Anatomy of a play - Tyrone Carter Pick 6

As we sit back and celebrate the Steelers 28-10 pounding of the Broncos, it's easy to forget the very tough fist half the Broncos played against us.  Up until intermission, Denver dominated time of possession (19:16 to 10:44), yards (183 to 54), first downs (9 to 3) and third down efficency (56% vs. 40%) - pretty much every meaningful stat except the score.

In fact, the Broncos looked solid on both sides of the ball and I for one was worried that our defense might be gassed having played nearly 20 minutes in the thin air by half time.   

It's hard to imagine now, but the game might have turned out very differently if not for the Steelers third defensive TD in the 2 games, this one served up by the oft-maligned Tyrone Carter. 

More about the play in a second, but I want to remind people that Carter at 5-8, 190  age 33 has often been the target of criticism and frustration from many in the nation, especially when he has to come in and replace our FHOF safety Troy Polamalu.

Carter will likely never live down his open field miss in the the Jaguars-Steelers play-off game in 2007, but for a long time that play has overshadowed the contributions of a smart and solid veteran back-up, not to mention good guy. For a bit more about Carter, check out this excellent profile the post-gazette ran on him a couple of weeks back.  

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There is no question that the Tryone Carter Pick 6 was one of the biggest plays of the game. At that point the Broncos were up 3-0 with 13:01 left in the half.  

Denver had been feeding the Steelers a steady stream of dink and dunk, that appeared to be sorely bending though not yet breaking the LeBeau defense.  If not for a great play by William Gay in the red-zone on the Broncos first drive, they could have been out to a big early lead.  

Kyle Orton would go on to complete 16 of 21 in the first half for a total of 163 yards. And the Steelers offense never really got it going in the first half.  

Orton would only complete 7 of 17 in the second half and the Broncos would manage only 3 more first downs, while the Steelers, who had only managed 3 first downs in the first half would add 18 more first downs in the second half. Not too shabby.  

Now let's look at the play. 

Here is the full video of the play from NFL films

http://www.nfl.com/videos/pittsburgh-steelers/09000d5d81414d6d/Tyrone-Carter-Pick-6

Now let's break it down.  

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Let's start with the formations. The Broncos start this one with three receivers out to the left, the QB in the shotgun and one running back in the backfield.  The Steelers seem to be in a classic LeBeau set.  There are 5 guys on the line and two line backers in the box, plus one corner (William Gay) sitting outside on the empty side of the field.  Notcie that the lone Steelers defender on the top of the screen - Ike Taylor is playing a full ten yards off his man.  No one else is visible.  That means that Troy and Tyrone are up deep upfield

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The three Broncos receivers release, with Taylor, Troy and Carter still out of sight. As soon as the ball is snapped you begin to understand why this defense is so difficult to play against.  

Until they go (and even after) you have no idea which of the 8 guys in and around the box are coming at the QB. In this formation, 5 guys go at the Broncos six leaving both middle linebackers, the two corners and the two safeties in coverage, but you just don't know who is coming till the ball is snapped.  

As a side note, I think this is exactly the kind of formation that offenses including the Broncos have exploited for a lot of underneath stuff. This is the kind of stuff that come play-off time will turn in to a fascinating chess match between QBs like Peyton and Brady and LeBeau. 

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Notice where we are one second into the play. It's a bit difficult to know what is going on up-field, but at this point Orton does not yet have a receiver open.  The Steelers have brought 5 guys against 6 Broncos.  Buckhalter releases up field. You can see big Ziggy, leaving a trail of stardust as he runs hard at his guy. Kiesel is being double teamed (repsect!). Woodley is being well blocked and James Harrison is being (held around the neck) blocked by Ryan Clady.  

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 Another split second later, you will notice that Silverback is  completely around his man with a line to the QB and if not for an outstanding (stranglehold around the neck) block by Clady, Kyle Orton is eating dirt and smelling gorilla breath about a third of a second from now.   Woodley is well blocked.  

This is where it get's interesting, Chris Hoke, that would be your Nose Tackle peals off his block and goes to cover the running back.  That, my friends is a LeBeau defense.  Crazy like fox. 

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Another split second later and we end up with this look.

Notice that now, both Hood and Kiesel are double teamed.  Clady is still (strangling) blocking Harrison, Woodley is trying a spin move to bet back on the inside.  It looks like the protection aided by Clady's excellent lynching blocking of Harrison is going to give Orton all the time he needs to find an open man against the zone.  

Notice that Hoke is hauling his 300 pounds around the field with a speedy little back.  

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Another split second later and Woodley is falling to the ground, essentially out of the play. It's hard to see here but the Broncos right tackle pulled a classic Rick Mahorn move on him. As Woodley backed in to him, the guy just fell down backwards, causing Woodley who was pushing his weight in to him, to go down to the ground as well. Dangerous, but effective.  

Meanwhile Chris Hoke is running up field and getting a good bump on Buckhalter just inside 5 yards.  Orton has nothing down field - he pumps and does not throw.  Harrison is still being (affectionately hugged around the neck) blocked by Clady.

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Here is where the Steelers get lucky.

Notice that Buckhalter has run in to the ref, essentially keeping him from clearing Hoke's coverage a split second earlier.  Orton is still looking down field, but he is now staring down the very large Hood of a 2009 model Ziggy Steamroller, coming his way. 

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Orton releases to his check down, just as Ziggy plows into his midsection.  

Buckhalter, who has lost a step because hitting the ref, is out of position.  The ball is in the air here. You can barely see it, but it's hovering over the left hashmark at the 39 yard line.   Carter meanwhile is moving his old butt toward the play. 

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This just tells you how fast everything is in the NFL. Notice where the ball is (42 yard line over the left hashmark), where Carter is (51 yard line) and where Buckhalter is (47 yard line).  

It's hard to tell from the still that this won't be a nice gain over the middle instead of a pick six.  

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Carter catches the ball at about the 48 .  Since Buckhalter is underneath at around the 45-46 at the time, it tells me that Tryone did not jump the route, but rather that Buckhalter was never able to make it to his spot because of a combination of great coverage by Hoke, great pressure by Ziggy and a spot of nice luck in the form of a screen by the official.

Any of this things doesn't happen and this could go for another one of those short gains up the middle that the Broncos have built their season on.    

The only other thing I will add about the play is the Kiesel, who has spent the whole play occupying two Broncos linemen, essentially blocks both of them on the return. Once again he is showing Steeler nation what a man he is. He would go on to record two outstanding sacks and generally make Kyle Orton's life miserable. 

Drawing Conclusions one the Wall

When all is said and done, this play is an interesting microcosm of what the Steelers do on defense much of the time.  

You have the bend but don't break philosophy - which gives so many of us heart burn, but is the trademark of this incarnation of the Steelers D.   Remember how far-off the play our DBs were?  There was not one guy withing 10 yards of a receiver.  Most were about 20 yards away. You can't do that unless you have supreme confidence in your guys abilities to consistently make big open-field tackles. 

You have the crazy LeBeau defensive fronts.  Most plays you just have no idea which of the 11 men on the defensive side of the ball are going to attack the QB and which are going to drop back into coverage. Which is to say, when your 300 pound nose tackle is running 8 yards down field with a running back, that opens up some interesting options up-front. .  

Want more proof? Look again at the final picture. It's hard to tell here, but I think that's either Fox or Farrior standing at the 40 yard line in coverage on either Gaffeny or Royal.

Frankly thinking about those guys trying to man up against a receiver that fast should give you a heart attack.  And it would until you remember that somewhere back there, waiting and roaming like a dark, malevolent and hirsute shadow is one of the greatest whirling dervishes of a football player ever to play the safety position, a guy who is head and shoulders above all but a select few - Troy Polamalu.    

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7 benefits in one bottle? You could find worse descriptions of Troy's play. 

If he remains healthy and dandruff free, I like our chances of doing good things.  

Mazal Tov to Tyrone for two picks in one game. And thank God for Troy.