Passing Out Flowers From Steelers Win vs. Colts (Nov. 2nd)
Screenshot via Steelers Youtube
Having had a chance to watch the all-22 of the Colts game, I feel even better about the Steelers’ performance, particularly on defense, than I did immediately after the game. One thing I said in my recap was that the Steelers sold their soul to stop the run in this game, and when I said that I meant it to be more of a tip of the cap to them for the attractive box score, rather than it being an actual observation of the scheme in this game. I want to start this post off by acknowledging the front seven (six?) in this game, because after watching the game again, I noticed that the Colts were mostly running into light boxes. The Steelers were simply winning in the trenches, and their runners couldn’t do a damn thing. Light boxes also meant extra bodies in coverage when the Colts did throw, and the guys executed at a high level in that regard, as well. This was a fantastic performance. Let’s pass out some flowers.
Jalen Ramsey (#5) at safety is a ton of fun to watch. On this play (above), it’s 3rd down & 2, and you’ll see Colts’ TE Tyler Warren chip Nick Herbig (#51) and fall into the flat, and Ramsey sees that coming from a mile away and lays the boom short of the sticks. The Colts would end up going for it on fourth down and converting, but I still love everything about #5 knowing where the line to gain is, and making this play on third down. Ramsey had one gaffe in the first quarter of this game where he missed a tackle, and Alec Pierce took a catch for 36 yards. Other than that, he was stellar. Mike Tomlin already came out Tuesday and said that Ramsey will be “exclusively” playing safety this week.
LMAO. Peep big #99, Derrick Harmon (above). That is a 22 year old, folks. He lines up on the weak-side A-gap, and just makes Tanor Bortolini look silly, here. Harmon is able to get that big, right arm all-the-way extended, and he gets Bortolini bending backwards and out of his way to stop Jonathan Taylor after a one-yard gain. This is every single game, by the way. I cosigned it at the start of the season, and it’s even more true today: as a first round pick, Derrick Harmon is as advertised.
Throughout my Steelers fandom, I always find myself rooting for someone that I deem to be underappreciated by the fanbase. Once upon a time it was James Conner. I had a nice lil stint with Bob Spillane. Elandon Roberts. I’m adding Calvin Austin III (#19) to that list of players. Optically, this catch (above) on 3rd and 10 was massive, because the play before this, on 2nd and 10, DK Metcalf had a drop, and the immediate response from fans on social media was pretty bad. The all-22 view doesn’t give the degree of difficulty on this grab any justice. With the Steelers losing 7-0 at the time, this catch was the difference between a Boswell FG try, and a Steelers touchdown, which happened several plays later. Like I said after the Green Bay game, you HAVE TO score touchdowns to beat good teams. Shahtaht #19 for coming through and making a very difficult grab in this spot.
The Steelers defense has had trouble in short yardage situations this year, and the Colts would convert a 4th & 1 on a tush push after this play (above), but I love everything about this on 3rd & 1. The end zone angle is available, but I chose to go with the sideline angle for two reasons. Number one: I wanted to show the light box. Gap integrity is everything here, and you can see Jonathan Taylor has no where he can go. All six guys that are playing the ball carrier did their part here. The second reason I chose the sideline angle, is because I wanted yinz to see how much separation big Keeanu Benton (#95) gets with that initial push on the Colts’ RG. That initial surge is important, because it gives him the space to diagnose which gap J.T. is going to try to run through. Remember, this is all happening on a 3rd & 1, so there’s literally no room for error. 95 reads it correctly and is able to make the stop for no gain to force 4th down. I, along with many others, dragged this young man after the Seahawks game earlier this season, but he is really rounding into form at the right time.
Payton Wilson (#41) fans..how we doing? Blood pressure O.K.? What a roller coaster ride this kid’s season has been. He’s either the best linebacker in the league or the worst linebacker in the league in any given week. LMAO. I’m being facetious. Coverage busts aside (and there have been a few), I fuckin love watching this guy play football. In the play above, you’re gonna see 41 get shot out of a cannon off the right side of the screen and swat the ball in the air for Jack Sawyer’s first career INT. I might scream at my TV and curse his name every once in a while, but you’ll never see me questioning Wilson’s motor or asking for him to be replaced. Not now anyway. Not after these last few games.
Sometimes when I’m passing out flowers, I’m not necessarily looking for the obvious things that every fan would’ve noticed, like the T.J. Watt forced fumble, for example. Our $41M/year guy made a momentum-shifting play…well that’s what he’s supposed to do. That’s not groundbreaking to me. I’m not going to waste time clipping that, because we’ve all seen it and we all acknowledge that was the moment that changed the game. Still, it’s a little shameful that I got to 900+ words on this post, before I mentioned the name Alex Highsmith (#56). While we’re on the topic, allow me to also point out that recently, I aired out my frustrations in a post and basically said we need more Nick Herbig and less Alex Highsmith. I would still like to see more Nick Herbig, but maybe we’re seeing just the right amount of Alex Highsmith these days. I missed the ball on that one, but so did a lot of yinz. Shahtaht to Alex Highsmith…the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 9.
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