Carter's Classroom: Secondary concepts to watch vs. Colts

When you hear anyone complain about the Steelers' secondary, as you have for the past several years, there are a multitude of takes on why the secondary has been victimized by various opponents.

As the Falcons were led on their opening drive by NFL MVP Matt Ryan to a touchdown, you could feel those same takes coming to the forefront as the defense faced its first starting quarterback of the preseason.

But the Steelers never gave up another touchdown in that game to any of the Falcons' other quarterbacks. Part of that has to do with the development in the understanding of the defensive concepts that are involved in Keith Butler's scheme.



Many of the Steelers' objectives with their defensive looks involve trickery in the zone blitz concepts they offer on third down situations. The effectiveness of zone blitzes depends on how the defense can disguise blitz schemes to look similar enough to coverage plays, and the blitz being quick enough to capitalize.

Take, for example, Mike Hilton's sack against the Giants in the first preseason game; the Steelers lined up in a generic cover-2 look with two high safeties and a pretty standard nickel formation.

But what happens is a one-two punch of concepts to confuse the quarterback on both the defensive front and in the secondary. Notice how Farrington Huguenin (41) comes off the edge and opens a wide lane for both Hilton and Steven Johnson (51) to attack the gap and get a two-on-one situation:



Part of this is also because L.T. Walton draws a double team in the middle of the line, but the quarterback never has the chance to do a quick check-down because he's completely confused by the coverage.

Notice how the safeties start out looking like they would both play deep halves, but Jacob Hagen (42) drops down over the middle and helps take away the quick crossing route that would have been the hot read on a blitz.

That's the perfect storm on a third down when the opposing quarterback already has a lot to consider as he approaches the line. But the key to executing these types of successes rests with how well the defense can communicate pre-snap adjustments.

A play called in the huddle can be adapted or completely changed based on the alignment of the offense or the audibles made by the quarterback. Being able to communicate these changes fluidly and make sure all 11 starters can execute sharply is key.

Fewer adjustments are needed against journeyman quarterbacks who aren't confident enough in their system to call out effective audibles. That's why you saw more pressure and coordination against the Giants' backup quarterbacks than you would against the likes of Ryan or Tom Brady.

Here's another example of a pretty straightforward play on third down for the secondary, as William Gay was able to read the in route and make a play on the ball to force the incomplete pass:



But when even one person on defense fails to understand his role on a given play, wide-open opportunities can be available to the offense.

That does not happen on the play below, but you can easily make out a mental mistake from Ross Cockrell as he backs off the only person in his zone that he can effectively cover:



Mark Kaboly reported earlier this week that Cockrell's place on the starting lineup has been taken by Coty Sensabaugh, and it was plays like this that slowly dug the hole in which Cockrell now finds himself.

Cockrell's past two seasons with the team have shown him to be a consistent role player who could fill his assignment. So mistakes like the above play lessen his value to the team, as he's not one of the best athletes at cornerback in the NFL.

When Artie Burns went down in training camp and Cockrell was tasked with guarding Antonio Brown, Cockrell was victimized time and again to the point that Sensabaugh was asked to take over.

Cockrell is good when he can be physical in close quarters with receivers while sticking to his role in the defense. But when put in space, he does tend to get beaten to the spot. Take this play, for example, when Marvin Hall, a second year receiver out of Washington, puts the move on him to get wide open in the red zone:



Though Hall drops the ball, the late reaction from Cockrell was evident even without replay.

Cockrell's main advantage in keeping new cornerbacks from taking his position was how he was able to play his assignment and at least be in position on plays, even if he might not be the best in coverage.

Other than Gay and Burns, the Steelers' resources at cornerback are the always-injured Senquez Golson, the currently-injured rookie Cameron Sutton and the slew of newly added players trying to make the roster like Hilton. Cockrell's advantage of knowing this scheme should have afforded him more time than two preseason games.

But the Steelers need players who can be effective in coverage within their schemes and pre-snap adjustments. Sensabaugh has bounced around the league, but he's quicker in space and has been able to shadow quick slot receivers, an area where Cockrell struggles.

When the Steelers play on Saturday, watch how the defense communicates and adjusts against the Colts. The secondary spent the majority of training camp without Sean Davis, and the entirety of camp without its primary signal caller in Mike Mitchell.

That's allowed Robert Golden and Jordan Dangerfield more time to show their improved familiarity with the defense and call out some of the exotic blitzes that Keith Butler wants to see.

Now that the defense will be going against a first-team offense, albeit with Scott Tolzien at quarterback, for more than a single drive, look for how they might tighten up in the secondary and particularly for the switches in their looks to fool quarterbacks on third downs.