Rainy over Pittsburgh and just as dreary on the grass, the Pittsburgh Steelers were a tough watch Saturday night against the Buffalo Bills. Second-year outside linebacker Nick Herbig was a bright spot, a standout as the Steelers’ defense kept the score down and the contest competitive.
To kick off our analysis of the game, a couple highlights from Herbig.
Start with his full sack. A great third-down call. Nickel blitz with slot corner Thomas Graham Jr. off the edge and a T/E stunt, DT Keeanu Benton crashing into the B-gap as Herbig, the ROLB, loops into the opposite A gap.
Buffalo’s left guard struggles to recognize and pass it off to the left tackle. With the center sliding to the away side, blocking no one as the backside LOLB drops out to compensate for the nickel blitzing, Herbig has a free path up the interior. The quickest route to the quarterback.
Herbig displays great closing speed to fly in and take down former Steelers QB Mitch Trubisky for a critical third down stop, getting the defense off the field.
This rush didn’t end in a sack or even a pressure, but I liked seeing it. Herbig again the ROLB. Nice speed/bull rush to walk back the Bills’ left tackle and begin collapsing the pocket. The ball gets out before Herbig is able to shed and truly get pressure, Buffalo benefitting from being in a 2nd and 2, but it’s still a good rep from Herbig.
The important part of this rush is timing your feet to your punch, pushing off on your third outside step to convert the speed into the bull as you’re making contact with your punch, and Herbig seems to time things well here.
Nick Herbig is athletic with a great get-off and the flexibility and smaller size to bend and work through contact. Adding power would be a great change-up and way to threaten tackles down the middle. Though he’s not James Harrison, the two spent time working together one day in training camp. Harrison’s two moves were his dip/rip and his speed/bull.
Finally, a look at Herbig’s half sack. Less about technique and more about effort. Larry Ogunjobi has a nice rep to rip under and past the center to create the initial pressure. But he can’t finish the rep. Herbig is able to get past the LT on his second swipe attempt (he’s used this move more this year, probably picking it up and refining it from time spent with T.J. Watt) to get his hands on Trubisky and prevent a scramble drill.
NT Keeanu Benton also motors in to truly clean it up, the sack officially split between Herbig and Benton.
Swarm the football. That’s what the great defenders and defenses do. Don’t quit on the play, especially in a world of athletic quarterbacks who can step out of sacks and extend the play, often turning negatives into positives.
Overall, a nice showing from Nick Herbig. He got pressure with different moves and was successful when schemed up to win, as he was on the stunt. When you execute a call, coaches trust you more, and you’ll receive more opportunities. While Herbig will naturally be capped behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, he’ll serve as the clear No. 3 and compel the Steelers to find ways to get him on the field in three outside linebacker packages, as Pittsburgh briefly showed during training camp.
