Steelers 2014 special teams have a chance to be very special
By Paper Champions
http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com...-chart-preview
After the beginning of training camp, it seems as if the Steelers have a plethora of the "run and hit" defenders that Mike Tomlin covets. All of them will not see significant snaps on defense, but their contributions on special teams could be a big bonus for the Steelers in 2014.
Let's be honest, no one gets really excited about special teams. But, if you give a blocked punt, it is almost impossible to win a football game. Moreover, on kickoffs, starting field position has a big impact on the probability of that drive ending in points. Special Teams can flat-out win/lose a game for a team, or put a team in great/bad position to win.
One of the strengths of the 3-4 defense, is its ability to transfer to special teams players. Because of the premium placed on linebackers in the 3-4, means that there should be plenty of athletes available to play ST. In recent years, however, the Steelers performance on Special Teams has been mixed. For the most part, the biggest contributors on Special Teams have come from the secondary. That trend will hopefully end this year as the Steelers find themselves with an embarrassment of riches at the linebacker position. To explore further, let's examine kickoffs.
Players on the kickoff team are labeled numbers 1-5, and either left or right. The left or right designation simply means which side of the kicker they are on.
Every player on the kickoff team is assigned a landmark based on where the returner is. For example, L3 and R3 might have a landmark of 5 yards outside of the returner. L4 and R4 will probably have a landmark of 1 yard outside of the returner. L5 and R5 have a landmark of head up on the returner.
The job of the coverage unit is to avoid the front wall of defenders to the side of the ball. So, if the ball is kicked to the left, you have to avoid the blocker to the left. The next part is the most important and where the Steelers can really improve this year . When contacting the second level blockers, you cannot pick a side. You have to strike the blocker, lock out, and go through the blocker to the ball carrier. Simply, if the coverage man picks a side, the returner will pick the other side. And, with all of that open space, that mistake can be deadly.
So, secondary guys don't normally excel in this role. It requires the ability to blow some up. Fortunately for the Steelers, linebackers have been blowing up everything that walks during the first practices of training camp. Sean Spence, Terence Garvin, Vince Williams, Arthur Moats, Howard Jones, etc. Keith Butler summed it up well when he was quote saying that the Steelers have "inside linebackers out the butt".
This level of ferocity and athleticism will be very helpful when it comes to all of the return units also. Most punt coverage teams have a "block" side and a "return" side. Those assigned to block attack the block point (1.5 yards in front of the punter), and the others on the return side are assigned to jam their man and keep inside leverage.
Once the ball is kicked, the block side just keeps running and forms the wall and looks to attack the coverage. We, of course, saw Garvin do this last year against the Cincinnati Bengals.
I hate to pick on poor David Paulson, but he is not the type of player that the Steelers need to be playing special teams (although we do acknowledge this awesome block Paulson made his rookie year). Garvin and Spence are the types of athletes that you need. The Steelers have those athletes and it is up to Danny Smith to put them to good use. With the addition of Dri Archer to the return teams, Steeler fans should be looking for special things from the special teams unit.
Sports Magazine
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