Steelers/Titans Defensive Breakdown
by Romain El 82 on Sep 11, 2009 5:33 PM EDT
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Welcome to another glorious season of Steeler Football BSTC! Veterans will (hopefully) remember me, while this is the first time I've seen many of the newcomers. Work and school will do that for you. While the Steelers defense was on the field the first half I took a ton of notes (I had an obligation which prevented me from note-taking during the second half), and will put those notes into a chart, and hopefully try to make sense of them to demostrate the dominance of the defense (try saying that 3 times fast!).
As this is the first time I've done this, there will be some bumps in the road to go over and some kinks to work out; I realize writing this I could use more information, such as total TOP for an opposing offense's drive, how many people rushed the QB, what coverage (man or zone), and hopefully I can get who's rushing/dropping into coverage (it's a lot of info to get down while watching the game live!). But like I said, the first two weeks or so I'll consider a pre-season of sorts. Any comments/suggestions/criticisms will be most welcome! Regardless, glad to see you all here and ready for another great season, and let's get into it, shall we?
*Play numbers in bold indicate a first-down play; play numbers in italics indicate a 3rd-down play; play numbers in both indicate a goal-to-go situation; play numbers underlined indicate a 4th-down play.*
Drive 1. Starting Point: Titans 2 yard line. 13:00, First Quarter.
Play Formation Total Yardage Tackler(s) Play Type Credit Other Notes
(1) 3-4 (-1) Gang Run
(2) 3-4 (5) Polamalu Pass
(3) 3-4 (-4) Polamalu Stretch-Run +1 Troy for R'R skills 3 'N Out for the D
Total Field Position Change: 0 yards total.
Drive 2. Starting Point: Titans 11 yard line. 8:28, First Quarter.
Play Formation Total Yardage Tackler(s) Play Type Credit Other Notes
(1) 3-4 (32) Polamalu Run -1 Woodley (missed tackle)
(2) 3-4 (20) Polamalu Pass -1 Polamalu (Zone)
(3) 3-4 (3) Clark Run
(4) 3-4 (--) 2 Defenders Pass
(5) 2-4-5 (--) Polamalu Pass
(6) ST FG (--) N/A FG 37 yard FG Miss
Total Field Position Change: From Titans 11 to Steelers 18; 71 yards total.
Drive 3. Starting Point: Titans 26 yard line. 4:49, First Quarter.
Play Formation Total Yardage Tackler(s) Play Type Credit Other Notes
(1) 3-4 (10) Farrior Pass -1 Harrison (biting on P.A.)
(2) 3-4 (N/A) Illegal Formation Penalty (Titans); 1st and 15
(3) 3-4 (4) Harrison Pass
(4) 3-4 (2) Gang Run +1 Smith (contain)
(5) 2-4-5 (9) Farrior Pass -1 Pass Rush
(6) 3-4 (5) Gang Pass -1 Fox (missed tackle)
(7) 3-4 (INT) Pass +3 Polamalu (coverage, INT, SHC)
Total Field Position Change: From Titans 26 to Steelers 49; Polamalu INT occurs at Steelers 5, runback to Steelers 20; 54 yards total.
Drive 4. Starting Point: Steelers 44 yard line (Ben INT). 0:06, First Quarter.
Play Formation Total Yardage Tackler(s) Play Type Credit Other Notes
(1) 3-4 (1) Gang Run
(2) 3-4 (12) Fox Pass -1 Woodley (missed tackle)
(3) 3-4 (-1) Hampton/Harrison Run
(4) 3-4 (--) Woodley Pass +2 Woodley (pressure, knockdown)
(5) 1-5-5 (-10) Farrior Pass +1 Farrior, +1 Pass Rush, +1 Coverage
Total Field Position Change: From Steelers 44 yard line to Steelers 42; 2 yards total.
Drive 5. Starting Point: Titans 28 yard line. 7:14, Second Quarter.
Play Formation Total Yardage Tackler(s) Play Type Credit Other Notes
(1) 3-4 (--) Keisel/Harrison Pass +1 Pass Rush
(2) 3-4 (4) Fox Run
(3) 1-5-5 (8) Townsend Pass -1 Pass Rush
(4) 3-4 (2) Gay Run
(5) 3-4 (N/A) Illegal Formation on the Titans; "Pass Interference" on Troy (Offsetting)
(6) 3-4 (12) Gay Pass +1 Woodely (pressure)
(7) 3-4 (--) Smith Pass +1 Smith (pressure)
(8) 3-4 (3) Gang Run
(9) 1-5-5 (8) Polamalu Pass -1 Polamalu (P.F.F.)
(10) 3-4 (5) Taylor Pass
(11) 3-4 (-1) Hampton Run +1 Hampton
(12) 1-5-5 (--) Gay/Farrior Pass +1 Farrior
(13) ST FG (--) Smith 31 yard FG Blocked +1 Smith, +1 ST
Total Field Position Change: From Titans 28 yard line to Steelers 16; FG Blocked and recovered at the Steeler 17 yard line; 55 yards total.
Drive 6. Starting Point: Titans 28 yard line. 1:15, Second Quarter.
Play Formation Total Yardage Tackler(s) Play Type Credit Other Notes
(1) 2-4-5 (--) Taylor Pass +1 Taylor (coverage)
(2) 2-4-5 (57) Mundy Pass -2 Clark (missed tackle, coverage/angle)
(3) 2-4-5 (12) N/A - TD Pass -1 Taylor (coverage), +1 Harrison (pressure)
Total Field Position Change: From Titans 28 yard line to Steelers Goalline (TD); 72 yards total.
Observations:
- Most of the time was spent in the 3-4; from what I remember there was mostly a 4-man rush in some way, shape, or form. 3-man rush was occasionally seen, as was the 5- and 6-man rush.
- The Nickel Package is the 2-4-5; Smith and Keisel lined up at DT, with the OLBs as DEs, and the ILBs in their usual place. This formation will be an INSTANT KO once Timmons comes back and resumes his destruction of the universe.
- Early in the 2nd Quarter the defense lined up in what I'm going to call a 1-5-5; Smith (or on occasion I'm assuming Keisel, once Timmons is healthy) lines up in a 0 technique with the 4 LBs and Keisel jumping and moving around from stand-up positions, where some will blitz and the others will drop upon the snap. This leaves the OL guessing as to who is going to rush and who is going to drop, and also enables the Steelers to move defenders around where they want them, similar to last year when they would sometimes put Harrison and Woodley or Woodley and Timmons on the same side and blitz them both. This flexibility enables the Steelers to really set the offense up nicely and hopefully not end mankind as we know it.
- Another variation on the scheme above which, sadly, was seen in the second half and definitely the 4th Quarter (and was even mentioned by the announcers), thus was not recorded by myself, was essentially a 0-6-5, where no one had their hands on the ground and there was a mass of moving Steelers around the LOS. In the specific instance I'm remembering, Keisel dropped, Farrior, Fox, and Harrison all slammed hard inside, with Harrison and Fox twisting, and Woodley sprinting around RT. Farrior bulled through the weakside A gap, being pushed/held by both the C and G before finally forcing an errant throw by Collins, as he had to step up into Farrior to avoid the free-running/barely-being-contained-by-an-overmatched-RB Woodley from his right.
- It seemed as though the Titans were hitting big plays on mid- to deep-outs and square ins; the outs were indicative of a lackluster passrush and the ins were quick, dumpoff type things that avoided a quick rush. Chalk it up to good scouting of the Steeler D, a veteran QB Collins (who, at the end of the night, had his first loss against the Steelers...which, WTF?), whatever you want to say. The D bent but never really broke.
- Troy Polamalu...man, what can you say other than D'OH! when he got hurt. All over the field, another sick interception (SHC above is 'superhuman catch'), and a PI penalty which was a terrible call...we Pittsburgh fans are lucky to be watching two greats on the field for us: Ben on offense and Troy on defense. More often then not, as these men go, so too do the Pittsburgh Steelers. Get well soon Troy...maybe Hines can lend you his hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
- Aaron Smith continues to be a rock for this defense, always doing what is asked of him, being fundamentally sound, and coming up huge when needed. As much of an underrated player as one can be while seemingly always being talked about.
- Though relatively quiet on the stat sheet, "Deebo" had another good game, applying pressure and keeping contain well on running plays to his side, though I did grade him (perhaps) a little hard for biting on a play-action fake while blitzing. Speaking of the stat sheet...
Overall +/-
Smith +3
Polamalu +2
Farrior +2
Woodley +1
Harrison 0
Taylor 0
Fox -1
Clark -2
-------------------------
Pass Rush: 0
Coverage: +1
Special Teams: +1
I have to admit, these will get better the longer I do them, especially as I can find multiple drive summaries online after the game and thus do not have to write everything down. As I said in the opening, this will be much improved for the Bears game recap; this was simply working out the kinks.
Hopefully you enjoyed this and got something out of it; it is definitely interesting for me to watch and record what happens. Again, comments/concerns/suggestions/advice will be greatly appreciated and openly welcomed. Thanks for reading, BTSC!
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Cool
This is really great stuff, especially for a first shot. If you want my advice (and you sort of asked for it), I would say the more “database-like” you can make this data, the more potentially useful and interesting it would be, especially if you do it for the majority of their games. For instance, after 10 games or so, it might be interesting to see how many “plus” plays James Farrior makes out of the nickel, or how effective the “1-5-5” defense is vs other options on 3rd down, etc.
You could do that in Access (if you have DB experience) or just an elaborate excel sheet using filter or COUNTIF type statements.
Also, for display purposes it might be nice to have the down and distance shown above, as that’s often the key to why certain packages are chosen.
Anyway, I like it a lot, keep it coming.
charity standing orders
Also, for display purposes it might be nice to have the down and distance shown above, as that’s often the key to why certain packages are chosen.
That was going to be my lone comment. You can read down the yardage accrued, but it gets confusing. Typically it’s pretty obvious that it’s 2-4-5 (2-5-4’s when timmons returns?) when it’s a clear passing down.
Willie Colon - top 2 RT in the NFL
Yeah
I was going to keep doing this and put together a stat-type sheet; success vs. teams who tend to run, 3rd down percentages of 3rd and 10+, 5-10, and short, etc, along with the continuation/eventual expansion of the +/- system for everyone, not just who catches my eye (like I did in this game).
As I said, the whole ‘not having to write EVERYTHING down’ thing will be better, as I was constantly writing and often had to guess (unless the announcers made mention) of how many yards were gained, etc.
I have big plans for this if people like it, and I will be doing this for all the games this year. Thanks for the input BM. :)
Good work
You could get down, distance, and yards gained afterward, from the official game logs. That way, you wouldn’t have to write down these basic facts while watching.
Love the SHC!
Good analysis
Sort of reminds me of stories of old Dallas Cowboys’ tendencies analysis; Landry semi-famous for charting his own team, to avoid being predictable. Actually, my first thought was once you’ve refined, you should consider finding a way to get this to Dr. Lebeau – for inclusion in their “lab” analysis post-game, then I thought they probably already do something similar. Anyway, just random thoughts early in the a.m. Nice work, keep it coming! Another 2c – anybody notice post-game how Ben/Hines seemingly bought into Tomlin kool aid:
Q: Did you make a statement tonight that defending champs ready to defend the crown?
A: No. We won one game. AWESOME answer!
00s are new 70s; world is in balance once again. Here we go Steelers...
Good Stuff
well written shows how the defense gave up an occasional big play but when push comes to shove they don’t give up alot of points and make big plays themselves, like the SHC (which sounds like some sort of disease that you wouldn’t want). Can’t wait ot see if anything really changes with troy out of the lineup in terms of yards given up and points allowed.
You Started It....
I hope you will finish. Great stuff, don’t leave us hangin’ now. Will be looking for Steelers/bears defensive breakdown post next Tuesday. Thanks.
by steelerwheeler on Sep 14, 2009 11:43 AM EDT reply actions
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