So here's something for you.

Your favorite team's offense might have a little bit of a surprise in store.

For all of us, really.

Morning to you, good.

Thursday morning, I'm Dan Kovachovich of D.K. Pittsburgh Sports,

and this is Daily Shot of Steelers.

It comes your way bright and early every weekday.

If you're into hockey and or baseball,

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the other two teams in town that I cover,

the Penguins and the Pirates.

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Rich Rebar, who writes for Warren Sharpe's football analysis website,

did some intensive research on running back usage in recent years.

Not the Steelers, the whole NFL.

I found it compelling partly because it helps

to explain the devaluing of the position around the league. By devaluing, I mean in the literal sense,

as in they're being paid less. Freebar showed that the rate of touches per game that the running

back position gets has gone down seven years

in a row, ranging from 56.7 in 2017 to 54.3 this past season. But it also showed, and this

was the part I was eager to share with you, that the receptions per game by the running backs

are the reason for that. They have also decreased seven years in a row. That range is from

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