Fundamental football is the foundation of every great defense. Being able to account for a gap, to not lose an assignment in coverage and to make sure each player contributed to the assigned scheme are just as important as the players' athleticism in the big picture.
If you were wondering whether to be excited or not about the Steelers' defense because of their weaker opponents, you can take solace in the fact that the cumulative plays being made weren't flukes but, rather, the result of consistent execution across the board.
That consistency comes from doing enough of the little things right so that big things can happen for the defense.
IMPROVED DEFENSIVE FRONT
Javon Hargrave has certainly been up to the task with his increased role in the defense due to Heyward's injury. What had me excited about the rookie out of South Carolina State was his consistent display of fundamentals coming out of college. He always maintained a low center of gravity, kept his hands to the inside of his opponents and fired off the ball while keeping his legs driving to finish plays.
What he needed to add to that were more NFL-caliber pass rush moves and a better situational awareness for how he can be disruptive against opposing offenses.
The latter was achieved below when he blew up a screen on the first drive of the game:
https://vimeo.com/193336813
Above you can see Hargrave come off the snap quickly and employ a swim move to get around his man and into the backfield. But what allows him to make the play is the fact that he has his head up the entire time to take in as much of the screen setup with his eyes as possible.
As he feels the play out, Hargrave breaks down from his pass rush after Scott Tolzien and puts down Robert Turbin for a huge loss.
When the defense has held opponents to less than 100 yards rushing, the team's record is 6-1 with the only loss being to the Ravens. While the stat sheet showed that the Colts did gain 91 yards, a good chunk of them came in garbage time when the game was over and the Colts were just trying to end the game.
The difference maker in stopping the run is always making sure each gap is accounted for by players up front. During the past two weeks, the Steelers have done just that.
Watch below how the Steelers attack a zone run play by the Colts. Take note how far apart Hargrave and Stephon Tuitt are in the middle of the line and then watch how Ryan Shazier crashes through to disrupt the play:
https://vimeo.com/193336983
When players getting to the holes like this, it's going to be tough for any running back to get yards.
The concept of a zone run is for each lineman to work in an assigned space to block and to give the running back more options to run through based on how the play develops. For an experienced player like Frank Gore, that's usually a good approach to bet on his vision.
But what takes the play away is how the Steelers attack the zone. Hargrave crashes down the line and avoids the cut block by shoving the Colts' guard into the ground so that he can still maintain his gap on the play. Doing so makes the job easier for Shazier, as he slices through the line and teams up with Hargrave to finish the play.
If it seems like I'm making Hargrave a recurring theme here, it's because I am. The Steelers are getting solid play from their rookie third-round pick. He's not only displaying a good sense of where he needs to be in the scheme, but he's also winning battles on the football field.
Take a look below as he powers through a double team and nails Tolzien for a sack:
https://vimeo.com/193337276
Hargrave puts on a great screen move in the above play to beat the right guard, but he gets caught up in the fray by the center. However his move faked out the left guard so badly that by the time the guard starts to come back to help, Hargrave has forced his way into the backfield and puts Tolzien on a chase.
The tackle was the icing on the cake, because the execution and effort on this play from Hargrave was great, no matter who his opponent was.
Think his beating of a double team was a one-time thing? Think again. On that same drive Hargrave pulled it off a second time. This time he takes a double team head on against the run, as you can see below:
https://vimeo.com/193337186
The Colts started to do what the Dolphins and Patriots did to the Steelers' defensive line in an effort to double team both Hargrave and Tuitt to force the linebackers to have to read and make plays.
What foiled the play here was how Hargrave reacted when he saw two lineman come after him. Notice how he turns his body sideways to keep his right shoulder engaged but frees up his left shoulder to make a play.
Once he does that, the Colts' second lineman on him advances to the linebackers in order to try and make an extra block, but Hargrave has positioned himself to takeaway the gap which that lineman thought was already solidified.
That effort shut down what could have been a more significant run play and forced a third down, which the Steelers could expect a pass. Victories like that on early downs are part of the little things that add upas the game continues.
There are also victories like the play below, when an offense tries to fool the defense with play action to advance down the field, but fails because the team never bit on the fake:
https://vimeo.com/193336844
Watch how Tuitt comes off the right edge of the offensive line unfazed by the offenses fake handoff. He knows that Tolzien is about to throw the ball and his rush forces Jack Doyle to take him outside, but forces Tolzien to move up in the pocket and hasten the quarterback's mental clock.
Moving the quarterback from his launch spot is always an effective away to keep him from being able to read the defense and make big plays down the field. Add that with solid coverage by Ross Cockrell and you have an incomplete pass with the offense not establishing any confidence that it can fool the Steelers' defense.
SECONDARY
Sometimes gap integrity against the run is not just about the linemen and linebackers, but can also include members from the secondary. Take Sean Davis on this example when he delivered a crucial stop on a third-down situation:
https://vimeo.com/193337102
Arthur Moats stunts to the inside on the play, responsible for C-Gap on the play and not giving the running back any easy lane should the Colts run the ball up the middle.
That leaves Davis and Robert Golden on the edge here.
Most likely, Davis' initial assignment on the play was to play a sort of Cover 1 zone in the middle of the field. Doing so would allow him to account for any missed gaps in the event of a run, or jump on any quick passes should Tolzien take to the air.
Tight end Dwayne Allen started the play in protection but quickly released into the end zone. Davis' first reaction was to make sure the only receiving option on his side of the field was covered, but once he realized the Golden had that job taken care of, he checked around to see if there were other receiving options and returned to his zone.
As soon as he sees that the Colts' play has broken down, he takes off after Tolzien in order to eliminate the last threat of scoring, which would be the quarterback using his legs to score. Davis gets to the goal line, breaks down into a solid defensive stance and finishes the play.
The fact that the Steelers are comfortable putting the rookie at such an important role in this situation speaks to the impact the team's youth movement has made.
However the defense still has veterans it can count on in these situations as well, as Mike Mitchell showed on this third down play:
https://vimeo.com/193337377
Mitchell sits back in his zone coverage at the start of the play above, but quickly realizes that Colts have called a quarterback draw to get to the end zone. He flies to Tolzien and uses short choppy footwork to breakdown into his stance and to make the play.
Notice the similarities in how both Davis and Mitchell tackled Tolzien, both reacted quickly once they read the play, but then broke down to make the tackle.
If this team really was undisciplined, those safeties' eyes would widen and they would fly full speed once they saw a running quarterback and probably go for a kill shot without an effort to wrap Tolzien and finish the play. Certain times may call for that, like when a receiver is trying to make a difficult catch over the middle and you need to hit for separation, but here the tackle just needs to be made to force a fourth down in both situations.
While Mitchell's night had six tackles on it, he also was able to make his first interception of the season when Tolzien forced a pass down the field. This is when that accumulation of good solid plays over the course of the game can add up to a big play:
https://vimeo.com/193337480
This situation is a normal first down for the Colts, but they spent the entire game trying to dink and dunk their way around this defense and are down 14 points as a result. That frustration builds up and can force an offense to get predictably aggressive.
Tolzien plays right into the hands of the Steelers' defense by forcing the deep ball. Each receiver is being shadowed well by the Steelers' cornerbacks, and instead of taking the underneath pass to Allen, he tries a shot down the field.
Mitchell plays center field well here and makes the play on the ball.
While people have been quick to criticize secondary, and particularly Mitchell, for the lack of interceptions or big plays, what should be remembered is that these plays will happen more when the defense is putting together a complete game.
Like how they suffocated Kirk Cousins and the Redskins' offense with a solid zone defense, the Steelers want to force you to either be consistent underneath their coverage and have to work for every first down, or to take bad percentage risks down the field that give the defense opportunities like this one to make a play.
When the rest of the defense plays the way it did against the Colts, more opportunities for Mitchell and the secondary to make interceptions and big plays will open up. That's the accumulation of the little things adding up big things that fits the old school stigma of the Steelers so well.
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