Carter's Classroom: Artie Burns arises

The brightest spot of the Steelers' loss Sunday in Baltimore was how the defense allowed only one long touchdown catch-and-run and a two-minute drill that yielded a long field goal. Other than that, the defense shut down everything the Ravens had to offer.

Specifically, it was the result of an impressive performance by the secondary. The same secondary that has been rightly criticized for the past six or so years.

Let's take a closer look at the film:

BLITZING

Blitzing cornerbacks and safeties had not been a significant part of the 2016 defense, but that all changed Sunday. Watch below how Mike Mitchell's well-timed safety blitz pushed Joe Flacco into Anthony Chickillo, forcing a pass into traffic, where Burns intercepted it:

https://gfycat.com/EachGraveGermanspitz

Sometimes it's not that the defensive back gets a clean look at the quarterback, its the confusion that it can cause in the communication between the offensive line. Watch below how William Gay comes from the right side and takes away the right tackle. This forces the rest of the line to maintain the pocket and for the fullback to guess where the rest of the pressure is coming from.