In a very busy offseason that saw the Pittsburgh Steelers and GM Omar Khan plug a number of holes on the roster and shape the projected starting lineup in a positive way, one name seemed to stand above the rest when it came to splashy free agency moves from the Black and Gold’s perspective.
That would be left guard Isaac Seumalo, who signed a three-year, $24 million deal in free agency, solidifying the left guard position in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future, helping complete the rebuild in the trenches for Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl.
Throughout training camp and the preseason, Seumalo looked solid. He was meshing well with left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and center Mason Cole, gelling quickly with the group, albeit in limited action.
Then, the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers and a loaded defensive front happened. Seumalo, in his first game with the Steelers as that prized addition to an offensive line that had a ton of hope entering the 2023 season, fell flat in the 30-7 loss to San Francisco.
Seumalo played all 63 snaps offensively for the Steelers and graded out at just a 40.1 overall from Pro Football Focus, which included a 38.3 as a run blocker and a 54.6 in pass protection. Those numbers were the lowest in a single game he’s posted dating back to the Week Two matchup against the Atlanta Falcons in 2019 in the PFF era. In that game, Seumalo graded out at a 25.4 overall, with a 29.6 run block grade and a 19.5 pass block grade.
Safe to say, Sunday was one of Seumalo’s worst games of his career, which is rather disappointing.
Granted, he was going against arguably the best defensive front in football in San Francisco and is still adjusting to a new scheme and new teammates and techniques in Pittsburgh. However, after all the hype from his signing, the showing on Sunday leaves a lot to be desired. In the 63 snaps, Seumalo allowed two pressures and was called for one penalty.
He was not impactful — at all — in the run game and really struggled with the power of San Francisco’s down linemen throughout the matchup.
Let’s dive into the film room and take a look at Seumalo’s performance in Week One against the 49ers.
RUN BLOCKING
As previously mentioned, Seumalo really struggled in the run game. He didn’t move defenders off the spot like he did consistently in Philadelphia, and he didn’t play with much force. He looked unsure of himself at times, which is understandable being in a new scheme, new system and high-intensity environment, but the struggles in the run game for the free agent signee were glaring.
Here, on an inside run in the second half, Seumalo is supposed to give a chip to the defensive tackle and then climb to linebacker Fred Warner to get a hat on him.
Seumalo takes a good initial first step to get the chip on the defensive tackle, but San Francisco’s Javon Kinlaw plays with more force here and gives a big shove to Seumalo, knocking him off of his trajectory in climbing to Warner at the second level. Kinlaw’s shove disrupts the timing of the play, allowing Warner to stay clean with safety Talanoa Hufanga for the stop on Harris at the line of scrimmage.
Seumalo really had issues with Kinlaw’s power throughout the game, both in the run game and in pass protection. Too often, Seumalo looked like he was trying to catch Kinlaw rather than taking the fight to him.
Watch how he’s hesitant here in the run game against Kinlaw and gets shocked backwards, losing the rep rather quickly as Kinlaw ultimately makes the stop near the line of scrimmage. You’ve got to fire out and try to create some movement, especially with Cole pulling behind him. Instead, he goes for the stalemate and catches Kinlaw, getting shocked backward, which leads to Kinlaw making the play.
Again, no movement was generated. That’s against Javon Hargrave, who isn’t exactly the best run defender, and one that Seumalo should be quite familiar with from his time in Philadelphia.
He has to fire out with more force here and create some displacement off the line of scrimmage. That doesn’t happen though, which allowed Hargrave to clog up the lane and then ultimately make a play on Steelers running back Jaylen Warren for a very short gain.
Not exactly a good rep from rookie tight end Darnell Washington, either.
This rep on the fourth play from scrimmage Sunday was his worst rep of the game from a run-blocking perspective. It’s a zone run to the field side and is something the Steelers have done seemingly every day since OTAs, so it’s nothing new for Seumalo. Yet, the slanting defensive tackle throws Seumalo off his assignment and causes him to try and block Kinlaw, rather than getting a chip and working second level to Warner.
Kinlaw should have been left for Cole to flow down the line with, creating a cutback for Harris. Instead, Seumalo inexplicably doubles Kinlaw and leaves Warner free, who comes in for a massive hit on Harris behind the line of scrimmage, setting the tone early for San Francisco.
PASS BLOCKING
It wasn’t all that great in protection for Seumalo, either.
Seumalo struggled at times with independent hand usage, which isn’t all that surprising. At times, he flashed it. Other times, he reverted to what he did in Philadelphia which was using both hands simultaneously. That made it easier for guys to get into his chest or knock his hands away, making it hard for Seumalo to recover.
Hargrave is a force. Great job from the San Francisco defensive tackle getting under Seumalo and then ripping inside. The Steelers are fortunate that’s a quick throw from Pickett because Hargrave won quickly on the interior and was going to put pressure on Pickett.
A miscommunication happens late with Seumalo and Cole in the game, which isn’t all that surprising. These things happen, especially early on in new situations.
Seumalo does a good job initially of getting hands on Hargrave and seeing the looper coming on the stunt. He doesn’t pass it off well with Cole with enough communication for the veteran center to look back left for Hargrave. That miscommunication leads to the sack and finishes the game for the 49ers.
At times early in the game though, Seumalo flashed the ability to anchor and hold up against some of the power of the 49ers.
Seumalo did a good job of anchoring at times, but he has to be better in all facets of the game in Week Two against Cleveland, especially with him likely seeing the combination of Shelby Harris and Dalvin Tomlinson on the inside.
It wasn’t a good debut for Seumalo in his tenure with the Steelers, but it’s just one game. It will take some time for him to feel comfortable in Pittsburgh after so many years in Philadelphia. He’s also still learning his fellow linemen, and San Francisco was a great test. Let’s see if he can bounce back in Week Two against the Cleveland Browns.
