As the Steelers prepare to host the Dolphins on NFL's Wild Card Weekend, much of the discussion for the week will rightfully revolve around Jay Ajayi's career performance against the Steelers in October, when he ran for more than 200 yards.
It's been a while since that game, so we're going to take a quick trip back to review some of the basic fundamental mistakes that led to the result, as well as why it probably will not be nearly as significant of an issue for the Steelers come Sunday:
LESS ROTATION AT OLB
Mark Kaboly wrote Sunday about how Jarvis Jones hadn't made enough plays to get more playing time. Part of that was because of his inconsistency in edge support against the run, and it was evident against the Dolphins.
Look at how the Steelers are aligned on the play below and notice how Jones is the furthest player to the outside up at the line of scrimmage.
Unless there was supposed to be a completely different look presented by the secondary behind Jones, his responsibility was most like the edge on this play and he allowed himself to get hooked on the right side:
Fundamental football for an outside linebacker dictates that he must keep his outside shoulder free in order to be prepared to turn a runner back to the inside, where the rest of his defense is working. That didn't happen here as Jones gladly takes to the inside and Ajayi bounces to the edge for a first down.
It's possible that Artie Burns wasn't supposed to be so far off the line of scrimmage, but unlikely that the Steelers would scheme for him to be the primary edge support in this situation. While there were times when he was able to be an asset in run support, Jones lack of consistency doomed his chances at being more involved in the defense when Bud Dupree returned.
Even after Dupree came back from injury, the Steelers have had more successful at turning away outside runs with James Harrison and Arthur Moats.
Just look in the same game and watch on your right side as Moats engages the right tackle but discourages Ajayi from trying to bounce out to the sideline:
This forced Ajayi right into the path of Stephon Tuitt and -- with only a moment's hesitation -- into the arms of Harrison.
With Dupree and Harrison getting the duty of maintaining the edge, look for a lot less successful runs to the outside as the opportunities to get the sideline for Ajayi.
INTERIOR INTEGRITY
One of the most drastic changes in the Steelers' defense this season has been their improvement in the responsibility of their assignments against the run.
If you're a regular reader of this series, you've read about gap integrity often, and it was nonexistent at times when the Dolphins played the Steelers earlier this season.
Plays like this one below are baffling as to how holes so big can be created without great blocking from an offensive line:
Look at the three offensive linemen furthest to the left of the Dolphins' formation with Ja'Wuan James (70) at tackle, Jermon Bushrod (74) at guard and Mike Pouncey (51) at center. Notice how Tuitt accounts for the 'A gap' between Pouncey and Bushrod, while Anthony Chickillo accounts for the edge outside of James, but absolutely nobody is home to account for 'B gap' and there is a huge hole for a cutback lane.
That hole gives the running back space to maneuver and get 10 yards on the play, all because nobody accounted for the weak-side 'B gap.' If Lawrence Timmons or William Gay can get there, they most likely get a free shot at the running back and the play is blown up before it can even begin.
These kind of mistakes have happened a lot less in the Steelers' current seven game win streak.
Communication is vital to defensive success and adjustments at the line of scrimmage. Watch on the below play how both Vince Williams and Timmons shift to their left on the play, but then Williams attacks the same gap as Tuitt.
This is a mistake on somebody's part as no two defenders should ever have the responsibility of protecting the same gap:
My guess is that Williams went too far inside on the play, as Tuitt does his job of taking on two offensive linemen at the point of attack. If Williams can manage to get the 'B gap' on this play, he forces Ajayi to run right into him or cutback across the formation.
These types of mistakes seem small, but they are the fundamental mistakes that lead to bigger problems and allow teams like the Dolphins to take control of games.
NO WEAK LINKS
Like Williams on the previous play, it can sometimes take one player to ruin an entire scheme and give an opponent a touchdown. That's what happened on the closing touchdown run for Ajayi in October.
Watch to the right of the defense for Chickillo as he bounces to the inside on the play and attacks the same gap as Tuitt:
Chickillo bumps to his inside when Mike Mitchell comes up to the line of scrimmage, but then continues to attack the interior gap and allows the Steelers' defense to get bottled up with ease.
This comes from what appears to be another communication error: The team makes a pre-snap adjustment that involves players moving positions, but then the assignments get lost and these breakdowns occur. As the season has continued, the Steelers have decreased these breakdowns each week.
We are going to make this week all about showing everything you can expect to see from in Steelers-Dolphins. There are plenty of aspects to be covered from both their previous meeting as well as the development of both teams throughout the regular season.
Carter’s Classroom appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
MORE STEELERS
Kaboly: Defense confident in stopping Ajayi
Dopirak: Tuitt to play this week
Kovacevic: How this run could end
Kaboly: Why did Tomlin play to win?
DK Sports Radio: Tim, DK on Steelers