JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — What made Brice McCain’s decisive pick-six stand out in the Steelers’ 17-9 victory Sunday over the Jaguars wasn’t just that it was that rarest of rare sightings for the local franchise — defensive points! — it’s the unbridled aggressiveness with which they came.
I mean, McCain jumped a route.
When is the last time anyone in the Pittsburgh secondary just brazenly jumped a route, even a precarious sideline route such as the one Allen Hurns tried and failed with a slip?
Easily the greatest downfall of the Dick LeBeau defenses in recent years has been the inability to generate takeaways, never mind point-producing takeaways. But inability and unwillingness can be separated by a blurred line here. LeBeau preaches — openly, proudly — that he wants his corners sitting back, tackling the catch. That phrase actually is a pet. But there can’t be any question that such an approach also removes a secondary’s teeth to the point that the only interceptions that tend to made are those like Cortez Allen’s, of the dying quail variety.
What’s more, maybe it isn’t an accident that McCain is new around here. He’s a 27-year-old sixth-year pro who spent his first five seasons with the Texans, who long have stressed more aggressive man coverage.
“It’s something I’ve always done,” McCain said. “You try to a read on the receiver and the quarterback, you see the opportunity, and you go for it.”
How long until the Steelers put him through the Harvey Clayton school of soft coverage?
• McCain is a dime guy, but he’s talking more and more like a regular:
• No problem here with the Steelers’ gesture to Antonio Brown near the end of the game, passing to him to ensure his streak with at least five catches and 50 yards would extend to 21 games when they could just have gone to victory formation.
For one, as Ben Roethlisberger emotionally stated, Brown “absolutely deserves it for all he does for the team and the organization.”
For another, Roethlisberger cleared his idea with Mike Tomlin.
And for a third, the play was simple enough that if he’d seen anything other than the safest possible completion, he easily could have checked out.
This is great fodder for fun debates, but nothing more. No meaningful risk was taken.
• Roethlisberger went out of his way to absolve his line for the four sacks, and he was dead-on to do so. In particular on the one that resulted in the lost fumble, Maurkice Pouncey had Abry Jones fronted and sealed. But when Roethlisberger stepped up and to the left — better be sure when you do — Pouncey’s responsibility is absolved. Jones moves to his right, and that’s that.
“The line played a lot better than what the stats are going to say,” Roethlisberger said.
After two strip-sacks in as many weeks, he was equally right to call his mistake “inexcusable.”
• Pouncey delivered a devastating block, pulling far to his right, on Le’Veon Bell’s 29-yard run off right tackle. Would love to see even more pulling from No. 53. Tremendous athlete.
• Yes, that quick flick to Heath Miller on third down of the final drive was exactly the pass the Steelers had hoped to run the previous week on the fateful third-and-5. I confirmed that with Roethlisberger, who added that the only difference this time was, “Heath was uncovered.”
• Cortez Allen had a big bounce-back from Tampa Bay even though he was targeted again and again by Jacksonville coaches. He finished with an interception, a team-high seven tackles and three passes defensed.
• Before I go too far with the secondary, the Jaguars got a miserable performance from Hurns, who had three drops and caught only four balls on the 11 times he was targeted. He wasn’t alone.
• Not at all Steelers related, but the Jaguars’ offense could be a lot of fun in a year or two. Still need a serious running back, but Blake Bortles and Penn State’s Allen Robinson are for real. I’ve long enjoyed watching the latter.
• Are we still complaining about Marcus Gilbert?
• Ramon Foster was a late OK for the game because of that wobbly ankle, but he assured me after this one he made it through unscathed. Not so for Shamarko Thomas, who gave a good tug to his left hamstring on a punt return and almost surely will miss time.
• Maybe LeGarrette Blount has the best idea anyone’s tossed around yet for an actual identity for this offense: “We start to get into a little bit of a rhythm as long as we run the ball effectively and a hit a few play-actions here and there and AB getting his big plays in, Heath his plays … we’ll be effective, but it’s important we get the running game early.”
Didn’t hear anything in there about ridiculous bubble screens, did you?
October 6, 2014
Steelers PATs: A jumped route? Is that legal?
by Dejan Kovacevic • News/views • Steelers
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — What made Brice McCain’s decisive pick-six stand out in the Steelers’ 17-9 victory Sunday over the Jaguars wasn’t just that it was that rarest of rare sightings for the local franchise — defensive points! — it’s the unbridled aggressiveness with which they came.
I mean, McCain jumped a route.
When is the last time anyone in the Pittsburgh secondary just brazenly jumped a route, even a precarious sideline route such as the one Allen Hurns tried and failed with a slip?
Easily the greatest downfall of the Dick LeBeau defenses in recent years has been the inability to generate takeaways, never mind point-producing takeaways. But inability and unwillingness can be separated by a blurred line here. LeBeau preaches — openly, proudly — that he wants his corners sitting back, tackling the catch. That phrase actually is a pet. But there can’t be any question that such an approach also removes a secondary’s teeth to the point that the only interceptions that tend to made are those like Cortez Allen’s, of the dying quail variety.
What’s more, maybe it isn’t an accident that McCain is new around here. He’s a 27-year-old sixth-year pro who spent his first five seasons with the Texans, who long have stressed more aggressive man coverage.
“It’s something I’ve always done,” McCain said. “You try to a read on the receiver and the quarterback, you see the opportunity, and you go for it.”
How long until the Steelers put him through the Harvey Clayton school of soft coverage?
• McCain is a dime guy, but he’s talking more and more like a regular:
• No problem here with the Steelers’ gesture to Antonio Brown near the end of the game, passing to him to ensure his streak with at least five catches and 50 yards would extend to 21 games when they could just have gone to victory formation.
For one, as Ben Roethlisberger emotionally stated, Brown “absolutely deserves it for all he does for the team and the organization.”
For another, Roethlisberger cleared his idea with Mike Tomlin.
And for a third, the play was simple enough that if he’d seen anything other than the safest possible completion, he easily could have checked out.
This is great fodder for fun debates, but nothing more. No meaningful risk was taken.
• Roethlisberger went out of his way to absolve his line for the four sacks, and he was dead-on to do so. In particular on the one that resulted in the lost fumble, Maurkice Pouncey had Abry Jones fronted and sealed. But when Roethlisberger stepped up and to the left — better be sure when you do — Pouncey’s responsibility is absolved. Jones moves to his right, and that’s that.
“The line played a lot better than what the stats are going to say,” Roethlisberger said.
After two strip-sacks in as many weeks, he was equally right to call his mistake “inexcusable.”
• Pouncey delivered a devastating block, pulling far to his right, on Le’Veon Bell’s 29-yard run off right tackle. Would love to see even more pulling from No. 53. Tremendous athlete.
• Yes, that quick flick to Heath Miller on third down of the final drive was exactly the pass the Steelers had hoped to run the previous week on the fateful third-and-5. I confirmed that with Roethlisberger, who added that the only difference this time was, “Heath was uncovered.”
• Cortez Allen had a big bounce-back from Tampa Bay even though he was targeted again and again by Jacksonville coaches. He finished with an interception, a team-high seven tackles and three passes defensed.
• Before I go too far with the secondary, the Jaguars got a miserable performance from Hurns, who had three drops and caught only four balls on the 11 times he was targeted. He wasn’t alone.
• Not at all Steelers related, but the Jaguars’ offense could be a lot of fun in a year or two. Still need a serious running back, but Blake Bortles and Penn State’s Allen Robinson are for real. I’ve long enjoyed watching the latter.
• Are we still complaining about Marcus Gilbert?
• Ramon Foster was a late OK for the game because of that wobbly ankle, but he assured me after this one he made it through unscathed. Not so for Shamarko Thomas, who gave a good tug to his left hamstring on a punt return and almost surely will miss time.
• Maybe LeGarrette Blount has the best idea anyone’s tossed around yet for an actual identity for this offense: “We start to get into a little bit of a rhythm as long as we run the ball effectively and a hit a few play-actions here and there and AB getting his big plays in, Heath his plays … we’ll be effective, but it’s important we get the running game early.”
Didn’t hear anything in there about ridiculous bubble screens, did you?
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