Steelers

Carter's Classroom: All that an NFL team shouldn't be

Nov 21, 2016 • 7:54 pm

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The Browns are the representation of everything NFL teams should not be, and the Steelers did just enough against them to end a four-game losing streak.

This game brought out a pass rush and a running game that the Steelers have been trying to achieve for a long time. If there is any team that the Steelers could use as a springboard to see said success, it's the Browns.

We take a look at some of the bigger moments of this game.

FINALLY

After missing the first three games of the season and not scoring a touchdown in the five games that followed, Le'Veon Bell has now scored a touchdown in back-to-back games.

Watch below as the offensive line goes all-out, crashing from the left side of the line of scrimmage to give Bell the lane he needs to score.

You can see Ramon Foster and Alejandro Villanueva crack down the line as Jesse James comes from the backfield to act as a lead blocker of sorts. David DeCastro's pull down the line creates the backside seal Bell needs to have all the room to score:

https://vimeo.com/192365946

Sure, it took quite a few tries to get to this point, but this goes back to Mike Tomlin's philosophy of the team not living in its fears. Despite looking sloppy throughout this game, the team was able to muster enough for just one play to reward Tomlin's faith.

The unfortunate part is that this was the only touchdown the offense would produce throughout the game. We will get into that later in the week, but for now we should take a look at the defense, which was under a ton of pressure after being gashed last week by the Cowboys.

BLITZ QUESTIONS

The Browns' offense managed to make the game interesting late with the touchdown pass below. Notice how at the bottom of your screen you see Gary Barnidge lined up and how he matches with James Harrison in a back pedal. This is an immediate read of zone defense by Josh McCown and a good pass for a score:

https://vimeo.com/192366040

While this touchdown occurred on a call of a corner blitz by William Gay, it does not negate the impact that these blitzes bring to the upside of the defense.

I wanted to look at this play specifically because of the way this play was drawn up. Watch how clean Gay is as he comes into the backfield, that's because the Steelers kept throwing different looks at the Browns all day. That was the most important factor in how the Steelers totaled an NFL season-high eight sacks in a game.

Blitzing does create risks that can be capitalized on, as the Steelers saw last week when Dez Bryant caught a major touchdown when they called a safety blitz. But this defense has to take risks, a reality that Keith Butler knows all too well, and did a great job of managing when and where to take those risks Sunday.

OLD SCHOOL PRESSURE

Harrison made his reputation in the NFL by bullying opponents, being stronger than them and forcing his way into the backfield through his ability to win one-on-one matchups.

That's what makes the play below such a vintage Harrison kind of play:

https://vimeo.com/192365989

Watch how he fires off the ball, and by the time he engages the Browns' lineman, he has already put himself in a great attack stance to control Cody Kessler's lone protector on Harrison's side.

Harrison gets lower than the lineman, keeping his hands inside of the hands of his opponent, and proceeds to push him back into the quarterback. That's the textbook example of how to win a pass rush battle.

It was only fitting that he set the franchise record for career sacks with a play that represented the tenacity and fundamental soundness which he's exemplified in his long career.

NEW SCHOOL PRESSURE

This is the kind of chaos Butler has been looking to generate in recent weeks as he has continued to increase the amount of blitzes he throws at opponents.

Watch below as the Steelers only rush four, but manage to have their most athletic linebacker chasing McCown into the end zone. This is something teams normally guard against, so scheming how to get Ryan Shazier in this situation is something I'm sure Butler works long and hard to accomplish:

https://vimeo.com/192371294

The play is a perfect example of what a delayed blitz combined with multiple players who pose as pass rushing threats can do to an offensive line. The Steelers' two down linemen on the play, Javon Hargrave and Stephon Tuitt, take up four of the Browns' offensive linemen.

Anthony Chickillo coming off the right edge keeps McCown in the pocket, but it's Shazier's delayed blitz that seals the deal. It might have only been a half of a second, but it was long enough for the Browns' right guard to ignore his outside shoulder on an attempt to cover his inside gap.

Doing so results in a Hargrave, a rookie, being triple-teamed by the Browns' offensive line. That should never happen in football, but it was just enough to confuse the Browns and get Shazier his clear shot to force the fumble and for Hargrave to recover it for the score, ending the game.

While the Steelers' came out victorious in their first road win since the season opener against the Redskins, they have a lot of work to do in order to follow that up with another road win against the Colts on Thursday.

We are going to get into all that needs cleaned up in a short week for that win to happen in Wednesday's edition of Carter's Classroom.

Carter’s Classroom appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday on DKPittsburghSports.com.