Press coverage is a major part of Artie Burns' skill set and while he may not have lit up the stat sheet in 2017, his tactics as a cornerback, especially in press coverage, were above par in his first full year as a starter.
Burns displayed good coverage skills in both backed-off and press coverage. But with the Steelers running more man schemes and challenging talented receivers at the line of scrimmage, Burns' ability to press his assignments at the line and run with them down the field was a key need for the Steelers in 2017, and could play a huge role in how the Steelers' defense performs against the pass in 2018:
Often when I talk to people about Burns' 2017 performance, the first thing I hear mentioned is the biggest play he didn't make — when rookie Keelan Cole took him for 45 yards deep down the field in the Steelers' playoff loss to the Jaguars.
That was a bad moment for Burns in what was an otherwise not-so-bad individual performance. Burns gave up the big play not because he was completely lost or out of it, but because Cole made a solid move at the line of scrimmage and Blake Bortles threw the perfect ball to complete a route Burns had been comfortable stopping all season.
Watch how Burns' feet start just half a second too late and prevent him from establishing leverage on Cole to direct the route where he wanted him to go. This is why elite cornerbacks are some of the most talented athletes in all of sports, because if in one brief moment you forget a single aspect of your fundamentals, you could be on the wrong end of a highlight that roasts your team:
The main mistake Burns committed on that play was giving up his inside leverage. When covering a receiver outside the numbers in press, one of the cornerback's primary concerns is maintaining leverage on the inside and forcing the receiver to work his route toward the sideline.
To accomplish this, there are three physical focus points that cornerbacks employ: their footwork, their hands and their eyes.
Their footwork needs to maintain a centered balance while going into their backpedal without allowing the receiver so much space that he can go whichever direction he chooses; they want to force where the receiver goes.
Keeping their hands in front and ready to strike is one of the primary methods to assert dominance at the line and lock down a specific side. Burns often does this part very well, but against Cole, he's never in position to strike against him and force him away from the inside.
And of course, eye placement. Where a cornerback looks is imperative in making sure he can react as quickly as possible to where the receiver is trying to attack. Traditionally, a cornerback keeps his eyes at the bottom of the numbers on the front of the receiver's jersey.
This keeps the eyes focused on the receiver's center mass. Most receivers use their hands, head, shoulders and even their feet to fake which direction they're going. But their hips are often the first and most consistent tell as to what their real plan is for the play.
Burns usually checks off all of these boxes on a play, and he was very consistent at forcing receivers to the sideline. When a receiver has to run up the sideline, the cornerback is between the quarterback and the receiver, and that creates a much tighter window for the quarterback to fit the ball.
Here Burns lines up against Brandin Cooks and does almost everything right. He stays square and centered, avoids being faked out and forces Cooks to the outside, and then finishes the play by putting his hand up in Cooks' face and in between Cooks' arms. This is textbook man-to-man corner coverage — Burns avoids turning to look for the ball, which would risk the chance of losing his man:
Of course, Cooks is a smaller receiver and it will be important for Burns to do that against taller premier receivers, like A.J. Green. Here he is doing just that, as you see him run with Green and eventually get his hand right into Green's chest, just like he was able to get his hand in between Cooks' arms. Burns not only has his hands in position, but he's forced Green so far to the sideline that the window to target him is too tiny for Andy Dalton to hit:
Even when Burns does get beat to the inside, he's very good at sticking to the back shoulder of his assignment so he can make a play on the ball. Here he is in the same game when Green cuts to the inside, but because of his positioning, he's able to slap the pass away:
Burns is still very young at 23 and learning with every week he plays. Though he only had one interception in 2017, the fourth of his career, Burns had a good season. The Steelers had enough confidence in him that they schemed to put him on an island.
Burns is close to mastering the fundamentals to prevent big plays, and 2018 could be the year when he starts making more big plays himself.