The progression of young players like Sean Davis augurs well for the Steelers' defense. Davis saw his first full season as a starter in 2017, recording three interceptions, eight passes defensed and a forced fumble along with 69 tackles and a sack.
Being only the age of 24, Davis represents part of the current youth movement of a defense that boasted seven starters age 25 or younger in 2017. Especially for a young safety, Davis showed several instances of being a disciplined player who was learning how to improve from just fulfilling his assignments to being a major playmaker for the Steelers.
I appreciated Davis' instincts and how he knew when to challenge for an interception without overlooking his zone responsibilities. All of his three interceptions came from him playing in deep, backed-off coverage and charging the ball at the right time.
Against the Bengals playing in a deep Cover 2 responsibility, his job was to make sure nobody on his half of the field could get by him, so choosing when and how to jump routes that approach him could be tricky. If he missed, the Bengals would have a free shot for a touchdown.
Watch how he sat about 20 yards off the ball and was able to identify the only two receiving threats for the Bengals on his side of the field. Once he saw that the deep post was the only route he had to worry about, Davis was able to jump the pass and turn the play into an interception by challenging the ball and swatting the pass so that William Gay could make the interception:
Being able to recognize those moments is crucial to defenses that use Cover 2 schemes like the Steelers. Having two safeties who play deep halves zone coverage runs certain risks, one of which is that the middle of the field usually becomes an open target for quarterbacks. Davis made his third interception of the year making a similar play, but this time jumping to the middle of the field to do it.
Watch how once the ball is snapped, Davis moved towards the sideline to ensure he could protect his half of the field, but once he recognized that no deep route was coming outside the numbers, he recognized the streaking receiver down the middle of the field and went to cut him off. Though Joe Flacco made a poor throw, Davis put himself in the proper position to defend this play:
Being in the right spot is often half the battle in football, and it's an aspect of Davis' game where he's shown significant progress. It becomes even more important in the secondary when the schematic wars going on between coordinators are all about defending and attacking different areas of the field.
Davis' progress showed that he was putting himself in the right position more often, which allowed him to make more plays on the ball.
Watch how he's moving in the back of the end zone on this play, highlighted by the red circle, where he is able to post up and win a jump ball scenario with a tight end to force an incomplete pass:
Being in the right place at the right time requires knowledge and understanding of how to play within a scheme and fill out your role. But following through on the physical aspects of the assignment is the next step in making the play. I spoke with Davis after the Steelers defeated the Lions at Ford Field, and asked him about a key play in which he stripped the ball from Darren Fells' hands.
"Fight through the hands," Davis told me when I asked about what he's thinking when he's going up for the ball. Watch how Davis goes up for the ball, and even though Fells gets to it first, Davis follows through by putting his hand up and swiping through, between Fells' hands:
What most fans remember about Davis' 2017 season was how Rob Gronkowski took advantage of him in the fourth quarter on a day when the tight end totaled 168 yards on nine receptions.
But watching the tape from that day showed that Davis wasn't completely lost or out of position during that game. The reason Gronkowski won plenty of those battles is because he's the best tight end in the league and he had Tom Brady throwing him the ball.
Watch how he plays Gronkowski here, as he bumps him off his route just a little and keeps himself between Gronkowksi and Brady. This is what a defensive back must do to force the perfect throw from the quarterback as the passing window is much smaller with Davis in between them. Davis even puts his hand up at the perfect time to challenge Gronkowski without having to look for the ball:
Davis is right on schedule with his progress and how he's playing in coverage as a young safety. He's not yet the super playmaking safety who will be on anyone's short list for the best at his position, but there's a good chance he could ascend to that status with another year of experience.
