https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/09/20/pittsburgh-steelers-best-defense-afc
Nice article.
In 2015, Keith Butler, one of the NFL’s most aggressive and creative defensive coordinators, was hearing from his Steelers colleagues that he should push even harder. Install more of our designer blitzes and hybrid coverages, the assistant coaches said. We could have the most textured and complex defense in football.
Butler was unsure. Pittsburgh’s blitz-intensive, matchup-zone scheme was undoubtedly great, but inside linebackers coach Jerry Olsavsky, outside linebackers coach Joey Porter and secondary coach Carnell Lake had all played for the Black and Gold in the 1990s and 2000s. To them, the scheme was second nature. But not yet to the twentysomethings who had to execute it now.
Butler likes to tell people that “good coaching is not about what you can call, it's about what you can call that your players can do.” Entering 2016, Butler’s lineup included a greener-than-grass secondary, with rookies Artie Burns (corner) and Sean Davis (safety) joining career backups Ross Cockrell (corner) and dime package player Robert Golden (safety).
In that training camp, Butler had talked up the various disguises and pressure tactics the Steelers would employ. But when the season opened on a Monday night at Washington, the Steelers played vanilla zone coverage snap after snap. That continued for the next several weeks. Watching their film was like enrolling in a 400-level calculus class and getting lectures on basic arithmetic.
Butler had a plan, though. Be simple, get the young guys comfortable and playing fast, and eventually introduce more of those time-tested Steeler pressure packages. As for the even more advanced stuff that the assistants had pined for? It’d have to wait.
The plan worked. Butler’s callow defense survived early on, allowing 22.9 points and 380 yards a game in its first nine outings. In the last seven games, it gave up just 17.3 point and 294 yards, which both ranked fourth in the NFL over that span. The supposedly offensive-driven Steelers rode an old-school heavy ground game and smashmouth defense to the AFC Championship Game.
That was where Butler realized they had to change. That night, they showed Tom Brady a few different looks before the snap but wound up dropping into basic zone coverages after it. Many of the coverages had eight defenders instead of the usual seven. The Texans had had success against New England with eight-man coverages the week before, but the Texans also had safeties and corners who could match up. Sitting back in the elementary zones they’d begun the season with, the Steelers were picked apart and Brady finished with 374 yards passing.
Months later, Butler told reporters that in order to beat the champions, the Steelers had to embrace more matchup coverages. They’re not the first AFC team to carve an identity around beating New England. The Broncos did the same during the John Fox era, prioritizing players whom they felt could match up against Brady and his receivers. That meant man-to-man corners and pass rushers.
Heading into 2017, the Steelers believed they had a quality budding pass rusher in Bud Dupree, their first-round pick from 2015. But with James Harrison aging, they needed another. In spring, they drafted T.J. Watt in the first round. But that was the only significant offseason move. When Butler talked about matching up, observers were incredulous because the Steelers still had the same zone-based corners whom Brady had torched. Maybe 2016's first-rounder Artie Burns could become a true cover artist, but he alone wouldn’t be enough. It’s one thing to talk about more matchup coverages; it’s another to do it. Good coaching, remember, is about calling things your players can actually do.
Then came a gift from the heavens. Or, to be exact, Cleveland. Joe Haden. The longtime Brown was released Aug. 30, and, within eight hours, signed by Steelers GM Kevin Colbert, who almost never dips into the expensive free-agent market. Now not only did the Steelers have a potential No. 1 man corner (when healthy, Haden, 28, is still that), they had secondary depth. A subtly declining William Gay could have his role reduced to part-time slot duties. Sean Davis wouldn’t have to moonlight in the slot again; he could now focus fulltime on playing safety. When you add a top-level piece to your secondary, everyone’s job gets easier.
Remember, Haden joined the same defense that, even without the fully expanded matchup coverages, improved down the stretch in 2016. Through two games in 2017, that defense has looked great. Watt has the dip-and-bend ability of a bona fide star pass rusher. The front line of Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt (expected back soon from a biceps injury) and nimble-footed 305-pounder Javon Hargrave is destructive. Behind them, there’s no faster linebacker than Ryan Shazier. And his running mate, first time starter and fifth-year veteran Vince Williams, has been playing at a much greater speed.
It’s reasonable to talk about Pittsburgh becoming the best defense in the AFC. With such diverse talent, they’ve started showing the schematic expansion that Butler’s assistants desired. In Week 1 against the Browns, they played almost as much man coverage as zone coverage, alternating between variations of each. Against the Vikings in Week 2, it was almost all two-high zone in the first half . . . with the added wrinkle of cornerback blitzes. You don’t see many true two-deep safety coverages behind a corner blitz. Not only did the Steelers employ that, they also disguised the coverage, making it look like man but converting it late into zone. (“Cover 2 trap” is the tactic’s formal name.)
The inside linebacker blitzes that have long hallmarked Pittsburgh’s scheme also remain. Last Sunday, Shazier or Williams, depending on who was lined up away from the running back’s side, frequently attacked up the middle, with an outside edge player dropping back, creating a blitz on one side but leaving enough bodies for a full seven-man coverage behind it.
The Steelers have been young and fast for a few years. But now they’re young, fast, versatile and complex. Improvement is inevitable, and there's no ceiling in sight.
Nice article.
In 2015, Keith Butler, one of the NFL’s most aggressive and creative defensive coordinators, was hearing from his Steelers colleagues that he should push even harder. Install more of our designer blitzes and hybrid coverages, the assistant coaches said. We could have the most textured and complex defense in football.
Butler was unsure. Pittsburgh’s blitz-intensive, matchup-zone scheme was undoubtedly great, but inside linebackers coach Jerry Olsavsky, outside linebackers coach Joey Porter and secondary coach Carnell Lake had all played for the Black and Gold in the 1990s and 2000s. To them, the scheme was second nature. But not yet to the twentysomethings who had to execute it now.
Butler likes to tell people that “good coaching is not about what you can call, it's about what you can call that your players can do.” Entering 2016, Butler’s lineup included a greener-than-grass secondary, with rookies Artie Burns (corner) and Sean Davis (safety) joining career backups Ross Cockrell (corner) and dime package player Robert Golden (safety).
In that training camp, Butler had talked up the various disguises and pressure tactics the Steelers would employ. But when the season opened on a Monday night at Washington, the Steelers played vanilla zone coverage snap after snap. That continued for the next several weeks. Watching their film was like enrolling in a 400-level calculus class and getting lectures on basic arithmetic.
Butler had a plan, though. Be simple, get the young guys comfortable and playing fast, and eventually introduce more of those time-tested Steeler pressure packages. As for the even more advanced stuff that the assistants had pined for? It’d have to wait.
The plan worked. Butler’s callow defense survived early on, allowing 22.9 points and 380 yards a game in its first nine outings. In the last seven games, it gave up just 17.3 point and 294 yards, which both ranked fourth in the NFL over that span. The supposedly offensive-driven Steelers rode an old-school heavy ground game and smashmouth defense to the AFC Championship Game.
That was where Butler realized they had to change. That night, they showed Tom Brady a few different looks before the snap but wound up dropping into basic zone coverages after it. Many of the coverages had eight defenders instead of the usual seven. The Texans had had success against New England with eight-man coverages the week before, but the Texans also had safeties and corners who could match up. Sitting back in the elementary zones they’d begun the season with, the Steelers were picked apart and Brady finished with 374 yards passing.
Months later, Butler told reporters that in order to beat the champions, the Steelers had to embrace more matchup coverages. They’re not the first AFC team to carve an identity around beating New England. The Broncos did the same during the John Fox era, prioritizing players whom they felt could match up against Brady and his receivers. That meant man-to-man corners and pass rushers.
Heading into 2017, the Steelers believed they had a quality budding pass rusher in Bud Dupree, their first-round pick from 2015. But with James Harrison aging, they needed another. In spring, they drafted T.J. Watt in the first round. But that was the only significant offseason move. When Butler talked about matching up, observers were incredulous because the Steelers still had the same zone-based corners whom Brady had torched. Maybe 2016's first-rounder Artie Burns could become a true cover artist, but he alone wouldn’t be enough. It’s one thing to talk about more matchup coverages; it’s another to do it. Good coaching, remember, is about calling things your players can actually do.
Then came a gift from the heavens. Or, to be exact, Cleveland. Joe Haden. The longtime Brown was released Aug. 30, and, within eight hours, signed by Steelers GM Kevin Colbert, who almost never dips into the expensive free-agent market. Now not only did the Steelers have a potential No. 1 man corner (when healthy, Haden, 28, is still that), they had secondary depth. A subtly declining William Gay could have his role reduced to part-time slot duties. Sean Davis wouldn’t have to moonlight in the slot again; he could now focus fulltime on playing safety. When you add a top-level piece to your secondary, everyone’s job gets easier.
Remember, Haden joined the same defense that, even without the fully expanded matchup coverages, improved down the stretch in 2016. Through two games in 2017, that defense has looked great. Watt has the dip-and-bend ability of a bona fide star pass rusher. The front line of Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt (expected back soon from a biceps injury) and nimble-footed 305-pounder Javon Hargrave is destructive. Behind them, there’s no faster linebacker than Ryan Shazier. And his running mate, first time starter and fifth-year veteran Vince Williams, has been playing at a much greater speed.
It’s reasonable to talk about Pittsburgh becoming the best defense in the AFC. With such diverse talent, they’ve started showing the schematic expansion that Butler’s assistants desired. In Week 1 against the Browns, they played almost as much man coverage as zone coverage, alternating between variations of each. Against the Vikings in Week 2, it was almost all two-high zone in the first half . . . with the added wrinkle of cornerback blitzes. You don’t see many true two-deep safety coverages behind a corner blitz. Not only did the Steelers employ that, they also disguised the coverage, making it look like man but converting it late into zone. (“Cover 2 trap” is the tactic’s formal name.)
The inside linebacker blitzes that have long hallmarked Pittsburgh’s scheme also remain. Last Sunday, Shazier or Williams, depending on who was lined up away from the running back’s side, frequently attacked up the middle, with an outside edge player dropping back, creating a blitz on one side but leaving enough bodies for a full seven-man coverage behind it.
The Steelers have been young and fast for a few years. But now they’re young, fast, versatile and complex. Improvement is inevitable, and there's no ceiling in sight.
