The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive linemen will rotate. So will their outside linebackers. And it seems like the inside linebacker trio of Cole Holcomb, Kwon Alexander, and Elandon Roberts will all log time. Count on the Steelers’ safeties doing the same.
Of course, Minkah Fitzpatrick won’t be part of any rotation. He’s the team’s every-down free safety. But Terrell Edmunds is no longer the dance partner opposite of him. After Edmunds left for Philadelphia, the team signed Keanu Neal and brought back Damontae Kazee. Though Pittsburgh spent much of camp without all three of its top safeties available, they’re all back on the field and the Steelers are teasing how they’ll be used.
In last Saturday’s preseason win against Buffalo, the Pittsburgh had multiple safety pairings.
Base 3-4: Minkah Fitzpatrick and Keanu Neal
When the Steelers played their true base 3-4 defense, Neal came in as the strong safety. With his size and physicality, even dabbling at inside linebacker throughout his career, he’s best suited to play in the box and stuff the run. Of the 15 snaps Neal played against the Bills, more than half — eight of them — were in the box. Get him close to the line of scrimmage and he’ll do his best work. He’s a good answer to heavy personnel from opposing offenses, those who bring in multiple tight ends or mix in a fullback.
Standard 2-4-5 Nickel: Minkah Fitzpatrick and Damontae Kazee
Against 11 personnel and three-wide receivers sets, Neal came off the field for Kazee. More athletic, more versatile, and a better playmaker in coverage, Kazee is the nickel safety. Kazee logged zero snaps in the team’s base 3-4 and saw his work in nickel and dime. That should carry over into the regular season.
Big Nickel: Minkah Fitzpatrick, Damontae Kazee, and Keanu Neal
How about getting all three on the field? Well, almost. The team’s “big nickel” package with three safeties on the field, the Steelers used this twice against the Bills. Both came against Buffalo’s 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends). The Steelers would normally be in their 3-4 but they’re mixing a way to get all three safeties on the field. By this point late in the first quarter, Fitzpatrick’s day was done so he wasn’t on the field here, replaced by Kenny Robinson. Obviously in a regular-season game Fitzpatrick will be in there.
This became a 2-4-5 grouping, taking off a nose tackle for the third safety, a curious decision to stop the run but something Pittsburgh has occasionally used before. The results? One pre-snap penalty on Buffalo, the other an eight-yard completion to WR Stefon Diggs on first and 15.
It won’t be used a ton but against certain teams, most often ones with athletic tight ends, the Steelers will use this.
Dime: Minkah Fitzpatrick, Damontae Kazee, and Keanu Neal
Pittsburgh only deployed its dime defense once against the Bills, on a third and 29. But it was good to see it out there. No surprise, the top three safeties were on the field in the Steelers’ 2-3-6 grouping along with three cornerbacks. Patrick Peterson slid to the slot, Joey Porter Jr. came on the field as the left cornerback with Levi Wallace opposite and the three safeties accompanying them. Pre-snap, Neal was the closest to the line of scrimmage though because this was third and forever, they were all playing pretty loosely.
Based off this game, to recap the safety rotation:
Base Defense: Neal Plays
Standard Nickel Defense: Kazee Plays
Big Nickel: Kazee and Neal Play
Dime: Kazee and Neal Play
As Mike Tomlin says, the NFL is becoming about specialization. And that’s bleeding into safety as well.
