Steelers Begin Bold Move To Cover-2 Defense

Steelers Begin Bold Move To Cover-2 Defense

Jim Wexell
Publisher SteelCityInsider.net
Jul 27, 2015



With Dick LeBeau gone, Mike Tomlin is making his defensive imprint, and it began at Monday's practice.

LATROBE -- The Pittsburgh Steelers of the cover-3 secondary behind a 3-4 front are evolving. And Mike Tomlin was at forefront of the movement Tuesday at practice.

Tomlin, who often roams between position groupings shouting instruction and encouragement, worked primarily with the defensive secondary yesterday, and looked like the position coach of his younger days as he taught his defensive backs the specifics of playing cover-2.

Instead of having a blitzing, dodging, darting strong safety at the line wreaking havoc, as the Steelers used so often with Troy Polamalu in their cover-3 (two corners off the line with a free safety in the middle), a cover-2 involves two corners up on the line backed by two deep safeties.

After Tomlin ran a non-stop streak of hard instruction at his defensive backfield yesterday, he walked away and said, "We're going to build this ship, but we're not going to build it all today." And the group was dismissed.

Ryan Clark, the team's former cover-3 free safety who's now an analyst for ESPN, was at St. Vincent College for the practice. He said moving into the direction of a cover-2, and ultimately a 4-3 base, makes a lot of sense.

"I saw a lot of the early things they were putting in with two high safeties," Clark said. "From me looking at it, it looks like an evaluation of the personnel, of the people they have, both on defense and also on offense."

Clark used the old Indianapolis Colts of the Peyton Manning era as an example.

"When they were able to score all those points, those weren't amazing defenses," Clark said. "They got Bob Sanders and then they got better, but they played cover-2. It was a bend-but-don't-break, don't-give-up-touchdowns, make-people-kick-field-goals type defense. I'm not saying that's where they're going here, but I also know cover-2's a way to minimize big plays. And when you're looking at a team that can score the way this team should be able to score, I think Coach Tomlin's putting his imprint on that part of the defense."

Tomlin, of course, coached a cover-2 secondary to a championship with the Tampa Bay Bucs as an assistant. And when he came to Pittsburgh, he preferred not to interfere with the success Dick LeBeau was having with his two-gapping defensive line and his cover-3 secondary.

to read rest of article:

http://www.scout.com/nfl/steelers/story/1567364-steelers-begin-bold-move-to-cover-2-defense

SteelerEmpire wrote:

Quote: "In the 1970s, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Bud Carson came up with a way to address many of these weaknesses (of the Cover 2): have athletic middle linebacker Jack Lambert drop back like a third safety on pass plays. This diagram, courtesy of Yahoo! Sports, shows how the middle linebacker splits the downfield coverage into thirds.

This small wrinkle allowed the Steelers to drastically reduce the susceptibility of the Cover 2 to attacks down the middle. It also shrunk the territory the safeties would have to cover, meaning they could cover the sideline more effectively.

The effectiveness of the system had a profound impact on one young member of the Steel Curtain defense—undrafted defensive back Tony Dungy..."

"...The Cover 2, with or without the "Tampa" modification, relies entirely on the front four to generate a pass rush. With the linebackers fully committed to coverage, the front four must get at the quarterback or risk the zone coverage being picked apart."

LINK: >>>>>>>>

you forgot Jack Ham one of the best pass coverage LBs ever. I like the cover 2 defense with fast LBs Ryan Shazer should be great at getting back in the middle zone imo is the reason the Steelers drafted him. one gap 3-4 with cover 2 behind it.

effyou515 wrote:

SteelerEmpire wrote:

Quote: "In the 1970s, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Bud Carson came up with a way to address many of these weaknesses (of the Cover 2): have athletic middle linebacker Jack Lambert drop back like a third safety on pass plays. This diagram, courtesy of Yahoo! Sports, shows how the middle linebacker splits the downfield coverage into thirds.

This small wrinkle allowed the Steelers to drastically reduce the susceptibility of the Cover 2 to attacks down the middle. It also shrunk the territory the safeties would have to cover, meaning they could cover the sideline more effectively.

The effectiveness of the system had a profound impact on one young member of the Steel Curtain defense—undrafted defensive back Tony Dungy..."

"...The Cover 2, with or without the "Tampa" modification, relies entirely on the front four to generate a pass rush. With the linebackers fully committed to coverage, the front four must get at the quarterback or risk the zone coverage being picked apart."

LINK: >>>>>>>>

you forgot Jack Ham one of the best pass coverage LBs ever. I like the cover 2 defense with fast LBs Ryan Shazer should be great at getting back in the middle zone imo is the reason the Steelers drafted him. one gap 3-4 with cover 2 behind it.

Exactly. In the article it suggested this might be a switch to a 4-3, but I don't think so. In the case of the Steelers, the front 4 would include at least 1 blitzing linebacker.

But more than anything, the reason they haven't run the cover 2 prior is because early on in his career Troy could go from the line of scrimmage to the deep center in a hurry. That way he could read run/pass and get himself to the correct position. However, with the pass heavy mindset of the NFL and a defense that starts to shut down the run, you shouldn't need 8 men in the box.

kirklandrules wrote:

... you shouldn't need 8 men in the box.

...unless youre talking about my ex-wife.

tony hipchest wrote:

kirklandrules wrote:

... you shouldn't need 8 men in the box.

...unless youre talking about my ex-wife.  

James C Wexell ‏@jimwexell

.@dlolleyor @jjcoop36 this is clearly going to be Tomlins defense. Butler will call the plays.

https://twitter.com/jimwexell

So Tomlin is ready to unleash hell for reals?

Keith Butler On Cover-2: ‘It’s Going To Be A Big Part Of What We Do This Year’

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/07/keith-butler-on-cover-2-its-going-to-be-a-big-part-of-what-we-do-this-year/

Analyst Tunch Ilkin breaks down the basics of cover-2:

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Ilkin-explains-cover-2-concepts/fa843571-eec9-4182-ae28-ad45f58d3db8

tony hipchest wrote:

kirklandrules wrote:

... you shouldn't need 8 men in the box.

...unless youre talking about my ex-wife.  

You were married to her too? Mine was so intent on not cheating on her boyfriend she quit sleeping with me altogether.

Hawaii 5-0 wrote:

Analyst Tunch Ilkin breaks down the basics of cover-2:

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Ilkin-explains-cover-2-concepts/fa843571-eec9-4182-ae28-ad45f58d3db8

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-playbook/09000d5d80aefddd/Playbook-Billick-on-the-Tampa-2

solardave wrote:

tony hipchest wrote:

kirklandrules wrote:

... you shouldn't need 8 men in the box.

...unless youre talking about my ex-wife.  

You were married to her too? Mine was so intent on not cheating on her boyfriend she quit sleeping with me altogether.

I feel real bad about that too. If it makes you feel any better, she can't cook for shit.

Pittsburgh defense playing 'Steeler football' under new coordinator

Mike Garafolo
FOX Sports
AUG 5, 2015



New Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler wants his unit to rely as much on force as scheme.

LATROBE, Pa. -- It was a gorgeous morning here in the Laurel Valley on Wednesday, as the sun shone on the peaceful campus of St. Vincent's College.

Well, peaceful until the first minute of team drills of the Pittsburgh Steelers' training camp practice, when linebackers Arthur Moats and Lawrence Timmons converged on rookie running back Cameron Stingily and separated him from the ball with a loud crack of their pads.

The players whooped from the sideline while the man in the straw hat and sunglasses watched from behind the offense. His expression didn't change much, but it was evident from the tone of his Alabama drawl he was pleased with what he saw.

"Helluva play," Keith Butler said flatly.

Butler is in his first few months as the Steelers' defensive coordinator, though if you talk to his players and assistant coaches, they'll tell you it's a role he's been playing in part for quite some time. The difference is now he's no longer doing it in concert with the legendary Dick LeBeau, who left after last season before joining the Tennessee Titans.

Though LeBeau technically resigned, it's clear the team wanted to move on. This is a franchise that's not used to having a sieve for a defense, and last season the Steelers ranked 18th in the NFL in yards and points allowed. That's a mediocre showing that would be an improvement for some teams but was the lowest ranking in either category for the Steelers since 1991.

The whispers from offensive coaches around the league were LeBeau, once known for the unpredictability of his zone blitzes, had become too predictable with his schemes and situational play calling. And worse, his defense as a whole had become too soft. That's not good enough in the Steel City.

It's now Butler's show, and the 59-year-old longtime assistant is intent on returning this defense to its dominant form.

Even if the rules make it harder to do that these days.

"Nah, we're going to be physical. We're going to come after people," said outside linebackers coach Joey Porter, who has a unique perspective on Butler because he played for him and now coaches alongside him...

to read rest of article:

http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/pittsburgh-steelers-defense-new-coordinator-kevin-butler-training-camp-080515

On going for 2, cover-2, trading picks

Bob Labriola
Steelers.com

Coach Mike Tomlin talked about a variety of things in advance of the Steelers’ preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings in the Hall of Fame Game:

Q. If you had to write a book titled, “Cover-2 for Dummies,” how would you explain what it is and what it’s designed to do?

A. It’s an umbrella of defense that keeps the ball inside and in front. It disrupts the normal flow of the offense by re-routing the perimeter receivers, and the pass rush is a tremendous part of the coverage. The ball has to come out of the quarterback’s hand on time. If it doesn’t, it breaks the coverage down.

Q. What kind of players do you need on the back end for cover-2?

A. Guys with good vision. Guys who are capable of being disciplined from a vision standpoint. Guys who are capable of seeing one thing and feeling another. Ronde Barber is the quintessential corner. There was nothing he couldn’t do. He had great vision, a good, consistent, physical tackler. Great anticipation. It allowed him to excel. Over the years, I’ve fielded a lot of questions about him, and the scheme, and what the scheme did for him. My contention is that he did a lot for the scheme. A lot of what I teach, the principles I teach today’s players were consistently developed and done by him within the scheme and became a benchmark of expectations.

to read rest of article:

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/On-going-for-2-cover-2-trading-picks/4ff14a66-273c-4950-b5fa-b54d671aaac1

Concerns Over Pittsburgh Steelers Defense?

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-training-camps/0ap3000000508346/Concerns-over-Steelers-defense

Steelers notebook: Keith Butler letting young defense play in preseason

August 17, 2015
By Ray Fittipaldo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Offensive coordinator Todd Haley got many of his starters out of the second preseason game against the Jaguars after one series. Most other starters exited after the second or third series and played a maximum of 20 snaps.

Keith Butler’s starters aren’t getting the same treatment. The new defensive coordinator played many of his starters deep into the second quarter and one of them into the third quarter against the Jaguars.

It was all by design. Butler said his young players need the game experience to improve.

Inside linebacker Ryan Shazier, who missed eight games last season as a rookie, has played 68 snaps in the first two preseason games, including 41 Friday night in Jacksonville. Second-year defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt, who did not ascend to a starter’s role until late last season, has played 50 snaps, including 27 against the Jaguars. Third-year safety and first-year starter Shamarko Thomas played 36 snaps on Friday after missing the first game with an injury.

to read rest of article:

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/2015/08/17/Steelers-notebook-Keith-Butler-letting-young-defense-play-in-preseason/stories/201508170062

so far our pass defense has allowed a 77 % completion rate and a passer rating of 127.7.

to give you an idea of how bad this is, the worst-ranked defensive completion percentage in the league last season was 69 %, and the worst-ranked defensive passer rating was 108.3...

Fire Butler.

we stink.

seasons over.

the "Cover-Nobody" defense sucks.

just let them score as fast as possible so Ben can get the ball back.

this isn't your dads defense.

The sky is falling!!!!

... pre-season

I will save my doom and gloom about the defense for the regular season

This is pretty much a tear down of the LeBeau system - short term pain for hopefully long term gain

Steelers defense trending toward varied, multiple-front look

The defense fell on some hard times under LeBeau the past two years. After finishing No. 1 four times in a stretch of six years from 2007-12, the Steelers plummeted to 13th and 18th the past two seasons.

Some of that can be directly related to aging personnel. Others are convinced that teams figured out LeBeau's zone blitzing scheme. There's probably truth to both.

Although nobody would go as far as to label LeBeau's defense predictable, the intricacies were well-known — three down linemen with at least one linebacker blitzing, nickel unit on passing situations, a tackle-the-catch philosophy in the backfield, don't let anything get behind you in the secondary and a lot of Cover 3.

Nowadays?

“We are not strictly anything,” Butler said.

Last week's preseason game against the Jaguars showed that. When the majority of the first team was in the game, Butler was as multiple as you can get.

In 28 plays, the Steelers were in a three-man front 16 times, a four-man front six times, and the nickel six times. Only three times did Butler call the same front on back-to-back plays....

The Steelers finished in the bottom third in the NFL in sacks with 33, which was also their fewest in 26 years. Hurries/pressures — a stat compiled by the Steelers coaching staff — dipped 32 percent from 151 to 103. The Steelers had at least 139 hurries/pressures every year since 2006.

That's one reason why Butler has changed the philosophy along the defensive line from two-gap (read and react) to one-gap (up-the-field).

Butler's reasoning is simple.

“What the league started to do is run these bombs on first and second downs,” he said. “They are locking up everybody and going deep as a consequence, so you can't sit there and play read defense all of the time because if you do, you will never get a pass rush, and the quarterback will have all day to throw it.”

http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/8950459-74/butler-steelers-defense

Steelers remain confident in defense

By Ralph N. Paulk
Friday, Sept. 4, 2015



The Steelers' perceived defensive strength is inside linebackers Lawrence Timmons and Ryan Shazier. They are the pulse of a unit that will enter the regular season at New England amid uncertainty.

The Steelers like what they saw from Shazier during the preseason. He played an inordinate number of downs for a starter, but it was enough to chip off the rust after a rookie campaign punctuated by injuries.

Defensive coordinator Keith Butler is confident Timmons' injured toe won't keep him from getting after quarterback Tom Brady during next Thursday's highly-antipcipated game.

With Timmons and Shazier watching from the sideline on Thursday night at Heinz Field, their backups — Sean Spence and Vince Williams — didn't leave Butler feeling confident about how they'll perform if forced into extended duty against the defending Super Bowl champions.

“For the most part, I thought we played well in the preseason,” said Spence, who had five tackles. “(On Thursday), we missed a couple of tackles. But the experience and having a chance to see different formations will always help in my development.”

Spence and Williams were inconsistent against the Carolina Panthers' second-team offense in a 23-6 loss that left the Steelers with a 1-4 preseason record. At times, they were out of position to defend the run and sometimes were shoved aside as Carolina created running seams.

It was reminiscent of how the first-team defense performed in a 43-19 loss to Buffalo a game earlier.

to read rest of article:

http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/9035002-74/spence-defense-williams#ixzz3kt7o8leZ