The Steelers' defense gave up 20 points in the first half against the Bengals last Sunday, allowing Jeremy Hill the space to run for 44 yards and a touchdown. But the Bengals would gain only 38 total yards in the second half with Hill losing a yard to finish with 43.
What was the difference?
What did the coaches switch up to get the defensive front to play better?
Not a whole lot.
The defensive line certainly took a hit in losing Stephon Tuitt on the game's opening series, but it came out for the second half to operate with Javon Hargrave and L.T. Walton leading the charge.
We go into the drastic change:
GETTING BLOWN OFF THE BALL
The Bengals used this play to pick on the rookie Hargrave. Watch how he gets double-teamed and pushed off the ball, opening the lane for Hill and clogging the path of Ryan Shazier:
Hargrave gets into a low stance, which is good, but he fails to engage with his hands to control his space, which allows for both of the Bengals' linemen to push him down the field. This is uncharacteristic of Hargrave in recent games, but it was part of what the Bengals were taking advantage of early.
Shazier and the linebackers were the liability in earlier games when the run defense was being gashed because they picked the wrong gaps to attack or lapsed in their fundamentals. This time, it was on the guys in front of them.
Watch the play below. It's still a nose tackle, big Daniel McCullers, being driven yards back into the end zone, which gets Lawrence Timmons caught up in the play and allows Hill to score:
McCullers' height might seem as an advantage, but it also continues to be his biggest weakness. In the trenches of the linemen, the low man wins the fight. Here, McCullers stands up too easily and is backpedaling the whole way, which is what clogs up Timmons.
It's safe to say that's a big reason why he doesn't see the field as much as Hargrave and Walton, because this is more common of an occurrence than one might think for a player with the size of McCullers. These aren't things that a coach necessarily compensate by drawing up new plays. They're fundamentals, which need to be executed in order for the Steelers' scheme to succeed.
CHANGING THE LINE
The second half was as big a shift as any from a defensive front all season, as the Steelers' completely eliminated the Bengals' offense. The defensive line's job is not necessarily to make the tackles themselves, but to keep the linebackers and safeties clean so that they can read the play from their position and stop the ball.
That's what happens below as Hargrave stunts to the inside, keeping the left guard occupied and away from Timmons:
Hargrave comes down the line, occupying the left guard, but also shoves the center to the ground, effectively taking on two offensive linemen without conceding any ground. Taking on double-teams is solid, so long as you're the one maintaining the space and your gap is still covered.
The same thing happens on the play below, as Hargrave takes on the center and completely blows up this play for Shazier to make the tackle:
Look at how Hargrave engages the center, staying low, feet moving constantly while maintaining a wide base and keeping his outside shoulder free to turn back Hill to where the rest of his help is on defense.
Shazier makes a nifty play, as well, getting around the guard and making the play, but it's possible because Hill had nowhere else to go. It also helped that Bud Dupree and Sean Davis were there to make the play.
Hargrave wasn't doing it all by himself, as Walton stepped up considerably as well and showed there might be a great deal more depth to this defensive line than anyone had considered going into this season:
Look at the play above and watch how quickly Walton moves. The burst out of his stance is so fast that he crosses the face of the left tackle, which allows Shazier to read the play and know that he has help on his side. Shazier doesn't have to guess which gap he needs to cover, a problem that happened a lot against the Cowboys, because Walton is taking up one of the two lanes he sees.
But Walton isn't finished after his step. He fights past the tackle, takes on the pulling guard that was intended to be a lead blocker, most likely for Shazier, and still finds a way to make the tackle. This is an incredible play that the Steelers would normally expect out of the likes of Tuitt or Cam Heyward. But here we are talking about Walton, a sixth-round draft pick from Central Michigan in his second year.
While the Steelers certainly hope to get Tuitt back, the performance from Hargrave and Walton showed a much higher degree of reliability than what most might expect from the line's two youngest players. It will be very interesting to see if they can keep up with the likes of All-Pro guard, Marshal Yanda and the Ravens' line this week.
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