The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a hard loss to the hands of the New England Patriots last Thursday night, falling 21-18 at home against their long-time rival. The Patriots game represented the first one that LB Blake Martinez suited up in a Steelers uniform, having signed with the team back on Nov. 21 after Pittsburgh plucked him off the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad to add to its 53-man roster.
Martinez saw 21 defensive snaps (37%) against the Patriots, making four total tackles (two solo) along with missing a tackle. He primarily played on early, run-heavy downs in his first run with the Black and Gold, having some moments where he stood out as well as others where he showed his newness back to football after being briefly retired. Let’s take a closer look.
The Film
When it comes to pass coverage, Martinez looked like he was still knocking the rust off against the Patriots. He didn’t see many coverage snaps as he primarily played on early downs, but he got some exposure to passing situations like this rep where QB Bailey Zappe drops back from under center. Martinez is tasked with covering TE Pharaoh Brown, but he keeps his eyes in the backfield too long, picking up on Brown late after he’s at the top of his route. Brown runs a deep over route, having a couple steps of separation on Martinez, but Zappe chooses to go with the low-percentage throw down the sideline in double coverage, the pass falling incomplete.
As a run defender, Martinez flashed what made him a tackling machine in Green Bay as well as with the New York Giants. He comes downhill without any hesitation, working around and through blocks to make the stop. Take a look at this rep and see Martinez work to the edge to keep contain. He then crashes down inside to make the tackle on RB Ezekiel Elliott, having the rest of the defense swarm to the football to hold Elliott to a modest gain on the play.
Martinez also plays with great effort in pursuit of the football, playing chase to the ball carrier even when he’s not in close proximity to the ball. Watch this rep where New England runs a screen play to Elliott. Martinez starts to work to the opposite side of the field, keeping an eye on TE Hunter Henry, who comes across the formation. Martinez sees the screen to Elliott and then jumps on his horse, working to the opposite side of the field while working around a blocker to get Elliott on the ground.
We also got to see Martinez’s ability to stack and shed, to take on and disengage from blocks as a run defender against the Patriots. In this first clip, watch as Martinez works toward the line of scrimmage, taking on Henry. He reads Elliott as he approaches the line, working from left to right to get off the block and get in on the tackle. The second clip shows Martinez chucking Henry off his frame as the latter attempts to block him, throwing the tight end aside as he disengages the blocker and gets in on the tackle.
While Martinez held his own for the most part as a run defender in his first game with Pittsburgh, there were plays that he may have missed out on. One of those came on this rep late in the fourth quarter as New England was attempting to run out the clock. Martinez again engages with Henry as Elliott approaches the line, hitting the outside hole to evade DL Keeanu Benton. Martinez manages to get off the block, but is just a step away from the runner, reaching out to grab him as Elliott blows past his reach. That leaves Martinez falling to the ground on the diving attempt as Elliott rips off a nice gain with the Patriots trying to ice the game.
Conclusion
Blake Martinez played as expected in his first game action of the season against the New England Patriots. You could tell he was still adjusting in terms of getting in the right spots on defense and playing a regular-season NFL game after jumping on the moving train. However, he did make an impact as a run defender, playing well close the line of scrimmage. He also showed great effort in pursuit of the football as well as the ability to stack and shed blockers.
Still, Martinez shouldn’t be considered an asset in coverage, having struggled at times there at his previous stops in the league. The missed tackle also hurt as Elliott was able to rip off a big run, effectively sealing Pittsburgh’s fate as New England could effectively run out the clock. It’s hard to expect Martinez to play like his old self in his first game back in nearly a year after being retired, and he doesn’t have that three-down skill set to make him an easy choice to play over LB Mykal Walker, who has struggled mightily in coverage the last few weeks. Still, Martinez’s playing time should continue to increase as he gets more comfortable with the scheme, potentially leading to a decrease in Walker’s snaps as well as LB Mark Robinson’s.
