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Frame by Frame: Tight End Play, Hartwig and Mahan
By Dagger | August 19, 2008
Steeler coaches were hoping the Justin Hartwig vs Sean Mahan battle would get resolved after the first 2 preseason games. No dice. Mahan actually looked surprisingly good in preseason game 1 (he didn’t face a big NT—that’s key–and he faced a real bad Philly DL) and Hartwig faced backups in Game 1 and had an up-and-down performance vs the Bills (but he did face a better DL than Mahan did). So where does this leave us? Who knows. At this point I’m giving Hartwig the edge based on what we saw last season from Mahan. When the two guys are facing-off against different caliber players at different times in the game, it makes it hard to judge who has had the better camp thus far.
PGH still thinks Hartwig is the better option as his skill set and size make him a better choice for facing the guys the Steelers will face this season at the NT/DT spot. Mahan looks good pulling and working in space, but one-on-one against big guys he just doesn’t have what it takes. Here is a brief look at Hartwig and Mahan both struggling a tad on Thursday night.
Hartwig Play 1
Hartwig with the 1st team offense struggles to pull left and make his block. This is actually something that the smaller/lighter Mahan is pretty good at. Hartwig had a few pulls where he struggled and ended up lying on the ground but he also had some good pulls.
#62 seems to be in good position but he gets to his spot a bit late and his man blows up the play.
Heath Miller tries to lend a helping hand but the damage is done. Speaking of Heath Miller, we’ll talk about him and the other TEs in a minute.
Hartwig Play 2
Hartwig is the victim of a bit of a quick jump/gamble here by the DL.
The NT is in the backfield before the RB receives the handoff. Not good.
Mahan Play 1.
This is typical Mahan right here….
Blown up by a DT and pushed into the backfield against the 2nd/3rd team Bills D-Line. Other guys on the right side of the line are struggling on this play, too, but you would like your center to spearhead the attack.
Mahan Play 2
Same story…
Other guys are getting pushed backwards as well, but those other Steeler OL aren’t competing for the #1 job. We’ve harped on this for over a year, but you can’t have the CENTER getting pushed backwards. It kills everything.
TE Blocks
We love talking about the Tight Ends. Last year we took a long look at the 3 TE sets the Steelers were falling in love with before Tuman and Spaeth got hurt. You can check that breakdown out right here (bottom of the article).
While we have your attention, we want to bring up one more aspect/extension of the Line. Last year Matt Spaeth and Heath Miller had very good seasons (when healthy and in the lineup) but at times their blocking left something to be desired. For as much as the OL comes under fire due to the sacks they give up and their struggles in short-yardage situations, remember that without a FB in the game, the TEs are crucial. Last year Bruce Arians would have a singleback formation as the huddle broke, but he would send Jerame Tuman or Heath Miller motioning/shifting into the backfield to lead the way for Willie Parker.
TE Play 1
Watch Heath Miller on this play (he’s standing up right past the RT):
He attempts to block down on this play to get in his man’s way. The right side of the line is pulling so Miller has to get to his man quickly so he doesn’t have a free pass to the QB/RB.
Here you can see Kendall Simmons is in mid-pull and the DL lined up opposite him has read the play. Heath knows that this defender might shoot the gap so he has to get there in a hurry……but as you can see, Miller is a bit slow to the block and the DL is breaking to the ball.
Plenty of running room to the left side of the line, could be a big gain, but Miller’s man gets a hand on Parker and kills the play.
Miller’s man makes a good play to read the pull and gets to Parker before Miller can push him out of the play, so give the defense credit. At times we are all guilty of looking only at our guys and not giving the other team credit when they make a Steeler look bad.
TE Play 2
Here is a good look at what Matt Spaeth can bring to the table. We saw him last year looking good in the redzone and here is a good example of the skills he can bring to the offense. Heath Miller motions from the far TE spot to FB. With no traditional Dan Kreider-type at FB, this is how the Steelers roll. This is what Bruce Arians loves about the 2 anad 3 TE sets. Flexibility and and ability to run or pass out of all sorts of formations. This flexibility is only possible, remember, because Spaeth and Miller are both well-rounded TEs. This is the type of attack the Steelers had in mind when they took Speath so early in the draft.
Spaeth is left at TE up top.
As Ben sells the play-action Spaeth locks up a pretty good player in Chris Kelsay. If Spaeth doesn’t hold this block, Ben is pressured 10 yards behind the LOS and he probably tosses the ball out of bounds.
Spaeth slides off his block and finds an soft spot. Not shown here is Speath swimming past Kelsay and another Bills LB as he comes free to give Ben a nice receiving target. In this one play he showed his blocking ability, his hands, and his awareness/ability to move and get open.
TE Play 3
2 TEs again. Spaeth at the bottom of your screen, Miller up top. This is a Run Left for Parker.
Hartwig gets a good block 5 yards down field. Heath locks up his man on the far side. Kemo and Marvel do their jobs. Matt Spaeth is crucial on this play as he needs to seal his guy off. So, on a play like this, the blocking ability of Spaeth/Miller is just as important as Kemo, Smith, Hartwig/Mahan, Simmons, etc…..the blocking ability of these 2 TEs will make or break plays at times.
TE Play 3
I love stuff like this. Heath Miller lines up at WR at the top of your screen. He then motions back towards the line.
Quick WR screen is tossed to Hines Ward and Miller jumps out in front with Carey Davis to block the secondary.
This is real nice play design by Arians. Miller motions from WR to the slot and gets to face-off against a CB in the open field. Santonio Holmes maybe turns this to the outside and gets big yardage.
Endzone view…
Topics: NFL, Sports, Steelers | 2 Comments »
August 19th, 2008 at 6:25 am
Thanks for this. Very interesting, indeed. I love me your breakdowns.
August 19th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Thanks Dag, keep it coming. I was watching the INT by Ben, and I noticed that while Colon’s man got upfield, there was a decent pocket that Ben could have stepped up into and helped out Colon. I know there often isn’t a pocket (thanks, Mahan), but do you think there’s chance Ben is doing his tackles a disservice by not stepping up enough? Just a thought.
Also, in the last play, it looks like Whitner or McGee made a great play by getting under Miller and keeping Hines from taking the corner. Those two forced him back inside where Ellison could make the play. Nice play by them.