Offensive Breakdown: Skins vs Steelers

« Steelers vs Colts Quick Hitters | Home | Podcast: 5 Aint Enough Episode 101 »

Offensive Breakdown: Skins vs Steelers

By Dillweed | November 10, 2008

“Pass Offense” vs Steelers

With our passing game there were a lot of plays left on the field as you would expect when the offense only puts up 6 points. Blame can be assessed to a variety of areas including Campbell, Dick Lebau’s genius, Jon Jansen, the best front 7 in all of football, and yes…Jon Jansen.

(May need to click on the following frames for easier reading)

The following frame shows on the right side, 2 receivers going downfield with man coverage and a safety (Polamalu) up top. The Safety has to pick a route to cover and bites inside, leaving the outside route along the sidelines open. For whatever reason JC doesn’t see this:

JC takes off running and the potential downfield play is gone.

The following frame shows a similar situation. Either side of the field has each receiver in man coverage with a safety over top. Both safeties sit on the deep routes developing by the sidelines and the underneath ‘out’ routes on either side of the field are open. JC has 0 time to get the ball to these guys as Harrison embarrasses Jansen and gets to the QB:

The next frame shows JC with not enough time to hit a freakin CHECKDOWN route. You know the protection is bad when the QB doesn’t even have time to dump it off to the RB. Credit Jansen with the lack of time:

4th and Goal and we need a touchdown to have a chance of staying in the game. The right play call is made, even though Kornheiser will have you believe that we should run it with Portis. Cooley drew single coverage and JC has made this throw a million times before. But instead he tries to fit the throw to…Lorenzo Alexander (?)

Thankfully, Jaws provided us with some nice down the field shots. Jaws covering Skins games = awesome.

Blitzes

As always, Lebeau brought everyone, anyone and no one in his blitz packages. A common theme I saw develop was a numbers mismatch in the middle of the field leaving favorable match-ups for the Steelers on the outside…specifically a RB on a LB. Notice Jansen on the bottom of the screen getting sucked in by a defender faking the blitz before dropping back in coverage. This allows for the one-on-one RB vs LB matchup:

The previous play exploits Portis and the following play shows LeBeau exploiting Cartwright. Also, Jansen is left 1-on-1, which should be ok as it’s a RT vs OLB, but in the case of Jansen vs Harrison…advantage Steelers:

Look at the “blitzer” who never comes. He just moves side-to-side and in doing so, sucks up multiple blockers in the middle waiting to pick him up. Again, this leaves favorable match-ups to the outside:

[Table=155]

Samuels played his worst game of the year so far and a lot of that had to do with his bum knee. But credit the leverage of the rushers as they were able to get underneath Samuels’ pads time and time again. Kendall and Rabach were effective in the run game, but everyone around them wasn’t, and their downfield blocking usually was all for naught. Thomas had some nice seal plays and seemed to be the only guy strong enough to seal out the Steelers lineman at the line of scrimmage. Jansen played the role of Stephon Heyer (or should that be used the other way around?) My vote for our 1st round draft pick in 2009: a Right Tackle. Yoder didn’t stand a chance. Portis blocked his heart out on blitz pickups.

Run Offense vs Steelers

[Table=154]

A 22 yard run to the right skews the run average on that side. Our stretch plays were hurting before the Steelers game and why we even tried to run them against this front 7 is beyond me. The number one asset for a defense against the stretch play? Fast LBs and a dominant nose tackle…and I think the Steelers may fit that profile.

First frame is a stretch play we run to the right. The key matchup all night was Hampton vs Rabach and Kendall:

Kendall actually gets pretty good leverage on this play, but Hampton is just TOO DAMN BIG. He scrapes down the line and shuts down any potential cutback lanes as well as squeeze down on the primary gap. Another key aspect: Randy Thomas (77) unable to get a hat on his guy (50) at the 2nd level. Also, the CB beats the WR block and closes down the gap from the side opposite of Hampton:

Next play: Again we run stretch to the right, this time out of the I-Formation. Results are similar. Notice how Cooley (47), and Jansen make a nice bubble that Sellers (45) is running into for the lead block. Unfortunately Hampton disrupts the play as he scrapes down the line, taking Rabach along for the ride:

Remember the “chip and cut” tactic we used against Shaun Rogers? We tried to do it again on Hampton, but it just didn’t work. Following frame shows Rabach engaged with Kendall coming in for the cut:

Kendall goes down low to cut Hampton…and nothing happens. This leaves Rabach to handle Hampton by himself, instead of being able to disengage Hampton and hit the 2nd level:

If Hampton and the backside pursuit is cut off, Portis has a pretty good shot at squeezing through the lane and has Thomas ahead, who is set up with a good downfield block:

So how did we pull of that 22 yarder? Ah, finally something good to breakdown:

First and foremost…Rabach beats Hampton at the line. I can’t stress how important that is against this defense. If you can eliminate Hampton and seal him out…that usually creates a nice pile and tends to seal out all pursuit behind him:

Same play but now from a better angle. You see the push Rabach gets…notice how Kendall (66) and Samuels (60) follow behind…these 3 will seal off the backside. On the playside, Jansen and Thomas double up the D-lineman and Jansen slides off the block to head upfield:

Following Frame:

Playside: Thomas with a crucial seal at the line. Jansen is at the 2nd level sealing out the LB and Sellers leads the way and gets a hat on Polamalu.

Backside: Samuels-Kendall-Rabach seal off the pursuit

This is a pretty picture:

NOTE: I only charted the game up to the 4th and Goal incomplete pass to L. Alexander. After that, the game was decided and all stats were compiled during garbage time.

Play Action Pass: 3-7 (3 drops) for 50 yards and 1 INT.

There were a couple of throws that could have been charted as throw away’s, but the intended WR was close enough that I just charted it as ‘incomplete.’

I take back everything I said about Portis getting more targets. Portis getting targeted means bad things must be happening. Apparently JC only targets the guy when all hell has broken loose, so uh, yeah target away from Portis as you please.

Defensive Chart: Defensive Breakdown will be up tomorrow and then it’s on to the Dallas game that I missed from earlier in the year. It actually should serve up as a nice preview for the game this week. Anybody else sick and tired of seeing Romo’s mug on the screen?

Yard Line	Down	Formation	Play Call	Player	Yards
Steelers 36	1^st and 10	Ace 4 Wide	Run Middle (Draw)	Portis	1
Jansen and Samuels let their guys run themselves out the play. Aaron Smith out-muscles Thomas and Casey has his hands full with Hampton. #92 beats Moss (obviously) block and 3 men engulf Portis.
Steelers 35	2^nd and 9	I-Form 3 Wide	Pass	Cooley	7
O-line slides the protection over nicely and picks up the 4 man zone rush.
Steelers 28	3^rd and 2	Ace 2 Wide	Run Right	Portis	1
Ugh, another stretch play. Thomas and Rabach put up a nice double team on DE Smith, but Thomas can’t reach the 2^nd level to get #50, neither can Yoder or Jansen from there double team at the LOS. Moss can’t block out the CB and backside pursuit with Polamalu catches up. Kendall (+1) gets GREAT leverage on Hampton and knocks him back a couple yards…wow.
FG. 3-0. 13:17 remains in the 1^st qtr. Drive: That is a very tough front 7. Even the Corners are quick to get involved in the pile and make plays against the run.
Yard Line	Down	Formation	Play Call	Player	Yards
Steelers 30	1^st and 10	Ace 3 Wide	PA Pass	Moss	0
JC throws into double coverage. Great job of pass pro as we moved the pocket (Oline +1)
Steelers 30	2^nd and 10	Empty 4 Wide	Pass	Thrash	5
Kendall got beat (Kendall -1) but JC got rid of it quickly.
Steelers 25	3^rd and 5	Gun 4 Wide	Pass	Randle El	0
Good blitz pick up by Portis (+1) and JC has plenty of time to throw, but he rushes it and the pass goes behind Santana
FG. 6-0 11:07 remains in the 1^st qtr, Drive: 1 bad decision and 1 bad throw by JC end this drive in a hurry. Good pass protection up front, pressure wasn’t an excuse on this drive.
Yard Line	Down	Formation	Play Call	Player	Yards
Skins 25	1^st and 10	I-Form 2 Wide	PA Pass	Moss	10
Steelers had 3 men rushing the QB with 8 guys in the box total keying in on the weak Play Action. Moss and Randle El with cushiony coverage on the outside, JC could’ve went to either one.
Skins 35	1^st and 10	I-Form 2 Wide	Run Right	Portis	22
Here we go…Jansen does a great job of getting to the 2^nd level to eat up the LB (Jansen +1) and it’s all because Thomas is able to get a perfectly executed reach block (Thomas +1) and seal out of #91. Cooley (+1) with a perfect seal on the outside. Sellers (+1) gets a vicious hat on Polamalu. Kendall-Samuels seal off backside pursuit. Even Randle El gets a block downfield
Steelers 43	1^st and 10	I-Form 3 Wide	Run Left	Portis	2
Chip and cut on the NT (not Hampton) opens up the middle but Cooley (-1) can’t hold his block on #92. Same chip and cut we used against Rogers. ..it worked fine there, just need a better seal on the outside.
Steelers 41	2nd and 8	Ace 3 Wide	PA Scramble	JC	0
Oline +1. Great protection up front, JC had forever to throw. We could get 3 guys downfield against man coverage? A DL takes away Portis as the checkdown, but he could’ve ran an out on the option route…whatever
Steelers 41	3^rd and 8	Gun 4 Wide	Pass	Deflected	0
Pass was deflected at the line. I have no idea who JC was throwing too…all our hook routes were covered
5:25 remains in the 1^st qtr. Drive: Had something going there…for like 2 plays. Cooley got beat, then JC can’t find anyone/Portis can’t find the hole in coverage and then the Steelers cover our ‘all hooks’ play call.
Yard Line	Down	Formation	Play Call	Player	Yards
Steelers 47	1^st and 10	I-Form 2 Wide	Run Right	Portis	3
Thomas-Jansen zone block with Thomas reaching the 2^nd level. Chip and Cut by Kendall and Rabach, except Kendall cuts, but Rabach doesn’t get off the NT to hit the 2^nd level. #50 is free to hit the hole. Sellers leads the way. (Thomas +1) (Rabach -1)…can’t really blame Rabach though…he’s was locking horns with Hampton
Stelers 44	2^nd and 7	Ace 3 Wide	Run Right	Alexander	4
Rabach with a GREAT driving block on the NT (Rabach +1) this opens up the middle but of course dumbass Alexander rather tip-toe around instead of reaping the rewards of the great blocking up front. Thomas and Jansen do a good job of driving their blocks out on the right side.
Steelers 40	3^rd and 3	Gun 5 Wide (empty)	Pass	Moss	0
Good decision by JC to find Moss on the underneath drag…yeah, there was some PI on that play. Oh well
2:49 remains in the 1^st qtr. Drive: Shaun still got 4 on that tip-toey move, but he’s gotta hit the damn hole harder when it opens up like that…especially against this D.
Yard Line	Down	Formation	Play Call	Player	Yards
Skins 35	1^st and 10	I-Form 2 Wide	Pass	Randle El	5
Quick hitch route on the outside. The mediocre cushion the Steelers are giving us on the outside is all we are able to work with right now.
Skins 40	2^nd and 5	I-Form 2 Wide	Run Right	Portis	-1
Kendall and Rabach get beat at the line and Portis has no cutback lane. Polamalu just dives into the gap, which was barely existent, and takes away any hole that Portis had.
Skins 39	3^rd and 6	Gun 3 Wide	Pass	Sack	-6
Jansen (-1) and Roc get beat on the outside. Not sure if Cooley was supposed to stay in and block.
14:57 remains in the 2^nd qtr. Drive: Why the hell are we running our WORST run play…the stretch…against a team with a dominant NT? I’m assuming the goal is to run away from Hampton, but our Oline can’t block with the right leverage while running side-to-side all season long. It worked once tonight yes, but it has failed miserably ever since then.
Yard Line	Down	Formation	Play Call	Player	Yards
Skins 28	1^st and 10	Iform 2WR	Pass	Moss	0
Portis (+1) with a great block on the left side that helps out a pulling Thomas. Only 2 WR go out for a route and JC doesn’t have anywhere to put the ball
Skins 28	2^nd and 10	Ace 2 WR	Run Middle	Portis	1
Supposed to go left but Rabach (-1) can’t control his man. Penetration forces Portis to cut it back up the middle where Jansen (-1) blows his block on the DE and the DE makes the play
Skins 29	3^rd and 9	Gun 3 Wide	Pass	Sack	-12
Jansen (-1) gets fooled by the fake blitzer and is late in helping out Portis on the side. One on one with Portis against a DE/OLB and Portis loses. This forces JC to roll out and Samuels has to hold his man.
11:22 remains in the 2^nd qtr. Drive: Jansen got owned on that drive twice. The front 3 Is killing our line on run plays and the schemes are killing us on passing plays.
Yard Line	Down	Formation	Play Call	Player	Yards
Skins 22	1^st and 10	Ace 2 Wide	Pass	Cooley	6
All hooks called. Portis gets just enough of a chip to keep the OLB off of JC
Skins 28	2nd and 4	I-Form 2 Wide	Run Right	Portis	7
Yoder (+1) lead blocks and gets a hat at the 2^nd level. Jansen (+1) seals out the right side. Thomas (+1) also gets a hat at the 2^nd level and Portis has room to actually run!
Skins 35	1^st and 10	Ace 2 Wide	Pass	Yoder (Drop)	0
Portis (+1) with another kill shot on a DE. We are using 2 TE’s and it’s neutralizing the OLB pass rush
Skins 35	2^nd and 10	Ace 2 Wide	Penalty	Holding	-10
Called on Rabach…well, he had Hampton by himself, the hell you want him to do? Kendall (-1) got beat by Keisel on the backside pursuit
Skins 25	2^nd and 20	Ace 2 Wide	Pass	Thrash	0
Poor decision by JC. He had Yoder open up top.
Skins 25	3^rd and 20	Ace 3 Wide	Pass	Portis	5
We send out 3 and a checkdown, Steelers dropped 8…you figure this one out.
5:39 remains in the 2^nd qtr. Drive: We actually had 2 promising back to back plays on that drive, but a drop and holding call kill the drive.
Yard Line	Down	Formation	Play Call	Player	Yards
Skins 27	1^st and 10	Ace 3 Wide	Pass	Moss	4
Quick Slant to Moss
Skins 31	2^nd and 6	Ace 3 Wide	Run Left	Portis	0
Nobody blocks Hampton…amazing. (Thomas -1)
Skins 31	3^rd and 6	I-Form 3 Wide	Pass	Cooley	5
Steelers only rush 3 and Cooley puts a nice move on Woodley to get open
Blocked punt. 2:30 remains in the 2^nd qtr. Drive: Now we aren’t even blocking Hampton…crap.
Yard Line	Down	Formation	Play Call	Player	Yards
Who cares	Whatever	Something	Get Sacked	—	Backwards
Jansen gets beat by a damn high school move. (Jansen -2)
Half. Drive: Draft a Tackle this offseason…please.
Yard Line	Down	Formation	Play Call	Player	Yards
Skins 15	1^st and 10	Ace 3 Wide	Run Middle	Portis	3
Great seal block by Kendall (+1), but Yoder (-1) can’t hold down his man and Samuels is too slow to handle the 2^nd level and LB #50
Skins 18	2^nd and 7	Ace 2 Wide	Pass	Sack	-8
Ugh, Yoder gets isolated one-on-one with Woodley (Michigan) how that happens is beyond me. Yoder (-1) with a pathetic chop block attempt…guess you can’t fault him too much on this one.
Skins 10	3^rd and 15	Gun 4 Wide	Pass	Portis (Drop)	0
yeah
9:00 remains in the 3^rd qtr. Drive: Blitz packages and schemes are confusing the hell out of our O-line
Yard Line	Down	Formation	Play Call	Player	Yards
Skins 28	1^st and 10	I-Form 2 Wide	Pass	Portis	4
Jansen (-1) gets beat off the snap and JC is forced to go to his checkdown a little earlier than he wanted.
Skins 32	2^nd and 6	I-Form 2 Wide	Run Middle	Portis	5
Rabach (+1) and Kendall (+1) with a great push up the middle and Kendall hits the 2^nd level. Samuels (+1) does a good job of sealing out the left side
Skins 37	3^rd and 1	Ace 2 Wide	PA Pass	Cooley	12
Great play fake that fools Polamalu and Cooley slips out into the flat for a nice gain.
Skins 49	1^st and 10	I-Form 3 Wide	Run Middle	Portis	3
Rabach (+1) with good movement in the middle and Kendall with a good seal
Steelers 48	2^nd and 7	Ace 3 Wide	Pass (Screen)	Portis	17
Kendall (+2) pancakes his guy at the LOS and then downfield as someone tries to leap over him.
Steelers 31	1^st and 10	I-Form 2 Wide	PA Pass	Portis	INT
Randy Thomas got OWNED (-1) and his guy puts pressure on JC and forces the bad throw. Samuels got beat bad and held (Samuels -1)
3:41 remains in the 3^rd qtr. Drive: A great drive ends due to poor protection…almost fitting. This and the Carlos INT drop are the 2 points in the game where we could have gotten back in this.
Yard Line	Down	Formation	Play Call	Player	Yards
Skins 33	1^st and 10	Ace 2 Wide	PA Pass	Portis	28
Good job by JC to maneuver in the pocket and checks it down to Portis
Steelers 39	1^st and 10	I-Form 2 Wide	PA Pass	Portis (Drop)	0
Checkdown. Portis got hit hard on that one. JC had time…guess nobody was open downfield.
Steelers 39	2^nd and 10	I-Form 2 Wide	Penatly	Holding	-10
At least we went deep on that play. Samuels -1
Steelers 49	2^nd and 20	Gun 4 Wide	Pass	Sack	-1
Jansen -1, but JC shouldn’t have stepped up in the pocket.
Midfield	3^rd and 21	Gun 5 Wide (Empty)	Pass	Cooley	13
Nowhere near the first.
Steelers 37	4th and 8	Gun 4 Wide	Penalty	—	+15
Helmet contact. (Jansen and Thomas -1)
Steelers 22	1st and 10	?	Pass	Thomas	-1
Quick Screen to Devin goes nowhere.
Steelers 23	2^nd and 11	Ace 3 Wide	Pass	Cooley	0
Pass was too high.
Steelers 23	3^rd and 11	I-Form 3 Wide	Pass	Cooley	14
Nice route out the backfield by Cooley. He fakes out Farrior with the out route threat and is wide open in the middle of the field.
Steelers 9	1^st and goal	Ace 3 Wide	Pass	Portis (Drop)	0
Yep
Steelers 9	2^nd and Goal	Ace 3 Wide	Run Middle (Draw)	Portis	3
Rabach (+1) and Kendall (+1) with a good push up the middle on the double team
Steelers 6	3^rd and Goal	Ace 4 Wide	Scramble	JC	5
JC just falls short.
Steelers 1	4^th and Goal	I-Form 3 TE	PA Pass	Alexander	0
Cooley was open underneath. The run lane was stuffed and the drag route still got covered…good job by the D to flow to the ball both ways. But Cooley looked open to me.
6:55 remains in the 4^th qtr. GAME. Drive: Cooley was open. The replay showed he had single coverage and a step to the outside on his man. That’s 3 crucial plays (Dropped INT, INT that portis tipped and this one) that we leave on the field and could have changed the outcome of this game…maybe. Hats off to the Steelers front 7, they played phenomenal.

Topics: NFL, Redskins, Sports, Steelers | 45627 Comments »http://www.postgameheroes.com/?p=45622008-11-11+00%3A07%3A50Dillweed

This website uses IntenseDebate comments, but they are not currently loaded because either your browser doesn't support JavaScript, or they didn't load fast enough.

Recent Posts

Offensive Breakdown: Skins vs Steelers

Comments

Latest Comments

Archives

Blogroll