It was not long ago that the Pittsburgh Steelers defense was one of the most prominent in the NFL. From 2004-2012 the Steelers defense ranked number one in yards allowed four times and finished in the top five all but one. Of course, time passed, players retired, and the Steelers most recently shifted defensive coordinators. From Dick LeBeau to Keith Butler, a change was anticipated. In their week 10 game against the Dallas Cowboys, the Steelers opened and played primarily in a 4-3 look, a stark contrast from the 3-4 in which LeBeau installed for years in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive Front Changes
Missing the Big Snack
Casey Hampton was one of the most underrated players of the past decade. He did not pile up statistics, but he was a 320-pound ball that would plant his feet in the middle of the field and would not get pushed anywhere. He clogged running lanes and gave quarterbacks one less spot to step into. Hampton will be unlikely to see the glory, but you can argue he is a Hall of Fame caliber player for what he gave to the defense that won two Super Bowls. You do not just replace him.
The Steelers did draft Javon Hargrave in 2016. Hargrave is a nose tackle on the depth chart, but a player of a different build and ability altogether. To start, Hargrave weighs about 20 pounds less than Hampton, despite being taller than “Big Snack”. Hargrave is a former basketball player, and his game is in moving his feet and creating a drive upfield. With that said, to run the same defensive scheme without the same personnel would be goofy.
Switching alignments
The Steelers opened their week 10 game in their base defense, and by all accounts, it was a 4-3 look. As shown in the picture below, from right to left the Steelers lined up Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Javon Hargrave and Anthony Chickillo. Jarvis Jones remains a right outside linebacker but has more off-ball duties, and Ryan Shazier looks like a 4-3 outside linebacker, a position he played in college.
A few plays later, the Cowboys ran a formation more heavy to the left side. All the Steelers did was flip the side in which Heyward and Tuitt were on. As shown below, Heyward remains on the outside, next to Tuitt. Hargrave essentially lines up in the same spot, and the outside linebacker Jarvis Jones lines up on the edge of the weak side. Anthony Chickillo slides back off of the ball, and Shazier then flips to the weak side.
What is to come?
The Steelers do not play much base defense as it is. It is a league that is moving more towards the nickel defense thanks to all of the passing. In the Steelers nickel, it gives a 4-2-5 look as the two outside linebackers hardly drop into coverage, without another player blitzing. The Cowboys offensive front and ability to run the ball forced the Steelers to run much more base defense. The Steelers may have thought that Ezekiel Elliott, having the most yards before contact in the league would be better defended with a player like Jarvis Jones on the second level, or that it was better to shoot Ryan Shazier in from the weak side to prevent counters and to help in the edge pass rush. Or, they simply could have thought what better time than now to make a change in scheme?
The Cameron Heyward injury
However, moving forward, there is the injury to Cameron Heyward that may delay, or hinder the development of the scheme. Heyward was being shifted out to the edge in this look, and they essentially do not have a capable replacement on the roster. Javon Hargrave took most of the snaps to replace Heyward in his absence earlier this season. However, while Hargrave is not a pure nose tackle like Hampton, he is still more effective in the one and three-technique, as compared to a five or seven technique in which Heyward would play in this front. Ricardo Mathews saw some snaps in that spot but was acquired this off-season as a 5-technique player who is much closer to a defensive tackle than a seven-technique on the edge.
This shift is something to monitor, but it was the defensive look that was used the most in week 10. This defense is young, and it is transitioning into a scheme that fits its personnel rather than forcing the personnel to the scheme. It is going to take time, and it is going to see its ups and downs, but this is the Steelers plan to fix the defense. Only time will tell if the new look will ever match the success of the old 3-4 Steelers that we used to know.
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