Chidi29
09-29-2011, 12:58 PM
An ugly win but how many times have we said that in the past? Getting the "W" is all that matters.
First Half
FB: 6
Pony: 1
Empty: 12
- Kickoff Times: 4.15 (-5), 4.42 (GL), 4.35 (-6, TB), 4.01 (-8, TB), 4.18 (OZ)
- I can only assume that when Ben hugged Anthony Munoz right before the coin toss he said, "Please, please replace Jonathan Scott!"
- Starting o-line. Scott, Kemo, Pouncey, Legursky, Gilbert
- Crucial 3rd down drop by Manny Sanders on the first drive. Resulted in just a FG.
- Curtis Brown and Cortez Allen were the starting gunners.
- Troy's pass breakup on 3rd and 2 late in the first quarter was very similar to his near pick six against Seattle last week. Jumped the curl.
- Hoke and Heyward were the backup DEs. Actually dropped Heyward into coverage on the 3rd and 2 I mentioned above.
- Breakdown of Wallace's 81 yard TD. Thing of beauty. First, good protection one of the few times that happened. Especially from David Johnson who was left one on one with Jamaal Anderson (yes, he was a bust but still, it's a DE taking on a H-Back) and sealed him off cleanly giving Ben a clean pocket.
As for the playcall itself, it's a great call.
The Colts play the Tampa 2 which is Cover 2 with the MIKE getting a bigger depth than the Cover 2. But same ideas. Two safety shell with the corners playing a lot of press/chucking/zone under concepts (there are variations of course, Cover 2 Man with the CBs in man coverage and Cover 2 soft with the CBs retreating).
Let's look at the pre-snap sets. This is how we first line up.
http://i54.tinypic.com/2l9nt6p.jpg
The goal here is to get Wallace a clean release. Knowing the CB is likely to press/chuck, we motion Wallace and stack him with Ward. A look at that.
http://i52.tinypic.com/ruxsgh.jpg
Off the snap, Ward rubs the CB so he can't contact Wallace. 60 minutes gets the clean release we're looking for.
http://i51.tinypic.com/fvzs40.jpg
We use playaction to suck up the LBs, specifically targeting getting the MIKE (Angerer) to step forward, and then it's as easy as making a good throw. The Cover 2 shell leaves the middle wide open and the MIKE isn't going to get enough depth to force a difficult throw. Especially when Angerer, more of a thumper, is in the lineup instead of Brackett. A last shot of Wallace running the 8 route, the post, with Angerer far behind.
http://i51.tinypic.com/24pfj7o.jpg
The white blob on the left is Wallace, the blue blob in the middle is Angerer.
Touchdown Steelers.
- Saunders' role continues to expand. Saw him in a few 3rd and long empty sets. Getting more and more playing time as he picks up the offense.
- Still showing some exotic defensive schemes even if it doesn't seem like it. Blitzing Troy, dropping OLBs into hook zones, dropping DL, runnning a FS blitz with Harrison and Woodley overloaded to the strong side.
- Larry Foote replaced Farrior early in the 2nd quarter beginning with the drive after the first FF.
- Kemoeatu put on his butt by Angerer coming around to pull. Are his leg/knee injuries starting to catch up? Have been pulling him less and while he's still moving ok, he doesn't look like the same Kemoeatu I've seen in the past. Something to monitor.
- Really nice snag by Brown on 3rd and 13 before the half. Clutch play on a "move the chains" down.
- Boneheaded play by Sanders not to touch the DB on Ben's INT. Couple mental mistakes from him today.
- Looks like Farrior sat out the rest of the half.
- Which is bad news for us because Foote was constantly washed out of running plays.
Second Half
- Farrior started the second half.
- Chris Carter and Foote were starting wedgebusters. Couldn't tell where Battle was out. Know he has knee swelling; maybe he didn't play the 2nd half. Can't remember?
- Another instance of overloading Woodley and Harrison early in the second half. Woodley over RG, Harrison outside of RT.
- Saunders getting a first-hand look at the speed of the NFL you always hear about from rookies. Gotta get your head around as you make your break. There is no delay in the NFL. The ball will be there instantly. Isn't South Carolina anymore (if only he went to Kansas...that expression would've been awesome).
- At least three times Scott turned around and faced the backfield on Freeney's spin. Has to be something that taught. Put your butt into him and box him out. Because you're not going to be able to mirror that. I'm not a fan of Scott, but it is a really tough matchup for him. You're getting pounded with the speed rush all game long, you start to cheat, and then he hits you with the spin. Then he throws in the bull rush. What can you do?
- Legursky hurt when the DT pulled off a rip move on him. Left shoulder injury.
- Ike bit bad on Garcon's double-move. Luckilly it was Painter under center or it's an easy six. Ike trying to read his three step game and saw the curl to the sticks. Gotta know that Garcon is going to run the deep routes, as Tomlin said coming into the game, and as tough as it is to do, you can't bite when you have no safety help over the top.
- Bet the silent count was a contributing factor to why the Colts' jumps looked so great. Along with the Colts talent (and our lack thereof).
- Foote came back in during the 4th quarter.
- Defense not ready for 3rd and 10 snap late in the game. LeBeau obviously upset. Would've been a first down had it again, not been Curtis Painter. Short-hopped out route.
- Antonio Brown with some really nice punt returns in the 2nd half. Giving us solid field position. Shifty runner but knows to get upfield, too.
- One note on the Colts' pass defense even though we had a good amount of success against them. It can be tough to find throwing lanes when they have the luxury of dropping seven and rushing four and still getting pressure. Really forces you to go 3/5 WR sets and spread things out.
- Farrior came in with 6:00 left in the game.
- No better time to get the first takeaway of the year than a strip sack returned for a TD. And how about Troy leaping Addai?
- I don't know how Addai scored on his TD to tie the game. Troy is flying in, Harrison and Farrior get off blocks, and Gay is in position. Addai just wiggles his way in.
- Wallace hurt his ribs on the first play of the final drive. CB drove his helmet into him.
- Moore with a great run after the catch on 2nd and 10, especially being veteran savvy enough to get out of bounds.
- Credit to Gilbert for going back into the game, even if there wasn't much of a choice. To go out there cold and hurt.
- I saw it mentioned elsewhere, but it is tough to use trap blocks against the speedy Colts defense.
- Gilbert actually handled Mathis well all things considered.
- Smith is still getting pushed around. ZBS having success. Face it next week with Houston.
- Tomlin said in his press conference that he used our final timeout with 8 seconds left because he thought we had another. Didn't realize we were charged one after Jonathan Scott's injury.
Sacks
- 3rd and 10, 12:05 left in 2nd. Empty set. Robert Mathis FF, recovered by Indy. Gilbert plays it well, shoves Mathis well upfield as Collinsworth pointed out. Good coverage by Indy, disappointing that no one could get open with 5 WRs. Took about 4 seconds from strip to sack. I'm putting this one on the WRs.
- 2nd and 10, 2:01 left in 2nd. 12 personnel. FF by Freeney, returned for TD by Anderson.
Most people will blame Jonathan Scott here because Freeney toasted him.
I don't.
There was awful miscommunication on the play. Scott nor Kemoeatu had any idea of the play were were running.
We had a HB draw called first and then Ben checked out of it a pass and faking the draw. Two things make this clear.
Scott never has a kickslide. That's why Freeney was able to get around him even easier than normal. On those draw plays, the OT tries to headslap or push the end upfield as hard as he can and then move to the second level. Check out Kemoeatu on the play too. He immediately attacks the LB at the second level. On any pass play, if you're more than five yards downfield before the pass and not eligible, it's a penalty. And you're obviously not going to attack like that on a pass play. Picture:
http://i54.tinypic.com/mx1raa.png
And look! Now you don't have to try to hunt for Kemoeatu in a sea of pixels.
Lucas Oil is a tough place to play, but when I see multiple veteran players screwing up their assignments because they didn't hear the call, I put it on the QB.
Sack Counter (Game)
Wide receivers: 1
Ben Roethlisberger: 1
Sack Counter (Season)
Ben Roethlisberger: 3
Jonathan Scott: 1.5
Bruce Arians: 1
Good defensive scheme: 1
Wide receivers: 1
Willie Colon: .5
Injuries
Gilbert and Legursky with left shoulder injuries. Scott with an ankle sprain. Essex will probably be the first to fill in anywhere if one of those guys can't go. Battle with swelling in his knee. Being on a plane won't help that. Doubt he'll go this week, sucks since we're facing Jacoby Jones. Hopefully Cotchery will be up this week. He's close to being healthy if not already there.
First Half
FB: 6
Pony: 1
Empty: 12
- Kickoff Times: 4.15 (-5), 4.42 (GL), 4.35 (-6, TB), 4.01 (-8, TB), 4.18 (OZ)
- I can only assume that when Ben hugged Anthony Munoz right before the coin toss he said, "Please, please replace Jonathan Scott!"
- Starting o-line. Scott, Kemo, Pouncey, Legursky, Gilbert
- Crucial 3rd down drop by Manny Sanders on the first drive. Resulted in just a FG.
- Curtis Brown and Cortez Allen were the starting gunners.
- Troy's pass breakup on 3rd and 2 late in the first quarter was very similar to his near pick six against Seattle last week. Jumped the curl.
- Hoke and Heyward were the backup DEs. Actually dropped Heyward into coverage on the 3rd and 2 I mentioned above.
- Breakdown of Wallace's 81 yard TD. Thing of beauty. First, good protection one of the few times that happened. Especially from David Johnson who was left one on one with Jamaal Anderson (yes, he was a bust but still, it's a DE taking on a H-Back) and sealed him off cleanly giving Ben a clean pocket.
As for the playcall itself, it's a great call.
The Colts play the Tampa 2 which is Cover 2 with the MIKE getting a bigger depth than the Cover 2. But same ideas. Two safety shell with the corners playing a lot of press/chucking/zone under concepts (there are variations of course, Cover 2 Man with the CBs in man coverage and Cover 2 soft with the CBs retreating).
Let's look at the pre-snap sets. This is how we first line up.
http://i54.tinypic.com/2l9nt6p.jpg
The goal here is to get Wallace a clean release. Knowing the CB is likely to press/chuck, we motion Wallace and stack him with Ward. A look at that.
http://i52.tinypic.com/ruxsgh.jpg
Off the snap, Ward rubs the CB so he can't contact Wallace. 60 minutes gets the clean release we're looking for.
http://i51.tinypic.com/fvzs40.jpg
We use playaction to suck up the LBs, specifically targeting getting the MIKE (Angerer) to step forward, and then it's as easy as making a good throw. The Cover 2 shell leaves the middle wide open and the MIKE isn't going to get enough depth to force a difficult throw. Especially when Angerer, more of a thumper, is in the lineup instead of Brackett. A last shot of Wallace running the 8 route, the post, with Angerer far behind.
http://i51.tinypic.com/24pfj7o.jpg
The white blob on the left is Wallace, the blue blob in the middle is Angerer.
Touchdown Steelers.
- Saunders' role continues to expand. Saw him in a few 3rd and long empty sets. Getting more and more playing time as he picks up the offense.
- Still showing some exotic defensive schemes even if it doesn't seem like it. Blitzing Troy, dropping OLBs into hook zones, dropping DL, runnning a FS blitz with Harrison and Woodley overloaded to the strong side.
- Larry Foote replaced Farrior early in the 2nd quarter beginning with the drive after the first FF.
- Kemoeatu put on his butt by Angerer coming around to pull. Are his leg/knee injuries starting to catch up? Have been pulling him less and while he's still moving ok, he doesn't look like the same Kemoeatu I've seen in the past. Something to monitor.
- Really nice snag by Brown on 3rd and 13 before the half. Clutch play on a "move the chains" down.
- Boneheaded play by Sanders not to touch the DB on Ben's INT. Couple mental mistakes from him today.
- Looks like Farrior sat out the rest of the half.
- Which is bad news for us because Foote was constantly washed out of running plays.
Second Half
- Farrior started the second half.
- Chris Carter and Foote were starting wedgebusters. Couldn't tell where Battle was out. Know he has knee swelling; maybe he didn't play the 2nd half. Can't remember?
- Another instance of overloading Woodley and Harrison early in the second half. Woodley over RG, Harrison outside of RT.
- Saunders getting a first-hand look at the speed of the NFL you always hear about from rookies. Gotta get your head around as you make your break. There is no delay in the NFL. The ball will be there instantly. Isn't South Carolina anymore (if only he went to Kansas...that expression would've been awesome).
- At least three times Scott turned around and faced the backfield on Freeney's spin. Has to be something that taught. Put your butt into him and box him out. Because you're not going to be able to mirror that. I'm not a fan of Scott, but it is a really tough matchup for him. You're getting pounded with the speed rush all game long, you start to cheat, and then he hits you with the spin. Then he throws in the bull rush. What can you do?
- Legursky hurt when the DT pulled off a rip move on him. Left shoulder injury.
- Ike bit bad on Garcon's double-move. Luckilly it was Painter under center or it's an easy six. Ike trying to read his three step game and saw the curl to the sticks. Gotta know that Garcon is going to run the deep routes, as Tomlin said coming into the game, and as tough as it is to do, you can't bite when you have no safety help over the top.
- Bet the silent count was a contributing factor to why the Colts' jumps looked so great. Along with the Colts talent (and our lack thereof).
- Foote came back in during the 4th quarter.
- Defense not ready for 3rd and 10 snap late in the game. LeBeau obviously upset. Would've been a first down had it again, not been Curtis Painter. Short-hopped out route.
- Antonio Brown with some really nice punt returns in the 2nd half. Giving us solid field position. Shifty runner but knows to get upfield, too.
- One note on the Colts' pass defense even though we had a good amount of success against them. It can be tough to find throwing lanes when they have the luxury of dropping seven and rushing four and still getting pressure. Really forces you to go 3/5 WR sets and spread things out.
- Farrior came in with 6:00 left in the game.
- No better time to get the first takeaway of the year than a strip sack returned for a TD. And how about Troy leaping Addai?
- I don't know how Addai scored on his TD to tie the game. Troy is flying in, Harrison and Farrior get off blocks, and Gay is in position. Addai just wiggles his way in.
- Wallace hurt his ribs on the first play of the final drive. CB drove his helmet into him.
- Moore with a great run after the catch on 2nd and 10, especially being veteran savvy enough to get out of bounds.
- Credit to Gilbert for going back into the game, even if there wasn't much of a choice. To go out there cold and hurt.
- I saw it mentioned elsewhere, but it is tough to use trap blocks against the speedy Colts defense.
- Gilbert actually handled Mathis well all things considered.
- Smith is still getting pushed around. ZBS having success. Face it next week with Houston.
- Tomlin said in his press conference that he used our final timeout with 8 seconds left because he thought we had another. Didn't realize we were charged one after Jonathan Scott's injury.
Sacks
- 3rd and 10, 12:05 left in 2nd. Empty set. Robert Mathis FF, recovered by Indy. Gilbert plays it well, shoves Mathis well upfield as Collinsworth pointed out. Good coverage by Indy, disappointing that no one could get open with 5 WRs. Took about 4 seconds from strip to sack. I'm putting this one on the WRs.
- 2nd and 10, 2:01 left in 2nd. 12 personnel. FF by Freeney, returned for TD by Anderson.
Most people will blame Jonathan Scott here because Freeney toasted him.
I don't.
There was awful miscommunication on the play. Scott nor Kemoeatu had any idea of the play were were running.
We had a HB draw called first and then Ben checked out of it a pass and faking the draw. Two things make this clear.
Scott never has a kickslide. That's why Freeney was able to get around him even easier than normal. On those draw plays, the OT tries to headslap or push the end upfield as hard as he can and then move to the second level. Check out Kemoeatu on the play too. He immediately attacks the LB at the second level. On any pass play, if you're more than five yards downfield before the pass and not eligible, it's a penalty. And you're obviously not going to attack like that on a pass play. Picture:
http://i54.tinypic.com/mx1raa.png
And look! Now you don't have to try to hunt for Kemoeatu in a sea of pixels.
Lucas Oil is a tough place to play, but when I see multiple veteran players screwing up their assignments because they didn't hear the call, I put it on the QB.
Sack Counter (Game)
Wide receivers: 1
Ben Roethlisberger: 1
Sack Counter (Season)
Ben Roethlisberger: 3
Jonathan Scott: 1.5
Bruce Arians: 1
Good defensive scheme: 1
Wide receivers: 1
Willie Colon: .5
Injuries
Gilbert and Legursky with left shoulder injuries. Scott with an ankle sprain. Essex will probably be the first to fill in anywhere if one of those guys can't go. Battle with swelling in his knee. Being on a plane won't help that. Doubt he'll go this week, sucks since we're facing Jacoby Jones. Hopefully Cotchery will be up this week. He's close to being healthy if not already there.