The majority of our All 22 articles have been devoted to breaking down offenses. But when it comes to Pittsburgh, one of the first things to come to mind is Dick LeBeau’s famous zone blitz. He isn’t the father of the concept but can be credited with perfecting the scheme.
Today, we’ll travel back to Week Four versus the Eagles on a play where the zone blitz worked as well as LeBeau could have drawn up in his 40 years of coaching.
To start off, an aerial and end zone look at the Eagles’ formation. Empty set against the Steelers’ base defense with Brett Keisel in a two point stance.
Off the snap, Keisel drops into coverage. McClendon and Hood slant one gap over to the closed side. That’s the key. That action causes center Dallas Reynolds and right guard Danny Watkins to slide with them. Woodley speed rushes to occupy the RT Herremans letting Timmons loop in between unblocked.
The last picture says it all. Six Eagles’ blockers working against three defenders. Take Herremans and Woodley away and it’s 5v2. Timmons coming in untouched. The ability to drop seven, rush four, and still have a player run in scot free? Music to any defensive coordinator’s ears.
Timmons misses Vick and Hood ultimately gets the sack but it was the pressure that made the play happen.
Scratch that, it was the scheme.
Photo Credit: Flickr.com/jen robinson
