The Pittsburgh Steelers defense isn't bent, it's broken. The record numbers given up to the New England Patriots this past weekend makes that obvious, but most worryingly for the Steelers is the lack of competent play at any level of the unit.
During their recent trips to the Super Bowl, the Steelers relied on dominant defenses that featured outstanding players on every level. Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith anchored the defensive line for years. James Farrior, Joey Porter and James Harrison set the tone for the linebackers, while Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu were fixtures on the backend.
Some of those players are still on the field for the Steelers, but none of them are playing to the level that determined how they will be viewed in history.
Dick LeBeau's defenses are accustomed to shutting down the run to such a degree that teams would abandon it completely. That hasn't been the case this year. The Patriots ran the ball 35 times for 197 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday. If there were one clear problem that needed to be addressed, the Steelers could potentially turn it around, but the issue is that nobody in the defensive front is performing to the level that was expected of them. There are a number of plays from Sunday that show this clearly.
Here, the Patriots come out with a tight end to the left and a lone runner in the backfield. Brady is under center and the Steelers are in their base 3-4 front.
A number of important things occur after the snap on this play. None is more critical than any other, because a number of defenders could have made a play to prevent what ultimately turns into a big run.
On the interior, the Patriots choose to double team Brett Keisel. As the red circle shows, Keisel isn't able to hold his ground or affect the double team negatively in any way. At this point in Keisel's career, he can't be expected to take on double teams consistently. Keisel wasn't supposed to be the focal point of the offense's attention, that was supposed to be nose tackle Steve McLendon.
McLendon doesn't draw a double team and he isn't aggressive enough to penetrate the line of scrimmage to affect Ridley in any way. Number 62 for the Patriots pushes McLendon backwards with ease, something that never happened to former nose tackle Casey Hampton in one on one situations. Similarly, in the blue circle, defensive end Cameron Heyward is cut down too easily. Heyward is taken to the ground so he is unable to play any part in stopping Ridley. He needed to show better awareness and balance, something Aaron Smith did throughout his career.
In spite of their poor play on the interior, the Steelers' outside linebackers still could have played this situation much better. Jarvis Jones, yellow circle, is being blocked only by a tight end, something that offenses would have been scared to do with James Harrison on the field. Jones never gets near Ridley as he is taken out of the play by Michael Hoomanwanui.
LaMarr Woodley, highlighted to the right of the image, is left unblocked. Woodley saunters out of his stance and focuses on Brady for the most part. He sidesteps and shifts his weight uncomfortably as if he didn't have full control of his body. Woodley should be much more aggressive here. He has to be wary of the bootleg play-action from Brady, but that doesn't mean that he should camp outside and wait for Brady to come to him.
Just last Thursday night, Harrison showed his former teammate how to handle this situation properly. While Woodley sauntered and slid away from the play after the snap, Harrison was immediately moving forward and urgently attacking the space the Miami Dolphins gave him on this play. He moves forward at the perfect angle to be able to play either the quarterback or the running back and he keeps his eyes on the ball all the time.
Instead of hustling down the line with the urgency and speed of Harrison, Woodley decides to give up on stopping the cutback before Ridley has even decided to cutback. He puts himself in a position to ultimately make a tackle 12 yards down the field when more aggressive play could have seen him stop Ridley for a one yard gain or less.
While Woodley is showing no effort, the Steelers linebackers are showing no discipline as both flow across the face of the center. It could simply be that Lawrence Timmons was expecting Heyward or Woodley to be there for the cutback, but it's unclear. Either way, Ridley was given that running lane back towards the middle of the field unopposed because the defensive line was unable to make their presence felt at all.
At this point, the Steelers have already given up too many yards, but Ryan Clark compounds the lack of quality play by missing a tackle in space. Clark is one of those players who was a key cog of previous Super Bowl runs, but has clearly lost his legs at this stage. In the past, Clark would have met Ridley in the hole and stopped him for a five yard gain or so. Now Clark is late to the hole and can't make the tackle when there is space for Ridley to work in.
Ridley is eventually taken down, but not until he gets a first down.
This defense is a far cry from the Steelers team that dominated blocks at the line of scrimmage, played aggressive, disciplined football at linebacker and had defensive backs who played the run as well as they covered receivers. The Steelers are longing for the past, but it may be a long time into the future before they can right this ship.
The PIttsburgh Steelers defense isn't bent, it's broken...and there is blame to go around for every single person on the field and on the sidelines.
Ray Rice's Struggles
Against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Ray Rice finished with 11 carries for just 17 yards. Rice wasn't heavily featured in the offense, as he finished the game with just 14 total touches. Many may be rushing to panic about Rice and question whether he is breaking down or not. Rice does have over 1,600 touches for his career, but he is also still just 26 years of age.
It's unlikely that he is slowing down and there was little to suggest his struggles against the Browns on Sunday were because of his inability.
Before this game, the Ravens placed starting left guard Kelechi Osemele on injured reserve, meaning that backup center A.Q. Shipley was pushed into the starting lineup. Shipley and Gino Gradkowski had competed for the starting center job before the season started. Although both are now starters, neither have been impressive on the field this year. In spite of the addition of Eugene Monroe at left tackle and the presence of Marshall Yanda at right guard, Gradkowski, Shipley and Michael Oher combined to drag down the Ravens running game and Rice's productivity.
On this play, the Ravens spread the field with two receivers to the right and one to the left. The Browns counter with a relatively aggressive formation, walking a safety down into the box, to create a seven man front.
The Ravens are looking to spring Rice free up the middle. It appears that Gradkowski at center doesn't understand his assignment as a triple team is created on the Browns' left defensive tackle. It would make sense for the Ravens to leave the defensive end to the top of the screen free because the run appeared to be designed to go up the middle, but it doesn't make any sense to leave the linebacker free.
Gradkowski isn't just late to the linebacker, he never comes off his block. That means Rice has nowhere to go with the linebacker turning him back towards the defensive end, Paul Kruger, before both defenders take him down. Rice actually turned a negative play into a two yard gain here.
The Ravens are in the pistol here, but the formation won't matter because Michael Oher completely blows his block against Barkevious Mingo at right tackle.
Oher appears to be unsure of whether he can block Mingo or let him go inside to another offensive lineman. That moment of hesitation allows Mingo a clean release into the pocket as nobody comes across to pick him up.
Mingo is directly in front of Rice when he gets the ball and he forces him to turn back inside to where another defender is coming clean. Rice has no change to get back to the line of scrimmage.
The Ravens offensive line is crippling their offense. They can't expect to repeat what they did last season with this unit upfront. Maybe Oher can return to form late in the season like he did last year, but even if he does there is no Osemele or Matt Birk on the inside. Those two were outstanding in the playoffs last year, Gradkowski and Shipley simply don't offer the same talent, even though Osemele had struggled on the field this year.
For anyone who has watched Andre Johnson closely in recent times, his outburst against the Indianapolis Colts won't have come as any real surprise. Johnson had three touchdowns and 229 yards on nine receptions against Vontae Davis and other members of the Colts secondary. His ability to get in the end zone and make big plays down the field had been in question by many, but the reality is that scheme and the quarterback were combining to limit Johnson before this point.
Case Keenum isn't a superstar, he still has to develop in some areas and needs more time on the field to establish himself. However, he has brought two things to the Texans. Unlike Matt Schaub, Keenum has a gunslinger mentality that compels him to push the ball down the field when given the opportunity.That and the Texans' alteration in their approach when he came into the lineup has reinvigorated the Texans' receivers.
It's unclear how big of a role Owen Daniels' absence is playing in the Texans' adjusted focus on offense, but regardless, their more expansive approach is working. Keenum is lining up in the shotgun a lot and the offense is less reliant on using play-action based off the running game. His ability, and willingness, to extend plays also gives the receivers more time to come free.
Instead of using a play from this past weekend to exhibit what Keenum is bringing to the offense, instead it's best to point out what he was doing two weeks before. This points to a consistency in Keenum's game. Consistency for Keenum is most important moving forward for he and Andre Johnson's relationship. Nobody is questioning if Andre can repeat that level of performance, at least they shouldn't be.
This play came on the very first drive of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Ultimately the pass was to a tight end and it was dropped, but it was still an accurate pass down the field that would have excited the receivers on the field.
Justin Houston stays home after the play action, so he is in a position to close on Keenum running into the opposite flat. Keenum can see Houston as he looks directly at DeAndre Hopkins running underneath. With Schaub, the ball would more than likely be passed at this point as the quarterback would look to rush it to Hopkins instead of trying to extend the play into the flat.
Keenum doesn't panic as Houston closes the space between them. He keeps his eyes downfield and looks back across the field to his other two options outside of Hopkins. Garrett Graham got caught up with a defender over the middle of the field, so he and Andre Johnson are too close together, Graham adjusts well to reverse field and run back to the opposing sideline. Keenum recognises this, but he doesn't force an impossible pass across his body without first setting his feet.
With Houston closing on him, he has to be quick if he wants to throw with his feet under him.
Keenum sets his feet and throws a perfect pass to Graham down the sideline. Graham makes the catch difficult on himself by not reading the flight of the ball perfectly so he is unable to come up with what should have been an easy touchdown pass.
This play was very similar to one of Andre Johnson's touchdown passes that he caught over Antoine Bethea. Keenum lets the ball go back across the field with a defender in his face, but he lays it out for Johnson to go and get it even though Johnson isn't open when he lets it go. This could be called lucky, but you could also argue that Keenum sees Bethea is turned the wrong way and understands the matchup advantage.
The poise, confidence and athleticism that Keenum showed off on these plays permeated through his play for the rest of the Chiefs game and against the Colts. He's still not perfect, as his pocket presence really needs to improve, but he should continue to do enough to allow Hopkins and Johnson to flourish.
Quick Thoughts From the Tape
Revisiting Jake Locker
Before his hip injury, Jake Locker was playing outstanding football. Something that I highlighted previously. Since his hip injury, Locker hasn't looked the same but he hasn't been dramatically worse either. Against the 49ers, he was obviously still hampered by the lingering effects of his rehab, but he played relatively well despite the outcome of the game.
On Sunday against the St. Louis Rams after their bye, the Titans came away with a victory even though Locker had a terrible day statistically. Locker threw two bad interceptions, but much of his other struggles could be attributed to the Rams defense. That defense couldn't stop the Titans running game and was impressive against the pass with pressure upfront and good coverage on the backend.
Kellen Clemens' Consistency
Zac Stacy is the primary reason why the St. Louis Rams offense is playing better now than it was earlier in the season. His impact has been huge. That said, the Rams wouldn't have been able to function without Sam Bradford if Clemens hadn't answered their call. Clemens has been very consistent managing the pocket and making good decisions, but he is still an inconsistent passer.
The Titans gave up underneath routes too easily on Sunday, so Clemens was able to keep the offense on track that way, but he was less consistent on throws down the field. Better coached defenses should be able to force him into more difficult throws.
The importance of Containing the Jets Defensive Line
The New York Jets defense has been inconsistent this year, much like their rookie quarterback. However, it's clear that the Jets defense is inconsistent because of its over-reliance on the ability of its defensive linemen. Against Drew Brees, the Jets defensive line took over the game and pressured Brees constantly. A week before against the Bengals, they were a non-factor.
They were a non-factor in that game because Andy Dalton got rid of the ball quickly and the Bengals have an excellent offensive line. A few weeks previous, the Pittsburgh Steelers neutralised the defensive line with outstanding play calling from offensive coordinator Todd Haley. For any team that isn't smart with its play calling or for any team that doesn't have an outstanding offensive line, the Jets will be a major problem on defense.
