You ever see a bowling ball build up enough speed as it travels down the lane to send all the pins flying into the air for a big strike?
Inside linebacker Elandon Roberts fit that description last Thursday night against the Falcons, playing like a true bowling ball as he flew around and knocked down a few ballcarriers.
Roberts finished the game against the Falcons with three total tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack. He was brought in to be Pittsburgh’s downhill thumper as a two-down linebacker that specializes in run defense and occasionally blitzing up the middle. While his showing the previous week against the Buffalo Bills wasn’t as flashy, Roberts made sure to close out the preseason with a bang in Atlanta.
The Film
Elandon Roberts got down on the first defensive play from scrimmage last Thursday night, showing us that skill set as a downhill run stuffer. Watch this rep where Roberts follows the motion man across the line of scrimmage as the defenses adjusts, getting lined up perfectly into the gap that parts like the Red Sea on the snap of the ball. Roberts triggers downhill in a hurry, flying into the backfield and levels the running back behind the line of scrimmage for a big loss on the play.
Even when he wasn’t the guy making the stop, Roberts was still making his presence felt as a downhill thumper. Watch Roberts take on this block by TE No. 46 Parker Hesse, pushing him back to prevent the runner from having a cutback angle, allowing S No. 31 Keanu Neal to square up the runner in the hole and stuff him for no gain.
Roberts stood out on one drive in-particular for Pittsburgh against the Falcons, being the guy to make a play on three consecutive snaps. On first down, we see Roberts fly into the backfield on a play action pass, accelerating to track down QB No. 11 Logan Woodside who attempts to evade Roberts, but is unable to do so as Roberts trips him up for the sack and the fun celebration to follow.
The very next play, we see Roberts drop into coverage in the middle of the field, setting up in his zone before he sees Woodside release the football, closing on Hesse quickly as he tackles him at the catch, holding Hesse to a minimal gain on second down.
On third down we see Roberts close out the drive with an impactful hit on the running back leaking out of the backfield, forcing the incompletion. The intended receiver drops the pass as it is thrown slightly behind him, but Roberts’ presence as he comes in full-speed bearing down on him likely has the intended target hearing footsteps, causing him to make a business decision as Roberts finishes taking him to the turf to force fourth down.
Conclusion
Last Thursday night against the Falcons was Elandon Roberts’ best performance this preseason, showcasing the aggressiveness and physicality that attracted Pittsburgh to signing him this offseason. He has mentioned in the past that he loves to hit, embracing the contact that comes with playing the position. He also fared better in pass coverage against Atlanta than he did against Buffalo the previous week, albeit on a small sample size with one rep being more on the quarterback/receiver connection than great coverage by Roberts.
With the additions of Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander as well to the inside linebacker room, Pittsburgh can specialize which backers get on the field in which situations. Roberts should play early on run downs and less in true passing situations outside of being a true blitzer. If Roberts is kept in that role, he should have a productive season as Pittsburgh’s inside linebackers look to have the best season as a unit the team has seen since Ryan Shazier was playing.
