Soul_Survivor88
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Pittsburgh's offensive line hasn't received a whole lot of attention. For much of the 2016 season, Pittsburgh had arguably the 2nd best offensive line in the NFL. And it is easily the best unit left in the playoff tournament.
As part of the larger question of "How do the Patriots stop Le'Veon Bell," Geoff Schwartz of SB Nation and Jared Dubin of CBS Sports takes a look into what makes Pittsburgh so effective in the running game, and how New England can address it.Both writers analyze film and explain why Pittsburgh has had so much success running the ball, and why Le'Veon Bell is such a dangerous weapon.
To read their findings in full and watch film clips, click on the links below
Steelers-Patriots key matchup: How do you solve a problem like Le'Veon Bell?
How do the Patriots stop Le'Veon Bell?
A few takeaways
As part of the larger question of "How do the Patriots stop Le'Veon Bell," Geoff Schwartz of SB Nation and Jared Dubin of CBS Sports takes a look into what makes Pittsburgh so effective in the running game, and how New England can address it.Both writers analyze film and explain why Pittsburgh has had so much success running the ball, and why Le'Veon Bell is such a dangerous weapon.
To read their findings in full and watch film clips, click on the links below
Steelers-Patriots key matchup: How do you solve a problem like Le'Veon Bell?
How do the Patriots stop Le'Veon Bell?
A few takeaways
- Pittsburgh yielded only 21 sacks this season while posting a 4.1 percent Adjusted Sack Rate, per Football Outsiders, the fourth-best figure in the NFL. They even better as a run-blocking unit: they ranked fifth in Pro Football Focus' run-blocking grades and second in Football Outsiders' Adjusted Line Yards, which assigns credit to the offensive line based on a percentage of yards gained per carry.
- In power situations (third or fourth down, two or fewer yards to go, or any goal-to-go situation inside the two-yard line), the Steelers converted for a first down or touchdown 71 percent of the time, seventh in the NFL. Their rush attempts were stuffed behind the line of scrimmage only 15 percent of the time, fourth-best in the NFL.
- While the Cowboys offensive line is the most complete and the Packers have the best pair of pass blocking tackles, the Steelers offensive line is the best at double teams. It has big physical guards in Ramon Foster on the left and David DeCastro on the right. Their blocking style is a perfect fit for an explosive running back. It's their presence and their push that allows Bell to weaponize his unique running style.
- Defenders are barely able to get their hands on Bell before he gains a couple yards, and even once they do, it's incredibly difficult to bring him down before he gains even more. The line's blocking combined with Bell's backfield dancing led to his averaging 1.8 yards before contact per carry this season, per Pro Football Focus, the 10th-highest average among 41 running backs with at least 100 carries. His power, speed, and explosiveness all contributed to his 3.0 yards after contact per carry average, which ranked seventh among the same group of players. The only other players with a comparable amount of carries that ranked in the top 10 in both categories were Ezekiel Elliott , Jordan Howard , and Mark Ingram .
- Bell is arguably the best pass-catching back in the league as well. He averaged 6.3 receptions per game in 2016, giving him the second-highest single-season average for a running back in the history of the NFL ( Matt Forte , 6.4 in 2014). The Steelers throw him the ball out of the backfield on screens, swings, flats, circle routes, and more. He also lined up as a true receiver on 15.3 percent of his snaps this season, per Pro Football Focus. The Steelers throw it to him when he's lined out wide on smoke screens, slants, fade routes -- he works the entire route tree like he's one of their regular receivers; at 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, he's basically the size of a guy like Dez Bryant anyway.
- You can't cover him with a linebacker or a safety because most of them are no match for his speed. Corners stand a better chance in coverage, but if you're using your best on Antonio Brown , it's likely that you're leaving Bell with a mismatch. Slide the best cover corner onto Bell and you risk letting the best receiver in football go to work on an inferior player.
- The only defensive unit to effectively negate Bell was the Baltimore Ravens -- Bell's 70 total yards against Baltimore in Week 9 represented his lowest total of the season. The Ravens shot the very small gaps in Pittsburgh's offensive line and held Bell to only 1.0 yard per carry before contact, tackling him at or behind the line of scrimmage on three of his 14 carries (a rate that's equal to Baltimore's 21 percent stuff rate on the season) while allowing him to gain more than three yards on only one. Their linebackers, C.J. Mosley and Zachary Orr in particular, were all over the field all game. That duo combined for 16 tackles and eight run stops. Bell found a degree of success catching the ball out of the backfield (he caught three of four targets for 24 yards against Orr), but the Baltimore corners were able to hold him in check when he lined up out wide.
- Defensive tackles Alan Branch and Malcom Brown need to generate push up the middle. Defensive ends Chris Long , Trey Flowers , Rob Ninkovich , and Jabaal Sheard need to crash down and tackle the dive while still maintaining the edge in order to prevent Bell from bouncing his runs to the outside. Linebackers Donta' Hightower, Elandon Roberts , and Kyle Van Noy may have the biggest responsibility, as they have to come up and play the run while making sure not to get beat by screens or play-action passes.
- The Pats might be better equipped to deal with Bell if and when he splits out wide. They have players like Devin McCourty and Eric Rowe that have experience as both corners and safeties. Because Malcolm Butler is likely to shadow Antonio Brown all game and because the Steelers' No. 2 and 3 wideouts are of such inferior quality to Brown, the Pats could even swing Logan Ryan (who has been incredible of late) onto Le'Veon when he splits out. None of them are likely to win every time when lined up across from Bell, but the ability to throw several different looks at him should help.