Merril Hoge rips poor route running, blocking from Steelers

You’ll have to forgive Merril Hoge for using such colorful language in comparing the Steelers’ blocking skills to turtles.

Specifically, Hoge, the former Pittsburgh running back, said Wednesday that the Steelers tight ends use techniques employed by turtles during romance.

What?

“It is the only term I can think of,” Hoge said in an interview with Pittsburgh’s 102.5 DVE. “But our tight ends look like two turtles humping when you’re blocking. Because you’re not blocking anybody.”

OK, you can’t unsee that image that just flashed in your head. But the brutal description is apt for a team that fancies itself as a playoff contender, yet loses to the worst franchises in the NFL. And, they do so at home.

Maybe the Steelers can cleanse themselves of such images when they play Saturday against the Colts in Indianapolis. Pittsburgh lost last Thursday to the lowly Patriots, 21-18. The week before, the Steelers lost at home to the Cardinals, 24-10. Both the Cards and Patriots had won all of two games each before leaving Acrisure Stadium with victories.

Hoge wasn’t kind in describing Steelers receivers. He’s often criticized George Pickens for a lack of effort. On Wednesday, he unleashed on the entire group.

“It might be the worst group of route runners in the NFL, OK,” Hoge said. “Half the time, they quit on routes. The pick that (Mitch) Trubisky threw… (Pat) Freiermuth made a move and just quit.”

Defensive Alerts on @TNFPrimeVision with @NextGenStats identifies the threat of the blitz on Jabrill Peppers' interception of Mitchell Trubisky.

The Patriots rushed only four, yet Kyle Dugger was able to get home in 2.5 seconds.

Watch Live: https://t.co/1OMRlplD2C 📺 pic.twitter.com/zIDMa46Qvq

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 8, 2023

Hoge was referring to the pass Trubisky threw Freiermuth’s way at the end of the first quarter. It looked like a really bad pass. But if a receiver stops his route, especially when the QB faces a blitz, there’s no such thing as a pretty pass. Jabrill Peppers picked it off and returned the interception to the Steelers 11. Two plays later, the Patriots upped their lead to 14-3. The Steelers never truly recovered from the New England, first-half onslaught. Bailey Zappe, who started ahead of a benched Mac Jones, led the Patriots to a 21-3 first-half cushion. New England scored more points in the first two quarters than they did in their previous three games combined.

Hoge also indicated that rookie tight end Darnell Washington is having issues blocking. So he wasn’t solely focused on the play of Freiermuth.

Hoge played for the Steelers from 1987-93. After football, he became an NFL analyst. But the former Steeler isn’t the only person of note criticizing Pittsburgh receivers. Coach Mike Tomlin also mentioned this week that it’s time for Pickens to drop the sideline outbursts.

“It’s a problem because it’s not solution-oriented,” Tomlin said earlier this week at his press conference. “You know we are all frustrated, but we got to manage our frustrations in a professional, mature way. When it’s not done that way, it’s not necessarily pushing us to solutions.”