The dominance of Le'Veon Bell, and why containing Pittsburgh's run game should be the first priority

[Ring 6]

Agreed. However, I think the issue this time could be, who is going to contain him? Wasn't it Jamie Collins who did it last time? Who steps up this time? I suppose it's Hightower.

Collins was a detriment to the run D. The Joe Lunchbucket group has made the defense better by replacing him, and just doing their job.
If you mean who will cover him in man, my guess would be Chung.
I'm assuming we will be in nickel as base, with Chung being a piece of the run D plan, so he should be able to spy Bell. Of course I'm sure BB has found tendencies and will have something detailed, and will probably institute some version of Marshall Law, where Bell can't get out without being hit.

 

[signbabybrady]

I have to think BB and Matty P will have some way to counter that "wait for the hole to appear" approach..

I would think 2 gap would naturally work better against this style.

We aren't penetrating as much so the lanes shouldn't just open up without them earning it.

 

[patfanken]

Congratulations - You win the "keen sense of the obvious" award today. Yeah, slowing down Bell WOULD probably be a good idea.

BTW- Your 4.5ypc number for the Houston game included a long QB run. The actual RB's only averaged 3.7ypc, so yes our run defense is good.

Another thing to think about before the legend of Leveon Bell gets too out of hand is that KC's run defense has sucked since Derrick Alexander got hurt. In fact they weren't great before, and ended up 26th in the league.

Bell and David Johnson are the 2 best RB's in the league, though Johnson's year will be forgotten in all the Bell hype and the poor year AZ had. So it's not like the Pats won't have a huge challenge. In reality anything less than something like 110 yds from him will be a win. They are NOT going to shut him down without opening up the rest of the defense to disaster. So they object won't be to stop him, but to control him and limit any long gains.

On thing for certain, Bell is a joy to watch, even when he's an opponent (when he becomes a nightmare ). I'm sure there will be extra tackling practice this week.

 

[GodBrady]

I think this is an interesting point. If Bell stutter-stepped and delayed back there and then got swallowed up, everyone would criticize his running style as being too "hesitant". But because it's working, he's remarkably "patient".

He's being praised because his style is different. Bell is patient and waits for holes to open up. It's as much vision as anything.

Backs that "dance" are the ones that constantly run east-to-west, try to run backwards and loop around to the other side of the field, juke for the sake of juking, instinctively bounce outside the tackles even when they have holes, etc -- stuff that works in college, where players can rely almost solely on raw athleticism; this doesn't work in the pros because everyone is a world-class athlete, and more importantly they are fine-tuned, well-trained players that know how to take proper angles.

So, in my opinion, you are conflating multiple things and using one, catch-all term. Bell's "dancing" and the traditional "dancing" that often gets criticized are not the same thing. It has nothing to do with the results, they are just simply not the same thing.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Congratulations - You win the "keen sense of the obvious" award today. Yeah, slowing down Bell WOULD probably be a good idea. .

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Hmmm...I don't see why they can't shut down both Bell and Brown, considering the total lack of confidence between Ben and the rest of those JAGs. I normally wouldn't think you could take away two superstars, but Pittsburgh sure has looked terrible in offense many times, especially o
n the road.

 

[Vindicate]

A great way to neutralize a running attack? Go up two scores early. Maintain a lead that doesn't allow for clock chewing and more so playing catch up. Literal catch up. Force them to make errant throws in the face of a lead.

Steelers have maintained leads and this why Bell can chew you up and take time off the clock. If I'm Bill, I elect to receive first if given the opportunity. Chew that defense, show it for what it is, get seven points. Have the defense come out with the swag it's been showing and they'll get a stop or hold to three. Go up another score and suddenly Bell isn't as viable of option.

Waaayyyyy easier said than done. But I imagine maintaining a lead can do a lot to negate Bell.

 

[Tuck]

patriots are very good, maybe the best at maintaining gap integrity. That is not good news for bell.

 

[Nunchucks]

The Steelers offensive line was constantly getting huge push. If they cannot get any push against the Patriots, Bell will be faulked.

 

[patfanken]

As to how to stop Bell you don't do it by following the KC blueprint. I would LOVE to have someone break down the inside run game of the Steelers that does so well. On the broadcast they pointed out that they always create 2 double teams and let Bell react off them. One quick way to combat that is to move your DL on the snap of the ball. It makes it difficult to create double teams. The downside is that it can open gaps IF your LB's are less than perfect in their discipline. So it isn't something you want to do every play. Rushing your DL upfield also has its pit falls if a tackle is missed or a gap not filled. But it can be effective in small doses.

So in the end, its not about creating a scheme that shuts down the run game, its a matter of creating several schemes, and using them in a judicious and timely fashion

 

[English Patriot]

Bill Belichick - a master of taking away your best player and making you win another way. It doesn't always come off but he's damn good at it

 

[fightingirish595]

Patriots are gonna do what they always do. Try to stop the run without loading the box. Belichick knows stopping the run is most important.

 

[70Dart]

Le'Veon Bell has been border-line unstoppable in the run game

Pittsburgh's greatest asset on Sunday's game, may not be its big-play, explosiveness on offense. It will probably be the their ability to run the ball at will, in order to control the tempo of the game and keep Tom Brady off the field.

There's no doubt Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell feed off each other: Focus your attention on Bell, and Brown can rip off a big play through the air; scheme to double-team Brown, and Bell will chew up light run fronts. Bell's elusiveness can also lead to chunk gains and sustained drives.

When Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell receives the ball from Ben Roethlisberger, he doesn't launch full speed into a clutter of linemen. Instead, Bell often stutter-steps, seemingly running at half speed, before finding a hole and carrying the ball several yards for the explosive Steelers offense.

A telling stat: Over his last seven games, Bell has rushed for a total of 1,002 yards and eight touchdowns. That's 142 yards more than the best seven-game stretch of Emmitt Smith, the all-time rushing leader!

The Patriots have played excellent run defense lately. Houston's 4.5 yards per carry on Saturday were the most the Pats had allowed since Week 11. Prior to the playoff game, they had held five straight opponents below four yards per carry, an impressive feat.

But the Pats have not seen anyone like Bell since Arizona's David Johnson in the season opener.
Bell has easily topped 120 yards from scrimmage in all but one game this season. And no one has been able to stop him. Not even close.

And it's not as though Bell has racked up big stats on weak opponents, either. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry against Baltimore in Week 16, and he hung 182 yards on the Giants in Week 13. The Giants and Ravens respectively ranked second and fifth in run defense this year.

And as we saw on Saturday's game against Houston, the benefits of controlling the ball for the majority of the game are pretty obvious. Just revisit the sequence of plays in the first half of the Houston divisional game:

The Texans put together a scoring drive that lasted 8:12 and then Dion Lewis returned a kickoff for a touchdown. After the next Houston possession, Tom Brady threw an interception on the first play. And then following the ensuing Texans drive, Lewis fumbled the kickoff. That's when momentum evaporated for the Patriots offense.

Of course, the Patriots have been able to end long drives by forcing turnovers (when Devin McCourty popped the ball loose from Miami tailback Damien Williams, the Dolphins had held possession for 5:22). Since the loss to Seattle, the Patriots defense has allowed five scoring drives that lasted five minutes or longer. But in that same span, the Steelers have put together 13 scoring drives of five minutes or longer. This is a team that can methodically move the ball downfield.

Getting Pittsburgh to turn the ball over, and the weaknesses of Roethlisberger

They might need to come up with at least one takeaway in the AFC title game, because the prospects of limiting Le'Veon Bell seem bleak.

The good news is that Roethlisberger has shown a tendency to turn the ball over. Roethlisberger’s overall performance has been wildly up and down—from game to game and from half to half, or even quarter to quarter—even as he finally has close to a full complement of healthy weapons around him, and as he’s seen less pressure than he has at any point in his career.

According to Football Outsiders, Roethlisberger led the league with 13 dropped interceptions to go along with his 13 actual interceptions (in 14 games). And according to Pro Football Focus, 4.72 percent of all of Roethlisberger’s throws were considered turnover-worthy, which ranked 27th out of the 29 quarterbacks with at least 400 pass attempts. The irony in all this is that Roethlisberger is being protected better than ever.

It’s difficult to say exactly what’s up with Roethlisberger, and why he’s making so many bad decisions and forcing so many poor throws, even as he’s still showing signs of brilliance and taking fewer hits.

But one thing is for sure: Big Ben likes to take chances with the ball, and will give you that turnover-worthy throw at least once per drive. And as we saw on Sunday against the Chiefs, he has has struggled with untimely turnovers and finishing drives in the red zone.

So what would be the best gameplan against Pittsburgh's offense? Stack the box to limit the run, keep two safeties deep, and playing a good amount of Cover 2 to take away the big plays and make Roethlisberger dink and dunk his way down the field. And cross your fingers that at some point, he fails to finish a drive or (better) commits a turnover.

In the first meeting we kept him out of the End Zone and under 100 yards rushing. That unto itself is a victory.

 

[DaBruinz]

As I just posted in another thread:

The Steelers have not lost a game this season in which Bell puts up more than 85 yards rushing.
In the Steelers 4 losses, Bell was held to under 85 yards rushing.

You have contain Bell and hold him under 85 yards rushing..

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Bell put up gaudy rushing stats vs. the Chiefs, and yet the team never sniffed the end zone. I'm fine with a repeat of that.

 

[mgteich]

Bill Belichick - a master of taking away your best player and making you win another way. It doesn't always come off but he's damn good at it

The OP is suggesting that the best player is Bell rather than Brown.

 

[mgteich]

Which runners have run for over 100 yards against the patriots?

Even if Bell runs for 125 or so, that is more than manageable.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

patriots are very good, maybe the best at maintaining gap integrity. That is not good news for bell.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

 

[Tuck]

Thanks for posting. That's exactly what it should look like Sunday night.