To kick off Steelers week, Bill Belichick mentioned he couldn’t keep in mind the final time it had been three years for the reason that Patriots final confronted the black and gold.
Naturally, a lot has modified for the reason that Pats met Pittsburgh of their 2019 season opener.
For starters, Ben Roethlisberger is not the Steelers’ quarterback, having retired and handed the reins to first-round bust Mitch Trubisky. Second, longtime faculty coach Matt Canada is now the offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh, having changed Randy Fichtner. And the Steelers’ star operating again, Najee Harris, and tight finish, Merrimac’s Pat Freiermuth, have been two seasons away from declaring for the NFL Draft when Pittsburgh final met the Pats.
So how can Belichick’s protection deal with the new-look Steelers?
1. Keep Trubisky within the pocket
The e-book on Trubisky is out.
He’s not significantly correct, proudly owning a profession completion proportion under 64%. He’s liable to picks and fumbles, yearly rating among the many league leaders in turnover-worthy performs, in line with Pro Football Focus. But he’s, with out query, a risk to run.
Trubisky gouged the Patriots for 81 dashing yards and a landing throughout their solely assembly in 2018. He gained 51 of these yards after contact, as move rushers repeatedly flew previous him. Those pocket holes allowed Trubisky to increase performs and decide up 5 first downs by way of scrambles alone.
Belichick remembers that recreation, a 38-31 win at Chicago, all too nicely.
“He had a couple big scrambles against Cincinnati, not necessarily for long yardage, but to extend plays, get away from the blitz, things like that. … (Trubisky), you can’t let him run around,” Belichick mentioned. “We saw him in Chicago do a number on us in the scramble. So we have to make sure we account for him, too.”
Through the air, Trubisky additionally tossed two picks regardless of solely being pressured on 12.5% of his dropbacks. Bottom line: if the Pats can comprise him within the pocket, he ought to unravel on his personal.
2. Double Diontae Johnson on third down
For an offense that struggled to maneuver downfield in Week 1, the Steelers aren’t missing for weapons. Between Diontae Johnson, big-bodied Chase Claypool, Freiermuth and Harris, Pittsburgh has the receiving expertise to drive defenses to cowl the complete area.
But Johnson stands a step above the remaining, as demonstrated by his team-high 12 targets and 7 catches towards the Bengals in Week 1. Trubisky additionally trusted Johnson in key spots, concentrating on him 5 instances on third down, way over their second-leading receiver, Freiermuth, who noticed most of his work on early downs.
Johnson is the Steelers’ clear-cut No. 1 wideout till Claypool turns into extra constant. The Steelers used Claypool as typically as a runner (six carries for 36 yards) as they did a receiver (six targets) in Cincinnati. Second-round rookie George Pickens may threaten the Pats as a taller downfield goal, however should show himself earlier than receiving further consideration like Johnson, who’s coming off a 1,161-yard marketing campaign final 12 months.
3. Attack LT Dan Moore Jr.
Trubisky apart, the most important weak spot on the Steelers offense can be their largest unit.
The offensive line stays a weak spot, simply because it was on the finish of the Roethlisberger period. Offensive tackles Dan Moore Jr. and Chukwuma Okorafor signify the delicate spots in move safety, regardless of permitting only one stress every towards the Bengals, who had most of their move rush negated by a quick-trigger passing recreation.
If the Pats can drive Trubisky to carry on to the ball, they need to wreak backfield havok working by way of Moore Jr. The second-year deal with allowed seven sacks final 12 months and struggled all through the preseason. In Week 1, Patriots edge rushers Matt Judon and Deatrich Wise recorded 4 pressures apiece, together with one sack every of Tua Tagovailoa.
It isn’t a stretch to anticipate extra of the identical from them on Sunday.
Source: www.bostonherald.com