Patrick Queen is Better in Coverage Than the Numbers Say
I just finished reading Bill Belichick’s book (great read by the way), and at one point he tells a cool story about his early coaching days and how he had a system using plays written on notecards, a hole puncher, and an ice pick, and Jimmy-rigged a way for him to access specific plays based on the situation; ie: 4th & goal, 2nd & long, etc. Late in his coaching career, he was able to access that information, as well as whatever other information he may need on the sideline, in the matter of seconds via handheld computers.
It’s true that the sheer amount of information available to fans and coaches has grown exponentially in the last decade alone, which I think is excellent for the game of football. With that being said, it is sometimes O.K. to overlook what the numbers tell you if your eyeballs are telling you a different story. As is the case with Mr. Patrick Queen.
That’s why, throughout this summer, I’ve often found myself a bit perturbed. There seems to be a narrative out there among some Steelers fans that Patrick Queen is suddenly bad in coverage and not worth his contract (which is a fairly cheap one, by the way). I’ve been watching last year’s games all summer long, and I can’t imagine how someone can watch those games critically and say that Patrick Queen is a problem. So, I’m going to do my best to alleviate some of that.
On the advanced numbers: they’re bad. In this case, the ‘nearest defender’ numbers. According to NFL Pro, PQ6 finished the regular season having allowed the 2nd-most receptions (50) and yards (564) as the ‘nearest defender’ of all off-ball linebackers.
I think it’s worth noting that 17 of those receptions and 207 of those yards came in three very bad games for the Steelers defense: @ CIN, vs. KC, and vs. CIN. Check out this first play (above), and think about what the Steelers are asking Patrick Queen to do here. Teryl Austin and Mike T. wanted him lined up, showing blitz from the weak side, and then bailing out into underneath coverage on the opposite side of the play. I understand that PQ’s speed is arguably his biggest asset, but let’s get real for a minute…that’s not reasonable, and they asked him to do it quite a few times in the three terrible games I mentioned earlier. And, I get it…you’re up against Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes in those games. I understand straying away from your norm as a defense in an effort to throw those two guys off, but they failed and it created a messy scenario for Patrick Queen from a numbers perspective, but I cannot stress this enough: he was doing exactly what he was asked to do. Guys were beating it. The Steelers had a scheme issue, not a Patrick Queen issue. And, even then, calling it an issue seems silly. This was still one of the best defenses in the league last year, even with the late-season collapse.
Sidebar: In reference to the Steelers’ norm, they disguise defenses at one of the lowest rates in the league. Mike Tomlin and company have been largely comfortable with lining up showing you exactly what they’re going to do, and then playing football.
Here we go, again. Same game. Christmas was awesome last year wasn’t it? The Chiefs send Travis Kelcie in motion, and Queen travels with him. I wish to god we were actually in man on this play, but alas we were in zone coverage with cover 2 behind it. Mahomes rolls to his right, the whole time looking off Minkah, leaving Kelcie as wide open as he had been at any point all year, probably, for a Chiefs touchdown. Look who the nearest defender is. Another chink in the armor for Patrick Queen even though the throw ends up like 15+ yards from the zone he’s responsible for.
This is as close to “bad” coverage as I’m going to show from PQ for the sake of this post. Even still, the play ends a mile from the area of the field he’s responsible for. Even still x2, he’s a linebacker that was in coverage for 5.5+ seconds. My real issue with this play isn’t the coverage at all. Actually, it lies with the Steelers refusal to send actual pressure last year. You can see in the play above, they send Elandon Roberts and pull T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith into coverage. I simply hate it. That Bengals offensive line was so bad, and we allegedly had/have one of the best pass rushes in football. Why simulate pressure? Why not just bring it if you’re good at it? Or just let your best pass rusher go to work? I don’t have all the answers, but I can say once more, I HATE it, and the result is LBs chasing guys for 5.5+ seconds, and another chink in the armor for Patrick Queen who was the nearest defender.
The sad thing about it is, not only was PQ not “bad” in coverage, but he actually had some very strong moments. While I was writing this, I specifically thought back to this play against the Commanders. That’s as well-timed a hit as you’ll see against one of the league’s best receivers in Terry McLaurin on 3rd down.
Obviously, showing you three plays where I think Queen was unfairly judged doesn’t get rid of the fact that on 50 occasions last year, someone near him caught a pass, and he certainly wasn’t perfect in coverage. I think it’s important, though, to paint a picture around those numbers and look at what he was asked to do as well as what everyone around him is doing on the field. The Steelers’ defensive scheme has been a popular topic since the Steelers made the move to acquire Jalen Ramsey, and I think a potential fix is on the horizon. I’m already at 1000+ words so I’m going to bring this post to an end, but if you want to learn more about the potential changes coming to the Steelers’ defensive scheme, Alan Saunders from Steelers Now has an awesome youtube video that he put out this week breaking them down that I’ll leave below!
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