The Pittsburgh Steelers signed veteran inside linebacker Jon Bostic to a two-year free agent contract in March and since then there’s been quite a bit of discussion about his coverage ability and how he’ll ultimately be used on defense in 2018. In order to give you a better idea as to how Bostic is in coverage, Alex Kozora and I will attempt to contextualize every play he was targeted in coverage during the 2017 regular season with the Indianapolis Colts.
As a starting point for this exercise, we have used the target data that Pro Football Focus compiled for Bostic last season with the Colts. That data states that Bostic was targeted 51 times in total and that he allowed 41 completions for 412 yards and 3 touchdowns.
As part of this contextualization exercise, we will divide the targets up into two separate posts and that means in this post we will focus in on the first 25 times Bostic was targeted in pass coverage during the 2017 season and through the first five games. On those 25 targets, Bostic was charged by PFF with allowing 22 completions for 248 yards and 2 touchdowns.
All 25 of those plays are charted for you in the table below the video of the plays. The table also includes a contextualization of each play in addition to the distance each pass was thrown in relation to the original line of scrimmage as well as yards after the catch that were gained.
Let the record show that 17 of these plays are deemed successful ones based on down and distance. Additionally, these 25 targets include a running back being thrown to 11 times, a tight end being thrown to 8 times and a wide receiver being thrown to 6 times. On three of these completed passes that Bostic was charged with allowing, the football was caught behind the original line of scrimmage.
We’ll have the final 26 alleged targets of Bostic in coverage contextualized for you in the coming days and Alex and I will discuss our findings more in-depth in a future podcast episode.
| OPP | WK | QRT | TIME | DWN | DIST | LOS | PLAY BY PLAY | RES | YDS | PDIST | YAC | SUCC | CONTEXTUALIZATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAR | 1 | 1 | 2:51 | 3 | 9 | LA 39 | (SG) J.Goff pass SM to T.Gurley to LA 43 for 4 yards (J.Bostic). | C | 4 | 1 | 3 | N | Sniffs out checkdown to Gurley, tackle at LOS, good lateral mobility |
| LAR | 1 | 2 | 10:58 | 2 | 10 | IND 45 | (SG) J.Goff pass DL to G.Everett to IND 6 for 39 yards (J.Bostic). | C | 39 | 27 | 12 | Y | Press man vs isolated TE, beat vertically for long gain, loses receiver at top of route after staying in-phase initially |
| LAR | 1 | 2 | 7:29 | 1 | 10 | LA 42 | J.Goff pass SR to S.Watkins to IND 34 for 24 yards (M.Hooker). | C | 24 | 16 | 8 | Y | Cover 2 LB, bites initially on playaction, low wall defender on throw down seam |
| LAR | 1 | 2 | 6:15 | 1 | 10 | IND 22 | (NH, SG) J.Goff pass incomplete SR to R.Woods. | INC | 0 | 0 | 0 | N | Zone LB, QB throws quick out, Bostic doesn’t have a chance to make a play on the ball |
| LAR | 1 | 4 | 6:33 | 2 | 8 | IND 20 | (SG) J.Goff pass SM to T.Higbee to IND 11 for 9 yards (A.Morrison) [J.Hankins]. | C | 9 | 8 | 1 | Y | Zone defender, TE sits down between LBs for short completion |
| ARI | 2 | 1 | :12 | 2 | 5 | IND 24 | C.Palmer pass SM to T.Niklas to IND 8 for 16 yards (J.Simon). | C | 16 | 10 | 6 | Y | Playaction, TE gets behind him, complete on over route |
| ARI | 2 | 2 | 8:42 | 1 | 10 | IND 30 | (SG) C.Palmer pass incomplete SR to A.Ellington. | INC | 0 | 0 | 0 | N | Takes RB on flare route, pass incomplete, though Bostic didn’t have much effect on the throw |
| ARI | 2 | 3 | 7:36 | 3 | 4 | ARZ 19 | (SG) C.Palmer pass SL to A.Ellington pushed ob at ARZ 41 for 22 yards (M.Hooker) | C | 22 | 1 | 21 | Y | Pick play, Bostic gets rubbed by WR, completion down sideline to RB |
| ARI | 2 | 4 | 8:55 | 2 | 16 | ARZ 22 | (SG) C.Palmer pass SR to A.Ellington to ARZ 18 for -4 yards (J.Sheard). | C | -4 | -4 | 0 | N | Failed screen, Bostic not involved. |
| CLE | 3 | 1 | 10:10 | 2 | 4 | CLV 33 | D.Kizer pass SM to I.Crowell to CLV 41 for 8 yards (J.Simon). | C | 8 | 5 | 3 | Y | Zone LB, drives on checkdown to RB but misses tackle, allows YAC |
| CLE | 3 | 2 | :32 | 1 | 1 | IND 1 | (SG) D.Kizer pass SL to D.Njoku for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN. | C | 1 | 1 | 0 | Y | Bites on play action, allows TE to leak out on corner, allows TD |
| CLE | 3 | 3 | 10:54 | 2 | 12 | CLV 46 | (SG) D.Kizer pass SR to D.Johnson to CLV 49 for 3 yards (J.Bostic). | C | 3 | 0 | 3 | N | Takes RB in flat makes tackle and doesn’t allow YAC |
| CLE | 3 | 4 | 4:05 | 1 | 10 | CLV 30 | (SG) D.Kizer pass SR to R.Higgins to CLV 39 for 9 yards (J.Bostic). | C | 9 | 5 | 4 | Y | Zone/hook LB, makes open field tackle on WR running a curl for minimal YAC |
| CLE | 3 | 4 | 3:37 | 3 | 1 | CLV 39 | (SG) D.Kizer pass SM to D.Johnson to CLV 45 for 6 yards (J.Bostic). | C | 6 | 6 | 0 | Y | Zone LB, good recognition/drive on checkdown to RB, makes tackle |
| SEA | 4 | 1 | 2:08 | 1 | 10 | SEA 25 | R.Wilson pass SM to C.Carson to SEA 33 for 8 yards (J.Bostic). | C | 8 | 2 | 6 | Y | Zone LB, makes tackle on checkdown to RB |
| SEA | 4 | 2 | 14:27 | 3 | 18 | SEA 37 | (SG) R.Wilson pass SM to T.Lockett to 50 for 13 yards (J.Bostic). | C | 13 | 12 | 1 | N | Zone/hook LB, walls TE to carry him to safety, helps on tackle on throw to WR running 10 yard curl |
| SEA | 4 | 2 | :17 | 2 | 1 | SEA 34 | (NH, SG) R.Wilson pass SM to J.Graham to SEA 44 for 10 yards (J.Bostic; N.Hairston). | C | 10 | 10 | 0 | Y | Cover 2 LB, opens to strength of formation with eyes on #3/TE, makes tackle when TE breaks down and coverts seam to curl |
| SEA | 4 | 3 | 7:57 | 1 | 10 | SEA 6 | (SG) R.Wilson pass SL to A.Darboh to SEA 11 for 5 yards (M.Farley; J.Bostic) | C | 5 | 4 | 1 | Y | Zone LB, squeezes throw to WR and makes tackle |
| SEA | 4 | 3 | 3:58 | 3 | 2 | SEA 33 | (SG) R.Wilson pass SM to C.Carson to SEA 40 for 7 yards (J.Bostic). | C | 7 | 2 | 5 | Y | Flexed out wide vs TE, makes tackle on slant |
| SEA | 4 | 4 | 2:28 | 4 | 3 | IND 27 | (SG) R.Wilson pass DR to J.McKissic for 27 yards, TOUCHDOWN. | C | 27 | 27 | 0 | Y | Flexed out vs RB, loses him at top of route, allows TD, lacked speed to run with back |
| SF | 5 | 2 | :59 | 1 | 10 | SF 25 | B.Hoyer pass SM to P.Garcon to 50 for 25 yards (D.Butler; P.Desir). | C | 25 | 13 | 12 | Y | Underneath zone LB, QB moves him with his eyes, complete on deep crosser over the middle |
| SF | 5 | 3 | :54 | 1 | 10 | IND 40 | (No Huddle) B.Hoyer pass SL to G.Celek pushed ob at IND 34 for 6 yards (J.Bostic) | C | 6 | -1 | 7 | Y | Playaction, closes quickly on TE running to flat |
| SF | 5 | 4 | 5:03 | 2 | 10 | SF 38 | (SG) B.Hoyer pass incomplete SL to G.Kittle. | INC | 0 | 0 | 0 | N | Quick out to TE, pass incomplete but pass was too far outside, Bostic had little effect on incompletion |
| SF | 5 | 4 | 4:32 | 1 | 10 | IND 49 | (NH) B.Hoyer pass SM to C.Hyde to IND 42 for 7 yards (J.Bostic; J.George). | C | 7 | 3 | 4 | Y | Zone LB, RB sits down underneath him, Bostic quickly makes tackle |
| SF | 5 | 4 | 1:15 | 3 | 8 | IND 8 | (SG) B.Hoyer pass SR to G.Kittle to IND 5 for 3 yards (J.Bostic) [H.Anderson] | C | 3 | -8 | 11 | N | Zone LB, scramble drill, pass thrown well behind LOS, Bostic in on tackle |
