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Roethlisberger says Steelers will keep going for two

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 24, 2015, 6:12 AM EDT

The Steelers went for two after their first two touchdowns to jump out to a 16-3 lead on Sunday, an unheard of approach in an NFL where coaches only go for two when they need the points late in games. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says they won’t change that approach.

“Oh, we’re going to keep doing it,” Roethlisberger said, via ESPN. “We don’t practice it this much to not do it. We practice it every single day. . . . I tried to tell you guys early on that we would do it, and I think you guys kind of didn’t quite believe it. But it’s something we feel comfortable with.”

The Steelers’ approach is smart: They’re 3-for-3 on two-point conversions while kicker Josh Scobee is 4-for-5 on one-point kicks. As long as they’re averaging 2.0 points per two-point conversion attempt and 0.8 points per one-point kick attempt, they’d be foolish not to keep going for two early in games.

The big question is why the Steelers are the only team going for two early in games. Every team should at least be thinking about going for two as the default approach after a touchdown, and for a team with a good goal line offense and/or a shaky kicker, going for two is the clearly superior choice. The Steelers should keep going for two, and other teams should follow suit.

interesting... however, despite the author's take, i don't think it's much of a mystery why teams opt for 1 instead of 2 more often than not.

I'm a percentages guy. I think with the extra point where it is now, the success percentage is around 93. That means, all things being equal, you need to be able to convert a two-point conversion at least 47% of the time to make it a good choice. Historically, I think the league average is just below that.

Gareth wrote:I'm a percentages guy. I think with the extra point where it is now, the success percentage is around 93. That means, all things being equal, you need to be able to convert a two-point conversion at least 47% of the time to make it a good choice. Historically, I think the league average is just below that.

yes, i remember some great threads at rrf where you weighed in on some questionable game decisions, that was some really good stuff! btw, great to see ya gareth! re converting at least 47% of the time for it to be a good choice, wouldn't a 47% rate make it a wash, i.e. no better than kicking? anyway, fwiw, here are some numbers regarding 2 point conversions....

currently 8.8% of extra point attempts this season have been 2-pointers, about double the frequency of last season... the 1-point conversion rate is 94.2% this season compared to a 99% average rate in previous years, for obvious reasons, while the 2-point conversion rate is 53.3%, which is higher than previous years, but no doubt skewed by the small sample size and the steelers' unsustainable 100% success rate. also interesting is how often teams have chosen to pass during 2-point conversions compared to the early 2000's, which mirrors the changed trends on 3rd and short.



here's a look at which teams went for 2-points the most dating back to the 2000 season, the rams come in at 6th having opted to go for 2 pointers 5.5% of the time...

Nice A-1. Maybe Steelers ripe for a % adjustment.
Even still, our Rams need to work extra hard on their goal line defensive packages.

Now if you think about it, that is coming off as rather assumptive and arrogant. We're going to keep going for 2 implies they are going to score multiple TD's on us.. Hear that D ?
Locker room pin-up Ram's ,, hold them to 0 F'n first downs. Let them know they played the Rams.

Of course the pink elephant in the room says that the decision always looks great after they convert the first TD. They miss the 1st, now theyre just about forced to try again to square it up. Different mind set than after you make the first as the 2nd becomes a house money sitch.
Also, lets see if Pittsburgh changes the stratagy if they are trailing 7-0

Bah, Martz was doing this years ago.

aeneas1 wrote:yes, i remember some great threads at rrf where you weighed in on some questionable game decisions, that was some really good stuff! btw, great to see ya gareth! re converting at least 47% of the time for it to be a good choice, wouldn't a 47% rate make it a wash

Always happy to see you post.

Yes - 47% would be a wash. My point was that would be the dividing point - anything better would make it a good bet. Depending, of course, on game/score situation.

I remember back at RRF bringing up the point that if you can make a 2-point conversion close to 50% of the time - the right play when you're down by 14, late in the game, and you score a touchdown, is to go for the two-pointer. If you make it, you've gained (down by 6 instead of 7). If you miss, you can try to make up for it by going for two again. It's the percentage play. Most of the people at RRF just couldn't grasp it.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... 3A.twitter

Extra extra points a concern for Rams this week

By Jim Thomas1

As if the Rams didn't have enough to worry about in defending Pittsburgh's top-ranked offense Sunday, the Steelers have another wrinkle in their attack.

Namely, coach Mike Tomlin likes the 2-point conversion. Entering this season, the Steelers were successful on 10 of 13 attempts at 2-point conversions since Tomlin took over in Pittsburgh in 2007.

This season, they're already three-for-three on 2-pointers.

"We feel confident in our ability to win that situation," Tomlin said on a conference call Wednesday with St. Louis reporters. "But those decisions are going to be made on a case-by-case basis depending on the circumstances of the game, what transpired as we got down the field, the match-ups, etc. We're not going to live in our fears, for sure."

Since the NFL instituted the 2-point conversion rule in 1994, most teams have used it as a method of playing catch-up in a game. But with the traditional (one point) extra point line of scrimmage moved back to the 15, making the kick the equivalent of a 33-yard field goal and not as automatic, the 2-pointer could be more in vogue.

That's been the case so far with Pittsburgh. In a season-opening 28-21 loss to New England, the Steelers went for two after scoring their first touchdown of the day trailing 21-3 in the third quarter. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's 2-point conversion pass to Markus Wheaton made it 21-11.

Last week against San Francisco, Pittsburgh made 2-point conversions on the first two TDs of the game, taking 8-0, and then 16-3 leads. (Both came on Roethlisberger passes.)

The Steelers initially lined up for a traditional extra point kick following the second touchdown but changed their minds after a neutral zone infraction against San Francisco. The penalty put the line of scrimmage at the 1-yard line once the Steelers decided to go for the 2-pointer.

The fact that Pittsburgh kicker Josh Scobee has been shaky so far this season might make it even more likely that the Steelers go for two points against the Rams. Scobee missed a pair of field goals against New England and missed an extra point against San Francisco.

"We gotta expect that they're going to attempt to go for two," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. "But teams don't typically repeat their 2-point plays, so they're creative and they come up with new ones. So we just have to kinda prepare our defense to be ready for anything."

Rams safety T.J. McDonald added: "That's a big play for us if we can stop it. But they do have some good plays down there. The biggest thing is your eyes in that situation. In that short distance, if your eyes are right, then you have a better chance of being successful."

Roethlisberger said the Steelers have worked on 2-point conversions during every practice, dating back to minicamps and OTAs in the spring.

"Every single practice, at the start of it, we do seven 2-point plays _ '1s' on '1s,' " he said.

Meaning starting offense vs. starting defense.

"So we've been practicing that forever," he said. "We're kind of used to it. It's become a habit for us. We go into a game determining which one's we're going to go for and which one's not. Then as the game goes on, we can change accordingly."

The Rams are nine for 11 on 2-point attempts since Fisher took over the team in 2012, but tried only one 2-pointer last season and none so far this season.