Through two preseason games, there is a lot of hype and overall excitement surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers for a number of reasons.
None is seemingly bigger than rookie outside linebacker Nick Herbig, who has burst onto the scene and captured the imagination of fans and media members alike.
In his first two preseason games, Herbig has 2.5 sacks, one of which was a strip-sack of Buffalo backup QB Matt Barkley on Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium.
The ghost move and overall bend and ankle flexion Herbig showed on the strip-sack truly was a work of art.
But there was so much more that Herbig showed in his 27 snaps played against Buffalo.
Let’s dive into the tape.
First snap of the game, Herbig finds himself on the field in the first quarter against Buffalo’s starters, giving Alex Highsmith a blow early on.
In an obvious passing situation, Herbig is able to pin his ears back and get after Buffalo QB Josh Allen, beating LT Dion Dawkins for the pressure.
Herbig does a great job converting speed to power on the play. He’s able to get upfield quickly off the snap and then converts that speed into a strong punch into Dawkins’ chest, stunning him just slightly. From there, Herbig is able to club and shed, turning the corner on Dawkins to get a hand on Allen.
The pressure from the Wisconsin product helped force the incompletion and got the rookie off to a fast start at home.
My favorite play from Herbig on the night occurred on a screen play in the first quarter.
Here, still against Buffalo’s starters, Herbig does a really good job showcasing his effort level and overall determination.
Herbig runs a bit of a stunt with DL DeMarvin Leal, looping inside to the guard. He does a good job of identifying the screen quickly, jumping back outside to help cut it off.
Once he cuts off the screen and sees the running back jump back inside to set up his block, Herbig does a fantastic job of spinning back inside, getting in on the tackle.
That’s high-level effort and overall want-to from the rookie that will endear him to his teammates.
Herbig certainly flashed as a pass rusher against the Bills, which is generating the attention he’s receiving, but he really had some strong reps against the run, which was rather encouraging.
Here in the second quarter, Herbig does a good job holding up on the double team from the two tight ends, anchoring in the hole.
Though he loses his footing, Herbig shows off his athleticism, bouncing up off the turf to block off the hole, causing the running back to bounce the run outside. That allows his teammates to help flow over and clean up the play behind the line of scrimmage. He’s not the biggest or strongest player on the edge, but this was a really strong rep against the run.
Another really strong rep here from Herbig against the run.
He does a great job of squeezing down on the stretch run, getting into the tight end’s chest and staying square to the line of scrimmage. Very good gap integrity and positioning to keep his relationship with his nearest defender and helps cut off any sort of cutback lane.
Herbig has good power and play here against the run, getting a shot in at the end, winning backside for the Steelers bottling things up behind the line of scrimmage.
There are still concerns with his length and overall strength holding up against the run, but what linemen can’t get their hands on, they can’t block.
Herbig knows this and knifes into the backfield for the tackle for loss. Slipping underneath the tight end to get his hands on the running back, Herbig wrangles him to the ground for the big tackle for loss on what would be one of his final snaps of the game.
The pass-rush abilities are rather impressive with Herbig so far, but his work against the run was rather intriguing on Saturday night. He looks like a legitimate rotational edge defender for the Steelers, which is welcome news for a team that had major concerns at that position just a few short months ago.
