Carter's Classroom: Pressure masks mistakes in secondary

The Steelers' defense did a solid job in the first two weeks of the season with limiting their opponents' opportunities for big plays without the use of many blitz packages. While it only yielded one sack, the defense only allowed one touchdown in their first two performances, giving the offense a good chance of winning the game. But when that plan of not blitzing as much went awry against the Eagles, we saw a much more aggressive defense Sunday against the Chiefs.

This film room gives a more comprehensive look at the defense and how the blitz got to quarterback Alex Smith.



COLLAPSE THE POCKET

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One thing that is important to remember about the blitz is how it can mask problems in the secondary and not present easy opportunities for big plays. On this play, there had to be some sort of communication breakdown in the secondary as William Gay was running between covering two receivers in his zone. Either one would have been a solid target for Smith to throw to in this situation and could have yielded a big play.

From this view, it would be a solid guess that the mistake was on safety Jordan Dangerfield, who went with a crossing receiver to the middle of the field, which opened up his deep half coverage on the play, while Gay's responsibility looks to have been the hook/curl zone on his side of the field.

All that did not matter thanks to the efforts of Cameron Heyward,  who drove the left guard back into the pocket and forced Smith to move from his launch spot almost as soon as he got there. You cannot really tell from this angle, but from a closer view, you would be able to see how Smith never had a chance to see the open receivers on this play because as soon as he finished his drop back, his full attention went to how his guard was being driven back into him and that he needed to quickly find space. While Vince Williams got the sack, it was a team effort led by Heyward that got this result.

WIN THE ONE-ON-ONE MATCHUPS

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Here is yet another example of when pressure can takeaway the problem of an exposed secondary. The Chiefs' receiver who lined in the slot runs a simple seam route that could have led to a big play on their opening drive, but Heyward again drives through the right guard and creates problems for Smith. This time he gets the sack and saves the play.

Notice how the Steelers only rushed four players, and while two out of the three passing options for Smith were taken away, there was still the potential for a big play. Generating pressure with only four pass rushers allows for a better concentration of coverage schemes.

OVERLOAD FOR OPPORTUNITIES

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When you blitz from different looks and move around defenders, it not only forces the quarterback to have to think about what is going on, but the offensive line, as well. Watch the lineup positioning on this play and how Lawrence Timmons being lined up over the center creates a problem. While Timmons is there just for a short zone coverage, the center looks at him for just one second to make sure the Steelers' best linebacker isn't blitzing through the A-gap.

That one second was just enough for rookie defensive tackle Javon Hargrave to twist into the A-gap and get past the center for immediate pressure on Smith. The right guard should have helped out by putting a hand on Hargrave to at least slow him down, but the Steelers were still bringing solid heat with L.J. Fort coming down on that same guard and Arthur Moats winning his battle with the right tackle. This all led to an errant pass that could have turned into an interception for Ross Cockrell.

The old saying is that great coverage leads to sacks and great pressure leads to interceptions. Put both together and you have a great mix to create turnovers and be a problem for any offense\. The Steelers will need to tighten up their coverage responsibilities, but with the success of the defensive front, you could see more aggressiveness and big play opportunities.