Steelers Not All Doom and Gloom, Loss vs. Cleveland Displayed Some Bright Spots

The sky is falling! Not really, but if you ask the loyal fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers, you would think some sort of zombie apocalypse has fallen upon the team, and everyone is doomed.

I readily admit, after Sunday’s embarrassing loss, it would be easy to get pulled into all the negative talk about the offense. There are really two factions in the criticism of the Steelers’ play. You have one side that lays the blame at the feet of the players for lack of execution. And the other side that puts the coaches on the hot seat for poor play design.

However, things aren’t all bad. In going back and watching last Sunday’s game, two plays stood out to me as examples of tremendous play design and pinpoint execution.

NFL Game Rewind

This first play is made initially by the design. The Steelers have a tight end on the left, but because they have stacked two wide receivers on the right, and placed running back Le’Veon Bell to the right of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the linebackers are shaded right.

The play is designed to be a zone run to the left, with guard David DeCastro pulling and sealing the edge. Multiple wide receivers of the off side drag one safety out of the play completely. However, the wide receiver at the bottom in press coverage along with the tight end on that side forces the other Browns safety to play the deep middle.

NFL Game Rewind

If you enjoy offensive line play, you owe it to yourself to watch DeCastro pull. At the snap, DeCastro kicks out and seals on the outside linebacker, eliminating him from crashing down. I highlight the Browns linebacker, because Bell’s initial step inside forces him to commit to the gap, and Bell uses that agility to bounce it back left, and the linebacker is left out of position.

Bell bounces it outside and gets a nice nine-yard gain. The play design gave the Steelers an advantage, and proper execution allowed them to exploit it.

The next play is a bit subtler in its design, but it showcases the skills of two of the best in the game. Pittsburgh comes out with three wide receivers, a single tight end and single running back. Fundamentally it is known as "11 personnel."

NFL Game Rewind

Again, the formation dictates where Roethlisberger is going to go with the football. Cleveland opts to play tight on the wide receivers and a single high-safety 20 yards off the ball. The Browns do this to try and negate the horizontal passing game Pittsburgh loves to employ so much.

At the top of the screen, Roethlisberger recognizes that he has wide receiver Antonio Brown in single coverage. Browns cornerback Joe Haden realizes he cannot let Brown get behind him, so at the snap, he is going to turn and run, and if Brown takes it inside, the deep safety will close.

However, the chemistry between Brown and Roethlisberger marry with a great play call into a play that is nearly impossible to stop.

NFL Game Rewind

When the ball is snapped, Brown takes an outside angle on what looks like just a good old-fashioned “9” route. But look at Roethlisberger. The ball is out of his hand in a hurry, and Brown seems to be headed up field. But what makes Brown special is he stops on a dime and hauls in a perfect back-shoulder throw.

This play was not only put together properly, it was made because of the talent of Roethlisberger and Brown. It wasn’t their best day, but if you love the subtlety of great football, this is a play to watch again.

These are just two plays that illustrate how well this offense can hum when everyone is on the same page. There is no doubt that this team is out of sorts. However, players understand that you learn from the good and the bad in a loss like Sunday’s debacle. These two plays are just a sample of that.