By Alex Kozora
Snap-by-snap breakdown of the newest Pittsburgh Steeler left tackle Levi Brown (#75) in his last game with the Arizona Cardinals versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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First Drive
Snaps: 3
Run Block/Pass Block: 0/3
Play-by-Play
1. 1st and 10, 15:00 1st. Pass. RB chips to his side. Looks a bit stiff but play ends quickly with DT on right side busting in for the sack.
2. 2nd and 18, 14:27. Swing pass to Rashard Mendenhall. Lunges briefly but gets long arms extended and pushed the RE up the arc.
3rd. 3rd and 18, 14:23. Doesn’t get good first punch and knocked off balance but able to recover. Ball again comes out quick on middle screen.
Second Drive
Snaps: 4
Run/Pass: 2/2
Play-by-Play
1. 1st and 10, 10:29 1st. Attempted cut block on pass to right side that fails. Can’t cut end.
2. 2nd and 6, 9:59. Another short pass, this time a curl. Seems to absorb Adrian Clayborn’s bull rush well.
3. 1st and 10, 9:27. Works to second level immediately. Uses frame to push, seal smaller linebacker LaVonte David on this run.
4. 2nd and 5, 8:55. Doesn’t get push off the line on this play. Looked slow off the snap on the run.
Third Drive
Snaps: 3
Run/Pass: 1/2
Play-by-Play
1. 1st and 10, 6:17 1st. Run. Double team Akeem Spence with the left guard.
2. 2nd and 13, 5:30. Pass block. Beat around the edge. Doesn’t move feet on his punch. DE going to get under him and pressure Carson Palmer had the ball not come out quick. Picture to follow of him lunging.
3. 3rd and 6, 4:47. No outside speed rush. Doubles Clayborn with LG Daryn Colledge.
Fourth Drive
Snaps: 3
Run/Pass: 1/2
Play-by-Play
1. 1st and 10, 1:43 1st. Locks up the DT Gerald McCoy. Once he locked on, the battle was over. Nice play.
2. 2nd and 1, 1:13. Seals the end on run to the right. Not much else going on.
3. 3rd and 1, :31. Again, feet stopped on punch. Able to somewhat recover by getting his arms extended and kinda forces the DE upfield but overall, a poor play.
Fifth Drive
Snaps: 5
Run/Pass: 2/3
Play-by-Play
1. 1st and 1o, 11:16 2nd. Gets help from the TE chipping on pass set. Shows good bend and lateral movement the rest of the play but obviously, the chip helps.
2. 1st and 10, 10:37. Holds block vs McCoy on run to other side.
3. 1st and 10, 10:10. Holds own again at POA on run. Shows decent strength.
4. 2nd and 10, 9:35. Opens gate anticipating outside rush from Clayborn who counters inside and beats him.
5. 3rd and 4, 8:52. No one rushing at him. Sees CB blitz and helps pick it up along with the RB.
Sixth Drive
Snaps: 3
Run/Pass: 1/2
Play-by-Play
1. 1st and 10, 5:43 2nd. Run block. Not much doing. Bases the DT.
2. 2nd and 9, 5:14. Sees stunt, perhaps because of a pre-snap tip off based on DT Gary Gibson’s stagger. Passes off the looping end and takes on the tackle with ease. If only the Steelers could do that…
3. 3rd and 9, 5:07. Brown again opens gate and gets pushed aside. Turned around when Clayborn punches.
Seventh Drive
Snaps: 3
Run/Pass: 0/3
Play-by-Play
1. 1st and 10, :27 2nd. Bad, low snap that screws the whole play up.
2. 2nd and 10, :22. Screen. Absorbs bull rush for a brief second.
3. 3rd and 10, :18. Three man rush with Clayborn slanting inside. Nothing doing.
Eighth Drive
Snaps: 14
Run/Pass: 6/8
Play-by-Play
1. 1st and 10, 11:57 3rd. Pass pro. Doubles over, flatback vs DE Daniel Te’o-Nesheim.
2. 2nd and 1, 11:24. Picks up, turns blitzing LB on run. Solid pickup.
3. 1st and 10, 10:45. Bullrush from Te’o Nesheim. Good arm extension but Brown fails to bring his lower half…again. Only thing going for him is his superior strength that somewhat keeps the end at bay.
4. 1st and 10, 10:17. Works to second level on run. Doesn’t finish his play, just watches the RB when the LB comes off his block. Would rather he finish than witness.
5. 2nd and 13, 9:34. Te’o-Nesheim falls to the ground, may have gotten tripped up by releasing TE. But Brown still lunges on punch once the end gets back up.
6. 1st and 10, 8:49. Pass pro against Clayborn who gets caught up in the ground and falls on his own accord.
7. 2nd and 10, 8:43. Slant so quick throw. Nothing happening.
8. 1st and 10, 8:11. Down block on run off left tackle. Good seal.
9. 2nd and 8, 7:39. Run off right guard. Not much doing.
10. 3rd and 2, 6:59. Decent push on run. From the broadcast view, it’s tough to tell exactly who he blocked though.
11. 1st and 10, 6:16. Another T/E stunt. Lets the tackle get inside of him, pressure/hit Palmer who is called for grounding.
12. 2nd and 20, 6:10. Te’o-Nesheim gets under Brown’s pads, dips under and would’ve gotten pressure had the ball not been released as the end darted past.
Not an actual play in the log but Brown called for a false start on the following “play”. Just wanted to point that out.
13. 1st and 15, 5:04. Draw. Successfully punches the end upfield.
14. 2nd and 14, 4:24. Sees T/E stunt and picks it up pretty well. Not as good as first, not as poorly as the second.
Ninth Drive
Snaps: 5
Run/Pass: 1/4
Play-by-Play
1. 1st and 15, 3:21 3rd. Good kickslide initially but can’t mirror vs Da’Quan Bowers and beat to the inside.
2. 1st and 20, 2:58. Pass. Down blocks slanting Bowers. Fine job, nothing special.
3. 1st and 10, 2:27. Combo to second level. Shoves a LB but doesn’t stick.
4. 2nd and 9, 1:49. Nice job not letting Clayborn counter inside on his pass rush. Didn’t look pretty but stayed square.
5. 1st and 10, 1:13. T/E stunt. Seems the tackle wasn’t very interested in rushing. Nonetheless, Brown does a nice job here getting his arms extended.
Tenth Drive
Snaps: 5
Run/Pass: 0/5
Play-by-Play
1. 1st and 10, 13:30. DE slants down on CB blitz (which the RB picks up). Hot read so ball comes out quick.
2. 2nd and 4, 12:57. Still feel he isn’t moving well laterally here at the tail end. GIF?
3. 1st and 10, 12:19. Easily pushes Clayborn up the arc. Good first punch.
4. 2nd and 10, 12:12. Swing pass. Nothing doing on this short pass play.
5. 3rd and 13, 11:28. Clayborn with a good jump off the snap. Brown able to push him upfield a little but DE still able to snag Palmer’s jersey as he throws.
Eleventh Drive
Snaps: 7
Run/Pass: 0/7
Play-by-Play
1. 1st and 10, 6:03 4th. Flatback and beaten pretty badly by Te’o-Nesheim.
2. 2nd and 10, 5:58. Picks up blitz well. Good lateral movement on this play.
3. 1st and 10, 5:16. Blitz. Initial contact on Clayborn then passes him off to pick up blitzing David. Heady play.
4. 1st and 10, 5:09. Keeps Te’o-Nesheim at bay. Moves well laterally.
5. 1st and 20, 5:04. Initial kickslide pretty solid. But lunges, doesn’t bring lower half and beat.
6. 2nd and 20, 4:57. Quick throw. Brown pushes DE upfield.
7. 3rd and 12, 4:18. Gets help from chipping back in pass pro and from LG. Predictably, no issues here.
Twelfth Drive
Snaps: 1
Run/Pass: 0/1
Play-by-Play
1. 1st and 10, 3:12 4th. Absorbs bull rush from Clayborn well. Palmer hits Larry Fitzgerald for a TD.
Thirteenth Drive
Snaps: 4
Run/Pass: 3/1
Play-by-Play
1. 1st and 10, 1:56 4th. Mirrors slanting DT for a moment before the pass.
2. 1st and Goal, 1:50. Falls off run block quickly and doesn’t bother to pick up anyone else or even make an attempt as Mendenhall still churns out another yard or two on a run to Brown’s side.
3. 2nd and Goal, 1:43. Run off the right edge. Holds his block on the backside.
4. 3rd and Goal, 1:37. Nothing doing on Palmer diving to set up the game-winning field goal.
Total/Conclusions
Snaps: 60
Run/Pass: 17/43
Brown possesses a big frame at 6’6 324 and looks the part with long arms that let him push ends upfield, especially helpful when recovering after getting beat. Didn’t see a whole lot of run blocking opportunities and in the ones I did get a good read on, there wasn’t a whole lot to like or hate. Would want to see him finish plays more though; he didn’t appear to have a nasty streak.
While he shows some lateral movement in pass protection, it’s still a big area of concern. His upper half and lower half don’t work together, one of the issues that are plaguing Mike Adams and Marcus Gilbert. Too many times Brown would punch, his feet would stop, and the end would gain a step. Other times, he showed trouble mirroring versus counter moves or would open the gate.
Did seem like a smart player that recognizes stunts something this squad could sorely use. No guarantees he starts and if I had to guess, he won’t come Week 6. Kelvin Beachum will likely get the nod at left tackle. But knowing all we now do about the trade (the small salary the team is paying him, the draft pick in return), it’s a low risk trade I have no complaints about.
