Before the start of the Steelers' 2016 season, rookie Sean Davis looked to be on a fast track to being a starter for the defense.
In the first three weeks, Davis saw as much as 90 percent of defensive snaps, but he also was exposed and made many mistakes. His playing time decreased during the next five games. In the past two games, Davis has been on the field for every defensive snap. Dustin Dopirak writes about the road Davis took to get to the NFL
This film room session goes in-depth to Davis' performance so far with the Steelers:
EARLY SEASON WOES
Davis was pushed into the defense early and did not have many highlights early. The game which he contributed the most on the stat sheet was against the Eagles with six tackles. That also was a game in which Davis was more talked about for the tackle he didn't make:
https://vimeo.com/193747270
Davis was not horrible on this play because Darren Sproles is a tricky guy to bring down and deadly when he has built up a head of steam. Davis did his best to cut off his route to the end zone twice with pursuit angles but ultimately failed to do so.
Two of the three games that followed, Davis did not play on defense and mostly got his reps on special teams. The Steelers dressed him, but due to an injury suffered against the Eagles, they felt more comfortable with Jordan Dangerfield on the field.
Davis would eventually work his way back from injury, but still was seen not getting the job done in the secondary. One of the more notable plays was when Rob Gronkowski scored this touchdown in the third quarter against the Steelers when Davis was supposed to provide help:
https://vimeo.com/193747947
Tom Brady saw Davis rotate toward the sideline, which opened up a one-on-one opportunity for Gronkowski against Robert Golden. Gronkowski already had a step on Golden, and with his seven-inch height difference, was a solid bet to make the play. Considering this was one of the only three plays which Davis was on for the defense against the Patriots, that was not a good sign.
But mistakes like this did not deter Mike Tomlin and Keith Butler from putting the rookie safety from Maryland on the field. Against the Ravens, Davis played just less than 40 percent of the snaps on defense and then for two-thirds of the snaps against the Cowboys.
AWARENESS AND TACKLING
Davis has been proficient in his ability to close down on ball-carriers to make tackles both against the run and in coverage.
He dissected this screen pass against the Cowboys nicely:
https://vimeo.com/194097915
Notice how he is able to sniff this play out and avoid the blockers in space to bring down Cole Beasley. Plays like this might seem minute in the grand scheme of how games go, but they prevent big plays like the screens that have tortured this defense in the past.
Because of Davis' size and speed, the Steelers have felt comfortable with giving him assignments that placed him near the line of scrimmage and even to fill key gaps against the run, placing him in one-on-one matchups with running backs. Typically a running back would welcome this opportunity, but Davis has shown that he might not be one to be taken advantage of:
https://vimeo.com/193748155
This was a third-down situation with only a yard to go that the Steelers absolutely needed to get the stop on in the fourth quarter. Davis delivered with his tackle on Elliott. Notice how he not only rushes to his gap, but gets there quickly enough to setup a solid wide defensive stance to make the tackle. That's combining his speed with solid fundamentals.
While the Steelers have used Davis in the capacity since then, he still hesitates at times, as seen here when he was a little slow to getting to Frank Gore:
https://vimeo.com/193748530
Above you see that Gore gains about seven yards on the play in a situation that looked like Davis should have come from covering the slot to fill the gap behind Anthony Chickillo. He's still a rookie so plays like this will happen, but it seems that with every week those moments become less frequent.
Our last film session highlighted Davis' big tackle on third down of Scott Tolzien, but that was not his only contribution in the red zone as he also recorded a solid tackle on Gore to force the Colts to the air:
https://vimeo.com/193748721
The above play shows Davis rushing off the edge and making a solid play by wrapping up Gore's feet. Notice Davis' pursuit angle on the play; as an outside rusher his job is to be as deep as the deepest man in case of a fake or a reverse to make sure that nobody gets around him.
It speaks well to Davis' resume that he seems to understand his role in most schemes and can be relied upon to not make overly aggressive plays that younger players tend to make more often than not.
Below you can see him in the slot toward the top of the screen playing a zone coverage. He sits in his zone, reads the eyes of the quarterback and is in a position to both cut off the receiver's out route and also make a play if the ball comes on the receiver's back shoulder:
https://vimeo.com/193748384
While he does drop the interception, Davis still puts himself in a good position to make a play and shows he knows where he is supposed to be and how to react when he is in said position.
The Steelers' youth movement on defense has Javon Hargrave getting sacks, touchdowns and big tackles for loss, Artie Burns with two interceptions in the last four games and now Davis showing a good path of development to be a consistent asset at safety. This could change as new challenges present themselves each week, but for now it seems that Davis' arrow for success is pointing up.
We'll be back later Friday to preview the Steelers' next opponent: Eli Manning, Odell Beckham Jr. and the Giants.
Carter’s Classroom appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday on DKPittsburghSports.com.
MORE STEELERS
Kaboly: Bell's monster workload
Dopirak: Preparing for no-huddle
Dopirak: DeCastro sick, Brown returns
DK Sports Radio: Tim Benz on Steelers