Carter's Classroom: Keeping Kizer one-dimensional, other matchups

Back when Dick LeBeau was coordinating the NFL's top defense, the Steelers were nearly unbeatable against rookie quarterbacks, going 16-2 from 2004-12.

They went 1-2 last year, losing to Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz.

Now, in the season opener Sunday at Cleveland, they get to open their season against another, DeShone Kizer, in his professional debut, so let's go into the film room to examine that matchup and others against the Browns:



KEY MATCHUP

Kizer's tape shows that he shares a very common characteristic with most rookie quarterbacks, and that's how he locks onto his primary reads after the snap. His time at Notre Dame showed that he was smart and, in his limited preseason action, he made some decent pre-snap adjustments based off of what he read in defenses.

Against the Buccaneers in the preseason, he sees that Corey Coleman has 7 yards of space and that Chris Conte isn't going to be able to get to him at the marker:



Kizer can whip the ball hard and fast into tight targets when he's lined up. Being able to read where a receiver might have an advantage is key, but good defenses know how to disguise coverages and fool quarterbacks into thinking their primary reads will be open. That's where Kizer hasn't been proficient, even in his college career. While there shouldn't be much stock put into his preseason work, his tendencies are noticeable over his full career and were something I came across while doing draft prep.

Watch where his head is aimed for the majority of this play. He looks at his receiver running a wheel route and stares the scene down until he notices the safety will cut it off. Once that happens and he can't see anything in front of him, his natural instinct is to get moving outside of the pocket and find a new target:



The Steelers will need their pass rushers ready to recover and stick with plays to have an opportunity to close down on Kizer like what happened in the above play.

There will be times their zone schemes fool Kizer and force him to look away from his primary reads. When that happens, the Steelers cannot afford to allow him to create plays with his feet, either running the ball for yards or moving about to allow his receivers to get open.

Below is a perfect example of how the Steelers need to keep Kizer in the pocket. Gap responsibility is crucial, especially within the interior of the defensive line. Watch how the Giants are able to force Kizer to hold onto the ball too long, but give him no clear escape lanes, leading to a sack led by Olivier Vernon:



When gaps are left unaccounted, Kizer can hurt a defense in just a couple seconds. Watch how, when he's unsure about his reads, he happily takes advantage of the huge gap the Giants leave for him to run through:



Clear running lanes are problems teams cannot afford when facing fast quarterbacks. Kizer isn't a Michael Vick, but he is able to pick up his pace and gain first downs when left with a hole this big. He's also like a young Ben Roethlisberger in that he loves to find passing targets down the field while moving around.

 

Here's an example of when Kizer did just that for a 32-yard connection to Coleman against the Buccaneers:



This is why the Steelers cannot afford to lose track of Kizer when they rush him. If he breaks out or has a clear path in front of him, he gets to make the kind of plays that made him successful in college.

The Steelers fell victim to that very problem when Wentz connected with Darren Sproles for a huge touchdown that broke the Eagles game wide open last season. Wentz was able to sneak past Jarvis Jones and Cameron Heyward to scramble and roll to his throwing side and use his eyes to find the soft spot in the defense:



This is where gap responsibility becomes vital, especially with the proliferation of NFL quarterbacks who can be dangerous with their feet.

The Steelers also cannot afford to sit in bland coverage schemes that allow Kizer to recognize what they're doing and remain comfortable with figuring out what he wants to do with the ball. They need to provide a variety of alignments for Kizer to consider. The more looks he has to face, the harder it will be to recognize plays as he goes through the game. That goes for both coverage schemes and blitz looks that can confuse the quarterback and the offensive line.

The Steelers had the right idea on the Cowboys' first drive last season when they lined up several linebackers around the box and got Ryan Shazier running free into the backfield:



These types of plays, even with missed tackles like Shazier's here, can completely disrupt the concentration of a rookie quarterback and make him lose track of his initial reads. When that happens, he holds onto the ball longer and the pass rushers get more time. If the Steelers can disrupt Kizer in the backfield, he will most likely get happy feet.

It also forces the quarterback to stare down his target, which Kizer has been proven to do often, and not recognize when lurking linebackers and defensive backs might lock onto his eyes.

Watch how Kizer is fooled into this interception against Ohio State in college as he stares down his receivers and never sees the safety, who originally appeared to be playing a deep-half responsibility and sneaked underneath to intercept a pass on a deep curl:



These are the opportunities when a quarterback locks onto his players. Kizer definitely made a pre-snap read thinking he could roll to the right and target a player stopping underneath the deep cover men on the right side, but he never adjusted or even paid attention to the rotated safeties.

His only interception of the Browns' preseason showed a similar issue, when Lavonte David locked onto Kizer's eyes and jumped a pass over the middle, leading to an interception by Vernon Hargreaves III:



Notice how Kizer's head starts with him examining the right side of the field. But when that read isn't there, he has to find someone else. He has to look for the body of his receiver and find that to focus enough to make his throw, never being able to account for David lurking underneath his intended receiver.

The Steelers have multiple ways to confuse Kizer, but all still require disciplined football by the defense in both their front seven maintaining gap responsibility and their secondary being able to execute their coverage assignments.

Keith Butler cannot afford to just sit back and let the rookie get comfortable with conservative schemes that allow him to make reads into coverages. He must make sure that his coverage switch-ups and blitz packages are sharp, so open opportunities aren't obvious for Kizer.

THREE OTHER MATCHUPS

Steelers' front seven
vs. Browns' new offensive line:

When the Steelers rolled, 24-9, in Cleveland last season, their defense had eight sacks, and the abuse of the Browns' offensive line was nonstop. In the offseason, Cleveland's front office added center J.C. Tretter and guard Kevin Zeitler to future Hall of Fame tackle Joe Thomas and their proven left guard, Joel Bitonio. All look to be formidable opponents for Heyward, Javon Hargrave and Stephon Tuitt.

That still leaves the Browns with starting right tackle Shon Coleman, a player coming off a rough rookie season and lining up against Bud Dupree. Keep an eye out for Dupree to have opportunities to disrupt Kizer and turn back running plays from his side.

Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant
vs. Jason McCourty and Jamar Taylor:

McCourty and Taylor are now the starting cornerbacks for the Browns, with Joe Haden being a Steeler. Both are faster corners who can run with deep threats, but neither has the pedigree to be a favorable matchup against Brown. Bryant towers over both by more than 4 inches, so the corners will have a problem against him in jump ball situations.

Brown put on a show several times over when Haden was covering him over the past several years, so get ready to see what he does to the players the Browns had behind Haden on the depth chart.

Danny Shelton and Xavier Cooper
vs. Maurkice Pouncey, Ramon Foster and David DeCastro:

The Browns' shift to a 4-3 defense this season under new coordinator Gregg Williams alters the role of their former first-round pick, Shelton, at defensive tackle. Shelton has built a solid reputation as a huge nose tackle who can be a problem to move. That still didn't stop the Steelers last season, when Le'Veon Bell ran for 146 yards on 28 carries.

But the shift moves Shelton out of nose tackle and into a more natural defensive tackle position alongside third-year defensive tackle Cooper. Cooper shouldn't prove nearly as much of a problem as Shelton, but the Steelers will have to be prepared to deal with Shelton differently than they have in the past.

Having Shelton not lining up over Pouncey could be a benefit, as the center has been at his best when he can use his athleticism to accelerate up the field to get linebackers or pull and lead block. Where Pouncey struggles is against larger defensive tackles like Brandon Williams of the Ravens. Shelton has the same style, but is not on Williams' level yet.

Moving Shelton out of the nose tackle position and into the role of a 4-3 defensive tackle might allow DeCastro a better shot at him. DeCastro is the player the Steelers call upon to deal with bigger defensive tackles, as he is known for mauling the biggest players on the defensive line and setting the tone.

If Shelton gets neutralized by DeCastro and Foster, look for the Steelers' running game to have a good time as Pouncey accelerates to Joe Schobert, the only middle linebacker listed on the Browns' official depth chart. He is a second-year player and could get bullied by Pouncey, who gets the chance to build speed getting to the second level of the defense.