybe this is the season they will come out of the gate with that consistent synchronization to dominate the line of scrimmage.