In Sunday night’s , it is entirely possible both offenses will simply dispense with that whole dipping-just-a toe-in-the-water thing and just dive right into things, looking for the big splash.
Because while the Steelers defense will have had to play a bit of a guessing game this week to project what the Broncos will do on offense with Peyton Manning at quarterback, the Broncos defense will have to do much the same.
The coin flip may determine who gets the chance at the first haymaker, because both sides may feel the best move with the ball early in the game is to take advantage of the unknown. All of which means both sides will almost certainly see if they can dial up something big in one of their opening possessions.
For their part, the Steelers can look at what the Broncos did in the preseason, but that won’t offer much of a glimpse beyond the finger-painting stage of what’s actually in the playbook. Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, who’s seen a thing or two in his five-plus decades in the NFL as a player and coach, can turn back the clock and check out what the Colts did with Manning at quarterback.
But the Broncos have already shown what Manning will run here will be a mix of Colts/Broncos, with Manning, for example, in two-back formations more in the opening month of the season with the Broncos than he was in over a decade in Indianapolis. Perhaps the Broncos will even break out some of the two-back, three-wide receiver looks they used at times last season with Tim Tebow at quarterback.
From the Broncos’ perspective, they will get the first regular-season look at the new day that is this Steelers’ offense.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin dipped into the team’s history to hire former Chiefs coach Todd Haley this past offseason as the Steelers offensive coordinator. And Haley, whose father Dick was a key figure in the construction of the Steelers’ dynasty of the ’70s, will bring the most significant change to the team’s offense in more than a decade.
Haley is also the first offensive coordinator the Steelers have found outside their own coaching staff since Kevin Gilbride was hired for an ill-fated, two-year stint in 1999.
Like the Broncos, the Steelers will use plenty of no-huddle looks, likely more than they have in the past. Haley will also favor shorter, more high-percentage routes in an attempt to get the team’s receivers in better position for the catch-and-run plays that result for the bigger gains in today’s NFL.
The Steelers also figure to use their running backs far more in the passing game with Haley making the calls. Haley has also added a fullback to the formation.
With Rashard Mendenhall still trying to return to full speed after last season’s knee injury, the Steelers have also moved Isaac Redman into the role of lead running back.
Redman is the guy who rushed for 121 yards on just 17 carries — 7.1 yards-per-carry average – against the Broncos last January. The former undrafted rookie from Bowie State has taken the classic Steelers developmental track, having worked his way up the depth chart since his arrival in 2009.
And while wide receiver Mike Wallace was a holdout for most of the preseason, Haley still figures to open up the formation a bit to see if the Broncos solved their woes in the nickel (five defensive backs) and dime (six defensive backs) that Haley found calling the plays before he was fired by the Chiefs last season.
So, in the end, things may come down to which defense can settle in more quickly as each unit learns on the job about what exactly the opposing offense will have to offer.
Jeff Legwold: jlegwold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jeff_legwold
