PITTSBURGH (AP) — No team threw it more times than the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018. Only the Green Bay Packers ran it less often.This is the balance offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner talked about when he was promoted to replace Todd Haley in January 2018?Well Womens JuJu Smith-Schuster Jersey , kind of. Fichtner doesn’t see balance as a specific ratio but a mindset.“It’s the ability to do what you want to do as often as you want, if you can sustain it,” Fichtner said Thursday as the Steelers prepared for Sunday’s season opener in New England. “To me, balance is getting first downs and finding out a way to eke out 10 yards in three plays. I mean, I don’t necessarily think it’s run or pass. We’ve got to get it done some way or another and that’s the job.”Maybe, but Fichtner allows the way the Steelers go about getting that job done in 2019 might change.Consider 37-year-old Ben Roethlisberger on board. His 675 passing attempts in 2018 marked the fourth-highest total in league history. His 5,132 yards passing led the NFL. His 34 touchdown passes marked a career high.Yet he’s aware Pittsburgh can’t become too one-dimensional, even in a league that is passing now more than ever.“Having the ability to change is always huge,” Roethlisberger said. “Maybe not for a whole season, but for a game or a little run when teams are expecting one thing and you can just completely flip the script and become dominant in another factor, another phase of the game.”Pressed for specifics on what might change, Fichtner is vague.“I think for certain, every year, your team is different,” Fichtner said. “If (the plan is) scoring less points, protecting the ball more, so be it. If it’s throwing it more, so be it. If it’s running it more, so be it. At the end of the day it’s about finding a way to win for our team and I think our guys are really into that right now.”Consider it a byproduct of an offseason that included the departures of wide receiver Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. Brown and his 169 targets were shipped to Oakland in March after a very public falling out with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and Roethlisberger.Bell signed a free-agent deal with the New York Jets after sitting out all of 2018 when he opted not to sign his franchise tender, a decision that thrust young running backs James Conner and Jaylen Samuels into prominent roles and perhaps forced Fichtner to rely on Roethlisberger even more than he wanted.Inexperience in the running game won’t be an issue this fall. Conner made the Pro Bowl after racking up 1,470 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns after becoming the de facto starter in 2018. Samuels, a rookie fifth-round pick a year ago after a collegiate career at N.C. State where he set the school record for receptions while working as a hybrid tight end/running back, filled in capably when Conner was slowed by injury in December.Little known at the time, Samuel ran for 142 yards and added 30 more yards receiving in a 17-10 victory over New England in just his second NFL start. Asked if he put up such big numbers because the Patriots were keying on Roethlisberger, Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster, Samuels nodded.“I’m pretty sure,” Samuels said. “That would be my game plan if I was playing against us. I’m pretty sure that’s what it was and when I had the opportunity to make a play, I just tried to make a play.”Those opportunities should present themselves more often in 2019.Fichtner envisions a scenario where he finds a way to have Conner and Samuels in the backfield at the same time.“When they’re both healthy, you might be able to use them both to their strengths that they bring to the table,” Fichtner said. “And Jaylen is very accomplished as a possible route runner.”There are also plans to give Conner a breather when necessary Womens T. J. Watt Jersey , a luxury Pittsburgh didn’t have in the opening weeks of 2018.“Last year at this point in time, Jaylen had never lined up in a game and taken a real snap and run the ball,” Fichtner said. “We took him as a rookie. He never played running back. He was a tight end/’fun’ player. … He never got the ball handed to him.”Samuels shed 10 pounds in the offseason to be help with his quickness and has worked diligently to become better in pass protection, an admitted weakness as a rookie. Conner is intent on proving he can make it through 16 games healthy after dealing with injuries in each of his first two seasons. Together, Conner and Samuels know they will play a key role in diversifying Pittsburgh’s offense.“It’s our job in the running back room to make the run game go,” Conner said. “We’ve just got to go play our game and adapt. If they try to take something away, we’ve got to have an answer.”An answer that — no matter what game plan Fichtner comes up with in a given week — will require Pittsburgh to be more careful with the ball. Roethlisberger’s 16 picks led the NFL and the Steelers turned it over 26 times in all, the seventh-highest total in the league.“We protect it,” Fichtner said, “We’ll be a tough out.”NOTES: S Sean Davis (ankle) did not practice on Thursday. LB Mark Barron was held out due to a coach’s decision. Here is what has come before:Prelim - “Colbert Specials” of the 2018 Draft ClassPart 1 – Breaking Down the Steeler Needs at CBPart 2 – Breaking Down the Steeler Needs at ILBPart 3 – Breaking Down the Steeler Needs at EDGEPart 4 – Breaking Down the Steeler Needs at WRPart 5 - Breaking Down the Steeler Needs at RBPart 6 - Breaking Down the Steeler Needs at SAFETYPart 7 - Breaking Down the Steeler Needs at TEPart 8 - Breaking Down the Steeler Needs on the OLTo end the series we will examine what is simultaneously the strongest part of this year’s draft class and one of the Steelers’ lowest priorities: defensive line.Over the past few years BTSC has discussed the evolution of the Pittsburgh D-Line many times, explaining how the team used to play a 2-gapping “Okie” system where the front three DT’s occupy four to five offensive linemen, thereby keeping the linebackers free to fly around and make plays; how and why that shifted to a 1-gapping “Eagle” system in which the DT’s use penetration to disrupt opponents, with the linebackers cleaning up through the chaos; and how the rise of spread offenses has effectively removed the Nose Tackle from our defense for 60-70% of all snaps, making the 2-4-5 a/k/a 4-2-5 a/k/a 4-3 Over/Under formation almost as much of the “base” as the nominal 3-4. I love all that X’s and O’s stuff but this isn’t the time and place. Bottom Line: The Steelers use 2陆 “starters” on the Defensive Line, and have three all- or fringe-all-pro caliber players to fill those slots. In other words, barring injury the team has more star power at the position than it can fully use.That isn’t to say we should just ignore the position. The Defensive Line’s importance to a defense can’t be overstated; DL’s get a bigger share of bumps, bruises and joint manipulations than almost anyone else; the resulting injuries and exhaustion makes depth a bigger concern than most other positions; and teams that don’t have five Size XL monsters will be helpless on short yardage plays. Plus there’s the fact that much of Pittsburgh’s 2018 depth at the position will be free agents in 2019. So let’s start by looking at the current roster:Cam Heyward. Team captain, team leader, fan favorite and star. Signed to a long term contract.Stephon Tuitt. Maybe even better than Heyward when he’s healthy. Also signed to a long term contract.Javon Hargrave [Final Year of Rookie Deal]. The 2016 Round 3 pick that BTSC would have picked in Round 1. Were we ever happy when his name got called! And were we ever right. Came into his own as a budding star in 2018 that opposing coaches expressly warned about in pregame press conferences.Tyson Alualu [Unrestricted Free Agent]. A 2010 1st-round bust for the Jaguars who has been a superb backup here in Pittsburgh. Will he get starter time and money elsewhere?L.T. Walton [Unrestricted Free Agent]. Pittsburgh chose him in the sixth round of the 2015 as a boom-or-bust athlete. He boomed enough to raise hopes and easily secure a backup slot, but in 2018 was the clear #5 behind the three starters and Alualu. Arguably the #6 behind McCullers too, though Big Dan has more of a specialty job.Dan McCullers [Unrestricted Free Agent]. The eternal “if only.” He finally took a step up in 2018, at least enough to fight off a challenge from 7th Round pick Joshua Frazier (now out of the league). His job is to be an immovable object in short yardage situations. He’s been occasionally effective at doing so.Conor Sheehy. A hardnosed, blue-collar powerlifting champion who’s a tweener for the NFL at 6’4” and 295 lb. The Packers took him in 2018 as a UDFA. If he makes a major Sophomore Leap he will be ready to fight for some kind of deep backup role, but ‘major’ is the operative word.Lavon Hooks. A 2016 UDFA for the Packers with good size (6’3”, 310 lbs.) and decent athleticism, but he is running out of chances. He hasn’t managed to work up to Journeyman status yet but he is still young enough to have legitimate dreams that things might someday click.That is a well-stacked roster! The only issue is contracts. The top three are all you could reasonably hope for and one assumes that Hargrave will get the extension he’s earned for 2020 and beyond. No issue there. But literally all the established depth (three out of three) consists of free agents who could depart. It seems more likely that one or two will sign a relatively inexpensive, short term deal but who knows? In an case, those are the men a draft pick could legitimately hope to challenge so let’s look at the available talent.Or maybe not just yet.How do you describe what may prove to be the best Defensive Line class in living memory, and maybe the best ever? I am going to start by disappointing all the draftniks who read my articles. Sanity demands that we move all the players who deserve to get picked in Rounds 1-3 onto an Ain’t Gonna Happen List. They are too much in demand by other teams; the Steelers would get too little bang for the buck compared to other positions; and there are just too many of them to spend all the space it would take for descriptions.The Ain’t Gonna Happen ListDL Ed Oliver, Houston. 6’2” JuJu Smith-Schuster Jersey White , 290 lbs. Top 10 talent.DL Quinnen Williams, Alabama. 6’3”, 285 lbs. Top 10 talent.DL Jeffery Simmons, Miss. St. 6’4”, 300 lbs. Top 10-15 talent.DL/EDGE Rashan Gary, Michigan. 6’5”, 283 lbs. Top 10-15 talent.DL/NT Dre’Mont Jones, Ohio State. 6’2”, 295 lbs. Round 1 talent.DL Jerry Tillery, Notre Dame. 6’7”, 305 lbs. Round 1 talent leavened by effort concerns.DL/NT Christian Wilkins, Clemson. 6’4”, 315 lbs. Round 1 talent.DL Terry Beckner, Jr., Missouri. 6’4”, 295 lbs. Round 2-3 talent.DL Isaiah Buggs, Alabama. 6’5”, 286 lbs. Round 2-3 talent.DL/NT Dexter Lawrence, Clemson. 6’4”, 350 lbs. Round 2-3 talent leavened by a PED suspension.DL Charles Omenihu, Texas. 6’6”, 275 lbs. Round 2-3 talent.DL Gerald Willis, Miami. 6’3”, 300 lbs. Round 2-3 talent.DL/NT Renell Wren, Arizona St. 6’4”, 295 lbs. Round 2-3 talent.Film watchers could easily fall in love with any of those players and the Steelers might certainly pick one if he fell to the point where the BPA bargain was too rich to ignore (or of course if there is something going on behind the scenes that we do not know about). But it just isn’t worth the brain cells and article space to discuss them.This next group includes the ones that Nick Farabaugh and I have identified as team fits for one reason or another. The basic criterion is someone who might be available in Round 6 or 7 even if a neutral evaluator would expect him to get picked in Round 3-5. “Unlikely” is okay by us, just not “absurd.” Their Pittsburgh-specific value will of course change depending on who the team (re)signs in free agency. If both Alualu and L.T. Walton depart, the F.O. will be looking for length and explosiveness; i.e., lesser versions of Tuitt and Heyward. If Big Dan McCullers is gone the team will want an immovable object for short yardage situations. Etc.The Options On The BTSC Big Board: [fn]5:01 DL Zach Allen, Boston College. 6’5” https://www.thesteelerslockerroom.com/authentic-juju-smith-schuster-jersey , 282 lbs. You’ve got to love tough guy grinders who stand up Offensive Tackles in the run game and beat them on passing downs with grit, persistence and an array of subtle but nasty hand fighting and leverage techniques. Alas, but he’s a pure, Day Two DE for a 4-3 team, without the bend and overall athleticism needed to play OLB in Pittsburgh. The grade would be even lower if there was no chance he could bulk up into a smaller Defensive Tackle. 5:01 DL Demarcus Christmas, Florida St. 6’4”, 308 lbs. A solid player with the sort of explosiveness the Steelers have been favoring.5:01 DL/NT Daylon Mack, Texas A&M. 6’0”, 320 lbs. A 5-star recruit who fizzled and underperformed through his college career until he suddenly started to get it in the back end of 2018. A dazzling and dominant performance at the Shrine Game started buzz to the effect that he’s finally arrived. Hidden as he is behind the obvious superstar prospects who will go on Days 1 and 2, could Daylon Mack be the defensive line steal of the draft?5:01 DL Anthony Nelson, Iowa. 6’7”, 271 lbs. A good looking 4-3 anchor-type DE who will fit some other team a lot better than Pittsburgh, where he’d be asked to bulk up into a mobile Defensive Tackle rather than a Size XL Edge player. His biggest flaws are a lack of bend and ability to play in space, both of which make him unsuited to the 3-4 OLB role. 5:01 DL/NT Olive Sagapolu, Wisconsin. 6’2”, 345 lbs. A mid-round immovable object.6:01 DL/NT Greg Gaines, Washington. 6’1”, 322 lbs. An immovable object with good strength and leverage but no real pass rush ability.6:16 DL/NT Edwin Alexander, LSU. 6’3”, 339 lbs. A massive, fairly explosive NT who fills up space but greatly needs to work on his pad level.6:16 DL/NT Khairi Clark, Florida. 6’1”, 315 lbs. ability off the line. His ability to bull rush may earn a roster spot somewhere but he has massive work to do if he ever wants to be more than a gap plugging run stuffer.6:16 DL/NT Khalen Saunders, W. Illinois. 6’2”, 320 pounds. Want a late round flier who’s on the board for a very good reason having nothing to do with football? Watch this and you won’t even think of disagreeing. Last time I saw something like that it was Jason Pierre-Paul at the Combine, and he turned out okay...6:16 DL Daniel Wise, Kansas. 6’3”, 290 lbs. A pure penetrator with good 1st-step explosion but questionable ability to hold up if that trick fails. A standout at the Shrine Game where he regularly beat up on Centers and Guards alike.