Carter's Classroom: Offense must offset Ravens' aggressiveness

The narrative going into the Steelers' upcoming showdown against the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium will be all about how the team's problems on the road will compound with their usual struggles against the Ravens.

The Steelers haven't won in Baltimore since Charlie Batch led them to victory with ten unanswered points in the fourth quarter back in 2012. The last time Ben Roethlisberger won there was in 2010, when he hit Isaac Redman for the game-winning touchdown pass despite playing with a broken nose.

Their offense has been a key part of the team's struggles in that regard, averaging around only 14.3 points per game in Baltimore. Yet there are some key traits that have led the Steelers' offense to success against the Ravens' defense in the past.

We get you ready for Sunday's showdown looking over some of those keys:



KEY MATCHUP: Le'Veon Bell and the offensive line vs. Ravens' defensive front:

Le'Veon Bell only managed to gain 32 yards the last time he played at M&T Bank Stadium, which was a shocker considering that DeAngelo Williams managed to put up 100 yards the previous year.

The Steelers cannot afford to try to run into the teeth of the Ravens' defense. That's what they've done in their history against this defense, and it has caused them more headaches than need be when trying to light up the scoreboard.

The Ravens' defense is typically physical and looks to win on the strong side while flowing to the ball. The Steelers should take note of how the Jaguars dismantled the Ravens' defense for 44 points in London last week. They ran for a collective 166 yards, hitting the Ravens' defense with counters and traps that opened up space for their running backs.

Take a look at this counter-trap run, as the Jaguars line up with double tight ends to the left side of their line, but end up pulling their guard and a tight end to the right side of their line while having Leonard Fournette run the counter off-tackle.

The key to this play succeeding is how it freezes inside linebacker C.J. Mosley in the middle of the field, forces Terrell Suggs up into the trap by the pulling guard, and absorbs Patrick Onwuasoar into the pulling tight end:



By the time Mosley is able to pick his way through the different gaps he's normally responsible for, Fournette is around the edge and gaining yards.

That counter-trap run has been a staple of the Steelers' running game in the past and has been a thorn in the side of this aggressive Ravens defense.

The Steelers will need to push that thorn a bunch during the game and force the Ravens' linebackers to hesitate while their pulling blockers are able to build up momentum and seal at the key spots to create running lanes for Bell.

Here's another example of a run that is targeted to the weak side of the offensive front but gets solid yardage for the Jaguars. This time it's the left guard and the fullback who become the lead blockers for Fournette.

The fullback hits the blitzing safety, No. 23 Tony Jefferson, while the guard stones Mosley long enough for Fournette to run through the hole and build up steam:



Notice how the Ravens are throwing a safety blitz into the side where the run is headed, yet the Jaguars are still able to outnumber and outmaneuver them at the point of attack.

That's what happens when you keep the Ravens' defense off-balance with your running game.

The Steelers found success at Heinz Field last season by employing their zone running plays. It allowed for their blockers to go one-on-one with the Ravens' defensive front and give Bell the space he needs to make his decisions about where to attack.

The key to Bell's elite style during zone runs has been his ability to pick the best gaps to attack, based on who is winning their battles upfront.

So far this season, the Steelers' offensive line has not been a group that consistently wins those battles as a unit. This has allowed the Browns, Vikings and Bears' defensive fronts into the backfield while Bell was trying to set up his runs by deciding on a hole.

This is why it will be important to come out running the counters and the traps early in the game to open up the ground game. Doing so will put the Ravens' linebackers and defensive line on their heels and give the offensive line that much more of an advantage to get in position to seal off the running lanes for Bell.

Here's an example of when that worked for the Steelers last season at Heinz Field. Notice how far Marcus Gilbert can advance to get to the linebacker, opening up the lane between him and David Johnson. Doing this puts pressure on Suggs to cover that space:



When Suggs steps to the inside, Johnson just pushes him into Gilbert and Bell bounces it outside for the big run.

Once the Steelers' offensive line can create these types of gaps in the defense, Bell will be able to get going. Either he will hit the holes to the inside or bounce them out where the Ravens crash in.

Here's an example of when the Ravens tried to protect the outside and ended up giving up the B-gap as Gilbert and Roosevelt Nix set up the hole for Bell:



The Steelers' offensive front has to set the tone and knock the Ravens off the ball. The questions on Bell's struggles in the ground game this early in the season are less about any rust in his game and more about the lack of room they have been able to generate.

THREE OTHER MATCHUPS:
ROETHLISBERGER VS. RAVENS' COVERAGE PACKAGES

What continues to baffle me about how Roethlisberger operates is how inconsistent he can be with his ability to read defenses and take what's available by attacking their weaknesses.

There are times when Ben is on fire with how he sees what defenses give up, like he was when the Steelers hosted the Ravens at Heinz Field in 2014.

Roethlisberger threw for six touchdowns that day, one of which was a great read into a Cover 3 defense. Watch how he manipulates the safety (highlighted in red) with his eyes, not looking at his true target, Martavis Bryant  (highlighted in yellow), who runs a slant into the seam:



One of the keys to beating Cover 3 is attacking the space between the cornerbacks playing deep thirds and the safety hovering in the middle of the field.

What Roethlisberger did brilliantly on that play was use his eyes to expand that seam. Markus Wheaton also ran a slant that the safety had to honor, and since Ben was looking towards the middle of the field, the safety never had a chance to react and close down on Bryant before the touchdown.

That's what Roethlisberger has to focus on, not just avoiding Antonio Brown. Brown is a great target and a player who can create after the catch better than anyone, which is why the quarterback relies on him as much as he does.

While it would behoove Roethlisberger to spread the ball around more, it's not just about avoiding Brown, it's about attacking the weakness of the defense. If Brown is the receiver who is attacking the soft spots in different coverages, he should remain the target.

Here's an example of when Brown was just that as he ran a slant against the Ravens last season and picked up big yardage. Notice how as soon as Eric Weddle bumps into the flat, the cornerback who is closest to Brown is too far away to break up the slant and Roethlisberger has the easy throw:



When the Steelers spread the Ravens' defense out, these types of opportunities will be presented to Roethlisberger. It will be up to him to take advantage and reap the benefits of his offensive weapons in the weak spots of the defense.

Roethlisberger also should not be reluctant to test the Ravens deep when he gets the proper opportunities. The Ravens favor using one-high safety looks so that they can have one safety playing deep coverage and another lurking underneath to help with targets out of the backfield and against the run.

Doing so forces the deep safety to pick a side, and with Bryant and Brown that becomes a difficult decision. Blake Bortles took advantage of this when he led the Jaguars to a blowout victory and was not afraid to heave the ball deep and let his receivers do the work.

Sure, the deep ball didn't work for the Steelers against the Bears, but abandoning it all together will eliminate a key element of the offense that could be used to soften up the Ravens.

Watch how Bortles reads the safety and launches a deep ball to Marquise Lee:



Lee works around the press coverage of Brandon Carr and rips off a 35-yard reception. Carr is most likely to be the man assigned to cover Bryant, the Steelers' best deep threat, which could be a big target for Roethlisberger to take the top off the defense.

ANTONIO BROWN VS. JIMMY SMITH

Jimmy Smith is a fast and physical cornerback who has given Brown problems in the past. His physical style of play smothers receivers, as he uses his hands to jam them, keeping them from running loose and using their agility to beat him.

If there's anything that Brown could have that someone might call a weakness, it's him against bigger and more physical cornerbacks who look to jam him up at the line of scrimmage.

Look for these two to go at it on Sunday, and to see if Brown can draw the attention of officials to draw holding and pass interference calls when Smith decides to keep his hands on him as they both work further down the field.

STEELERS OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS VS. RAVENS OUTSIDE ZONE RUNS

The Steelers got gashed for over 200 yards by the Bears' outside running scheme last week and that, for sure, was a theme in practice all week.

Not just because Keith Butler wanted to correct past mistakes, but because that same style of running is what the Ravens' offense has employed for years against the Steelers.

That means that last week's lesson will be a major key to winning this week instead of being something the team has to put in its back pocket and revisit weeks later.

Look for Bud Dupree and T.J. Watt to be the key to setting the edge and not allowing the Ravens to spread out the Steelers' front for cutback lanes.

Fortunately for the Steelers, none of the Ravens' running backs are the caliber of Jordan Howard or have the dynamic speed of Tarik Cohen. So if they play their gap assignments and win at the point of attack, the Steelers' defensive front could limit the part of the Ravens' offense that has frustrated them for years.

Doing so would force Joe Flacco to test the Steelers' pass defense, which currently ranks second in the NFL, only allowing 136.7 yards per game. That might be where the Steelers want to force the Ravens to go after Flacco only threw eight completions in 22 attempts and two interceptions last week against the Jaguars (who ironically are the NFL's top-ranked defense against the pass with an average of 124.3 yards allowed per game).