Carter's Classroom: Polished aggressiveness produces results

The Steelers' defense put up another solid performance in their 26-9 victory over the Vikings, but that hasn't stopped them from knowing they need to improve.

Mike Mitchell said as much to Mark Kaboly after the game when he expressed his displeasure about the lone touchdown the defense surrendered on a drive with multiple big plays.

Regardless of the fact that the Steelers have only faced a rookie quarterback making his debut in DeShone Kizer, and a backup quarterback in Case Keenum, they still are only allowing 13.5 points per game and have brought considerable pressure in both appearances with nine total sacks.

The Steelers' defensive youth movement has brought about a new dynamic which has allowed Keith Butler to set an aggressive tone with exotic blitzes while also playing disciplined football.

We take a dive into where the defense still needs to polish its game, but also where it excels.



The biggest gaffe in the Steelers' defense was the 25-yard run by Dalvin Cook that led to a touchdown on the next play. The run came on a zone blocking scheme that left two holes for Cook to choose from; one on the edge where Vince Williams was and the other between the right tackle and the first tight end.

Williams comes off the edge aiming towards Keenum, but pursues just far enough for Cook to cut behind him. Sean Davis approaches the line to defend the interior and gets caught up in the tight ends when Cook cuts behind Williams to hit the edge:



That's how fast Cook is and how tight a team has to stick to its gap responsibility. Williams is in position to hold the edge initially, but his pursuit angle is too wide for him to come back and close down on Cook.

Sometimes athleticism can turn small mistakes into huge gaffes. But on the other hand, it can also cover up mistakes, just as Cam Heyward did when he pressured Keenum into throwing the ball away when he had an open receiver in the end zone.

That happened when Bud Dupree, circled in the play below, was lined up in front of Stephon Diggs in the slot and passed him off to an open area.

Fortunately, Heyward jumped into the A-gap of the offensive line and put Keenum into a retreat before he could ever set his feet and look downfield:



On film, the Steelers are probably talking about there being a serious miscommunication in zone coverage assignments. Dupree winds up playing the same zone as Ryan Shazier and Davis who all stick with one receiver.

Dupree passes off Diggs, presumably to someone he thought would be there. It's very unlikely the Steelers would have Dupree playing in deep coverage, so the best guess would be that Davis was in the wrong place, but there are always a number of possibilities.

Communication is the key to coordinating athleticism into being dangerous on defense. While talent can sometimes make up for mistakes in assignments and alignment on defense, those errors still put the team in unnecessary situations.

Here's another example of when the Steelers' alignment was off and they surrendered a play because of it. Cook ripped off a seven-yard run in the first quarter when the Steelers' defensive front was off in its gap responsibilities. Williams hovered between Tyson Alualu and T.J. Watt, but was ultimately guarding against two gaps.

A situation like that resulted in Williams getting blown out of the hole and Cook having enough room to set up a second and short situation:



If you look at Shazier before the play you can see him pointing over towards Watt and Williams. It is very likely he saw the problem on their side and was trying to communicate it at the snap of the ball.

But the problem was not a consistent issue for the Steelers, as they had a very similar alignment with the same personnel on a later play and it resulted in a tackle for no gain.

Watch how Watt crashes towards the inside, forcing Jerick McKinnon to bounce to Alualu and Heyward on the other side of the line:



This defense shows that it constantly has a grasp on its assignments and how it needs to attack the offense to dictate the flow of the game. Even when its personnel makes mistakes, the Steelers' defense is one or two steps from being in the right spot to make the play they're designed to finish.

Below is another example of when the defense was all over its assignments, only this time it resulted in a tackle for loss between Heyward and Watt. It starts because Heyward sees the center start to pull as a lead blocker on the edge.

Heyward properly follows the center right to Cook for the tackle:



Whenever a defensive lineman sees an offensive lineman pulling from in front of him, it is that player's responsibility to follow the pulling lineman as that will almost always lead to where the ball will be.

Normally a pulling lineman is a guard, but Heyward's football awareness picks up that the center is on the move and he follows him tightly to blow the play up. Even without Heyward, the Steelers' defense is in position to make the play.

Watt is on the edge and crashing down onto Cook just as Heyward is making the tackle, and even Shazier's backside pursuit beats the right guard so that he can get to the edge and backup Watt just in case Cook makes both him and Heyward miss.

That's how coordinated this defense has played for the majority of both games this season. Each player prides himself on being in position to make the play for his team. Even when the result goes in their opponent's favor, the Steelers are executing their schemes tightly, and that's telling.

While critics may say that Keenum is a significant downgrade from Sam Bradford, Keenum did make some impressive throws under pressure. The best example was when he hit Diggs for 21 yards on the sideline with Joe Haden bearing down on him:



Haden times his blitz off the edge perfectly and receives tight coverage from Davis behind him. Davis runs step for step with Diggs and creates the tiniest of throwing windows. The second year safety from Maryland could have looked for the ball a little sooner, but still provides solid coverage.

That's discipline, and that kind of discipline produces positive results when offenses start to find ways to trick your defense and you can stay home in your assignments.

No play exhibited this better to me than when Artie Burns sniffed out a screen to Cook for a tackle for loss. The Vikings put a lot of effort into faking out the Steelers on this play, and almost did were it not for Burns.

Keenum fakes a handoff to Cook, which neither Javon Hargrave nor Williams bites on, and then fakes a reverse to Diggs, which also doesn't fool the defense. Then Keenum turns with pressure in his face and fires to his assigned target, Cook, who sits in the flat with three offensive linemen in front of him:



Fortunately for the Steelers, Burns is sitting in his spot and cuts right through the wall of linemen to bring down Cook. They did everything right on this play and looked to be as disciplined as any defensive coordinator could ask for on a misdirection play.

The Steelers' defense looks like a well-polished unit, aggressive in its pursuit of its objectives and confident that its play will produce the intended results.

It's fair to wonder how well that discipline and coordination will hold up when they face an elite quarterback who can read their tendencies and make plays against them.

If the Steelers can keep up this kind of discipline and aggressiveness, it will make for some great battles against top-end offenses later in the season.