The Steelers Are Not Yet Good Enough To Have Trap Games
Photo Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
The Pittsburgh Steelers have always been a blue-collar team in a blue-collar town. Tough defense and mistake-free football has been the preferred style of nearly every head coach up through Mike Tomlin.
While a lot of Steeler Nation would prefer to score more points, winning is always the equalizer. Through three games, the 2023 version of the Steelers appear to be taking the shape of teams past as they grind out victories.
While the chatter would you believe Pittsburgh is a much better team than the Houston Texans, the Black and Gold are not talented enough to overlook anyone. You could call this matchup with Houston a trap game ahead of next week’s divisional showdown with the Baltimore Ravens, but reality is it’s just another road opponent that can beat the Steelers if they’re not on their A game.
The Offensive Line Must Build On the Raiders Game
Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada found a comfort zone for his offensive line last week as the unit showed some signs of improvement in their 23-18 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. But now we need to see those improvements serve as building blocks for the rest of the season
The line-blocking concepts eliminated the outside zone plays where lineman were constantly chasing faster defenders. Instead Pittsburgh chose a straight-line power scheme with more double teaming at the point of attack. There were still missed assignments where guys got stuck on the double team and didn’t come off on their second-level blocking assignments, but you can coach up those mistakes with film study. The movement at the point of attack is something that was missing in the first two contests. They got that against the Raiders. They’ll need it going forward.
The Texans defense is young, fast, and improving. They shut down a Jacksonville Jaguars offense last week that loves to attack through the air. Their run defense leaves something to be desired, however. With a continued emphasis on inside, downhill running, Pittsburgh can exploit the Texans’ front seven and play ahead of the sticks. Mauling guys at the point of attack and taking the three to four yards is okay. If Canada sticks with it, he has a chance to see more success rushing against Houston.
Kenny Pickett Needs To Continue To Evolve
Last week was, by far, the second-year signal caller’s best performance of the young season. After two weeks of erratic throws, Pickett’s decision making was decisive, which in turn boosted his accuracy. Take a look at this touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth. Rolling left, squaring his shoulders, and making an on-time throw gives hope to Pittsburgh fans that his confidence is coming back.
I told you this needed to be a Pat Freiermuth game. Another tremendous prediction from yours truly. pic.twitter.com/4DwIkrzthe
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) September 25, 2023
The next step is sitting in the pocket and not running into trouble. Too many times against the Raiders Pickett did his patented spin left when he could have sat in the pocket and delivered the ball to open receivers. That’s a bad habit that must be dealt with quickly. I understand the line isn’t doing him any favors (please play Broderick Jones), but Pickett has to help them help him. He can’t run into trouble and cut off half the field. He needs to be able to stand in, go through the progression, and take a hit when required.
Stop the Texans Early
It’s important to stop any semblance of a Houston running game early, making them as one-dimensional as possible. The Texans’ offense hasn’t shown much ability on the ground; Dameon Pierce leads the way with a whopping 33 yards a game.
While the Steelers haven’t been great against the run, last week was a step in the right direction. If they can continue to stand up offensive lineman at the point of attack, they give themselves an opportunity to continue that trend. Linebackers took advantage of the front four’s play showing signs of improvement by flying though the run-fit lanes and stopping Josh Jacobs before he could get started.
The Texans love to throw the ball and have been very successful at it. C.J. Stroud is averaging 302 yards a game at a 64% completion percentage. The rookie has four touchdowns and no interceptions so far on the season. But Stroud’s 11 sacks indicate a tendency to hold the ball. The Texans’ previous three opponents (Ravens, Baltimore Colts, and Jacksonville Jaguars) don’t have near the pass rush that Pittsburgh possesses. Getting after Stroud early and often will be key. Confuse the rookie as much as possible. As you can see, he started to get the ball out of his hand quicker from Week 1 to Week 3.
How did CJ Stroud & company put up 37 against the Jags?
In week 1, the rookie QB took 5 sacks as he tried to extend plays on the run. Against Jacksonville, he held the ball for an average of 2.9 seconds as he made confident throws in the pocket. Has he surprised you this season? pic.twitter.com/FCXZoBL7fv— Will Rini (@WillRiniScout) September 26, 2023
Bring some A-gap pressures from linebackers while dropping DTs into passing lanes. Load up on the line and then drop into coverage and only bring four. Every extra second he holds the ball allow rushers a better chance to get home.
Houston is a young team coming off a confidence-building week as well. Pittsburgh can’t afford to take them lightly fall into a trap. Start fast and start strong and put an inferior team down.
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