Between the Lines: Steelers Defense Does More With Less

Every week during the season we focused on an aspect of line play with Between The Lines. So for the Super Bowl, we're focusing on all aspects of the battle of the line of scrimmage. Today, we look at the Steelers' defense.

There have been many times this postseason when Larry Fitzgerald, Kurt Warner and the Cardinals offense have looked unstoppable. On Sunday, we'll find out how true that is. There many matchups to watch, but it's safe to say that if the Cardinals can block the Steelers' pass rush, they likely will pull off the upset. If they can't, Pittsburgh will be bringing its sixth Super Bowl trophy back to the Steel City.

Warner has averaged 286 yards passing per game this season, but now he'll be facing a defense that has allowed more than 300 yards of total offense only twice in 18 games. Warner and an offense with three 1,000-yard receivers will be one of the Steelers' D's toughest tests, but this is not a defense that is untested.During the regular season, the Steelers defense faced Tony Romo (210 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs), Matt Cassell (169 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs, 2 Fumbles), Philip Rivers (164 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs), Donovan McNabb (196 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT), Peyton Manning (240 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs) and Eli Manning (199 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs). Only Peyton Manning can argue that he really got the better of the Steelers' defense.

The genius behind the Steelers D, as most people know now, is 70-year-old defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. He invented the zone blitz 20 years ago, and he's been tweaking it ever since. For all of LeBeau's reputation for creative blitzes, he actually uses deception more than all-out numbers to generate pressure. Against the Ravens, the Steelers rushed five or more on only seven of the 33 Ravens' pass plays. That actually explains a key difference between this year's Steelers defense, which was No. 1 in most categories, and other recent Steelers' defenses, which have been good but not this good.

The difference is that the Steelers in recent years have usually had one outside linebacker who can beat an offensive tackle one-on-one. For a long time, that linebacker was Joey Porter, until he was replaced by James Harrison, who has been every bit as good. But Clark Haggans, the Steelers other outside linebacker, was not capable of beating tackles consistently. During the offseason, Haggans was allowed to leave in free agency (interestingly he ended up with the Cardinals). His replacement, LaMarr Woodley, has given the Steelers their best pair of bookend pass rushers since Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene helped drive the Steelers to the Super Bowl in 1995.

At least one of the outside linebackers rushed on all but three of the 33 pass plays against the Ravens. The Ravens threw a lot in running situations, which meant that 15 of those pass plays came when the Steelers were in their standard 3-4 defense.

In passing situations, LeBeau's defense moves Woodley and Harrison up to the defensive end spot in the team's nickel or dime defenses, which allows him to send both of them while still rushing only four. Of the 18 pass plays called by the Ravens when the Steelers were in a nickel or dime defense, Woodley and Harrison both rushed on 13 of them.

But some of LeBeau's best work comes when the Steelers don't send both outside linebackers. Offenses can count on having to deal with blocking Woodley or Harrison pretty much whenever they drop back to pass, they don't know which one is coming, and they don't know who else is joining the party. As teams have become more and more aware of Harrison's pass rushing skills they have started shifting the pass protection his way. But what they've found is that doing that is a case of locking the front door while leaving the back wide open. By shifting the blocking, Woodley got more and more chances to face tight ends and running backs instead of offensive tackles. That's a battle that he should win, and during the playoffs, he has.

Woodley has four sacks during the postseason and three of them came against backs or tight ends. His two against the Chargers came when he was beat tight end Brandon Manumaleuna and fullback Jacob Hester. In both cases, the Chargers slanted their line to account for Harrison (in one case keeping a tight end in to help block him), only to see him drop into coverage. The Chargers had six men to block four rushers, but because they didn't know where the pressure was coming from, that wasn't enough.

It was much of the same story against the Ravens. Woodley beat fullback Lorenzo Neal for his first sack because the Ravens slanted their line to account for Harrison. This time Harrison did rush, but the Steelers still sent only four, as 350-pound nose tackle Casey Hampton was called on to somehow cover tailback Willis McGahee in the flat. It's one of the hallmarks of the zone blitz concept--defensive linemen sometimes have to drop into coverage, even if they weigh 350 pounds. But they are only asked to cover someone in short distances, with the expectation that the pass rush will arrive quick enough to keep them from being exposed. In this case, the rush did allow Hampton to waddle along after McGahee for just long enough.

Woodley's last sack was the only time in the playoffs that he's beaten an offensive lineman for a sack. He looped inside to beat Ravens guard Chris Chester on a five-man blitz. But don't get the idea that it's just Woodley and Harrison who can bring the heat. Twelve different Steelers recorded sacks during the regular season, and LeBeau feels comfortable sending anyone on any given play.



The key to beating Kurt Warner and the Cardinals' passing attack will be to keep Warner off balance. Warner has a tendency to fumble if he gets hit (as seen in a four fumble debacle against the Jets) but he also has a quick release and knows how to find an open receiver before the blitz arrives. When the Eagles tried to send the house, they did get to Warner for two sacks, but he also gashed them for 279 yards and four touchdowns.

So expect to see LeBeau bring people from all over the field, but he won't be sending six or seven rushers. Instead, it will be overload blitzes where he sends only four, but tries to get one of them in a mismatch on a back by hiding where they are coming from. But he'll be doing it in a way that doesn't allow anything deep by still dropping seven into coverage.

The Steelers' secondary is much improved this year, largely because the team has depth at cornerback. William Gay, nominally the Steelers' No. 4 cornerback, is not a big dropoff from the team's No. 2 corner, Bryant McFadden. The Steelers don't have any corner who can shut down Fitzgerald--no one does--but the Steelers do have the depth to keep Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston from destroying them.

The Cardinals passing attack is too talented to be completely shut down, but this Steelers' defense has been one of the best the league has seen in years. On Sunday night, we'll find out if they rank as one of the all-time greats.