Mike Tomlin went into the season with a lot of confidence in his "coverage people," and how they're being deployed over the first two games is proof of that. However, that didn't stop the Seahawks from taking chunks out of the Steelers' defense, especially on third down.
In his Tuesday press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, Tomlin chalked the biggest reason for that under execution rather than schematics.
"I just thought in general we could have been tighter in coverage and more solid in terms of some of our communication," Tomlin said. "Oftentimes, the tightness of coverage is a reflection of understanding and fluid communication. We've gotta get better in some of those areas."
This wouldn't be the first time the defense has had communication issues, as that was one of the critical reasons why they played terribly in the five-game losing streak that ended their 2024 season.
To his point, it's a new season with new players and it's still September. Fluid communication does take time to develop. And that seems to be a key focus as the team turns their attention to the Patriots.
"Most of my concerns are centered around that," Tomlin said. "Our level of cohesion and communication given the fact that so many guys are new to us."
However, the schematics can't be forgotten. The Seahawks converted 6 of 14 third downs, but two of those failed conversions led to fourth-and-1 situations on third-and-12 and third-and-14, respectively. Seattle then used the tush push to convert one of those fourth downs and opted to punt on the other, despite being at the Pittsburgh 49-yard line.
The Seahawks attacked the middle of the Steelers' defense on just about every one of those successful third-down plays. And the vast majority of the time, the defense was in Cover 1, a man coverage that has just one safety back. It's also a coverage that's accompanied with a blitz, even if it's just a five-man pressure. Yet, the Steelers are one of just six teams remaining that have yet to record a sack on third down this season.
One of the reasons why is Darnold was able to get the ball out quickly on a lot of these plays, indicating the coverage wasn't tight enough, specifically with Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey was targeted 11 times in this game, allowing nine catches for 128 yards and one touchdown. He also intercepted one pass, reducing his passer rating against to 107.6.
Ramsey often played outside leverage in this coverage reps, which is common for just about any cornerback. From that perspective, a cornerback's help is almost always in the middle while there' seldom help on the outside. Therefore, cornerback's guard most where they don't have help.
However, as I pointed out in this week's Chalk Talk, Ramsey almost never had help in the middle of the defense, allowing Sam Darnold and Co. to gash the defense over and over again:
The defense eventually wore down throughout the game, both through overall effort and attrition. Patrick Queen missed five snaps due to a rib injury while Payton Wilson missed nine snaps dealing with an illness. In addition, both Alex Highsmith and Isaiahh Loudermilk left the game with high ankle sprains.
Perhaps the defense wouldn't have been as worn down if they stopped a few more third downs earlier in the game.
The solution to all of this right now appears to be improving communication, cohesion and, as always, just get better.
"We've gotta be better. We've gotta strategize better. We've gotta play better. We've gotta divide the labor up a little bit better," Tomlin said. "Some of that's been challenging with some of the attrition, but that's what we're paid to do. But I'm excited about addressing it this week."
THE ASYLUM
Tomlin focused on communication, cohesion
Mike Tomlin went into the season with a lot of confidence in his "coverage people," and how they're being deployed over the first two games is proof of that. However, that didn't stop the Seahawks from taking chunks out of the Steelers' defense, especially on third down.
In his Tuesday press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, Tomlin chalked the biggest reason for that under execution rather than schematics.
"I just thought in general we could have been tighter in coverage and more solid in terms of some of our communication," Tomlin said. "Oftentimes, the tightness of coverage is a reflection of understanding and fluid communication. We've gotta get better in some of those areas."
This wouldn't be the first time the defense has had communication issues, as that was one of the critical reasons why they played terribly in the five-game losing streak that ended their 2024 season.
To his point, it's a new season with new players and it's still September. Fluid communication does take time to develop. And that seems to be a key focus as the team turns their attention to the Patriots.
"Most of my concerns are centered around that," Tomlin said. "Our level of cohesion and communication given the fact that so many guys are new to us."
However, the schematics can't be forgotten. The Seahawks converted 6 of 14 third downs, but two of those failed conversions led to fourth-and-1 situations on third-and-12 and third-and-14, respectively. Seattle then used the tush push to convert one of those fourth downs and opted to punt on the other, despite being at the Pittsburgh 49-yard line.
The Seahawks attacked the middle of the Steelers' defense on just about every one of those successful third-down plays. And the vast majority of the time, the defense was in Cover 1, a man coverage that has just one safety back. It's also a coverage that's accompanied with a blitz, even if it's just a five-man pressure. Yet, the Steelers are one of just six teams remaining that have yet to record a sack on third down this season.
One of the reasons why is Darnold was able to get the ball out quickly on a lot of these plays, indicating the coverage wasn't tight enough, specifically with Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey was targeted 11 times in this game, allowing nine catches for 128 yards and one touchdown. He also intercepted one pass, reducing his passer rating against to 107.6.
Ramsey often played outside leverage in this coverage reps, which is common for just about any cornerback. From that perspective, a cornerback's help is almost always in the middle while there' seldom help on the outside. Therefore, cornerback's guard most where they don't have help.
However, as I pointed out in this week's Chalk Talk, Ramsey almost never had help in the middle of the defense, allowing Sam Darnold and Co. to gash the defense over and over again:
The defense eventually wore down throughout the game, both through overall effort and attrition. Patrick Queen missed five snaps due to a rib injury while Payton Wilson missed nine snaps dealing with an illness. In addition, both Alex Highsmith and Isaiahh Loudermilk left the game with high ankle sprains.
Perhaps the defense wouldn't have been as worn down if they stopped a few more third downs earlier in the game.
The solution to all of this right now appears to be improving communication, cohesion and, as always, just get better.
"We've gotta be better. We've gotta strategize better. We've gotta play better. We've gotta divide the labor up a little bit better," Tomlin said. "Some of that's been challenging with some of the attrition, but that's what we're paid to do. But I'm excited about addressing it this week."
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits!
We’d love to have you!