Generally, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason defense is vanilla. Base defense against run personnel, nickel defense against passing personnel. Play some Cover 2, some Cover 3, and the occasional slot blitz. But in what felt like the “tune-up” game, Pittsburgh showed their first look at the six-defensive back dime package they could unveil in obvious passing situations.
There were just two snaps, technically, one of which whistled dead for a Buffalo false start. They came on the Bills’ second drive facing 3rd and forever: 3rd and 16, followed by 3rd and 21 after the penalty. Here are the 11 Steelers on the field.
Steelers’ Dime Package
DL: Montravius Adams & DeMarvin Leal
OLB: Nick Herbig & Kyron Johnson
ILB: Patrick Queen
CB: Joey Porter Jr, Donte Jackson, Thomas Graham Jr. (slot)
S: Minkah Fitzpatrick & Damontae Kazee
Dime: Cory Trice Jr.
For the regular season, obviously swap in some of the starters up front: Cam Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi along the d-line, T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith at outside linebacker. But our focus is on the secondary and, specifically, Trice, getting a look as that sixth defensive back.
The Steelers have looked at him in this role throughout training camp. In two-minute drills and third down periods throughout the summer, Trice saw time as that sixth DB.
As noted in the above tweet mid-camp, Trice brings an intriguing blend of size and length. Someone who could man up on an athletic tight end or bigger interior receiver, the “big slot” has become more popular in recent years. Trice has a safety background, playing there at Purdue before moving to corner, so he’s comfortable playing over the middle of the field even if he isn’t a true slot corner.
The snap in the Bills’ game was uneventful, a screen pass that didn’t challenge the Steelers’ secondary. Adams and Leal showed good hustle to the ball to make the stop. Pittsburgh played Cover 3 out of a two-high look, rotating Minkah Fitzpatrick down on the snap.
It’s also worth noting that Kazee subbed in for DeShon Elliott, who hadn’t yet been pulled from the game. It looks like they trust Kazee’s ball skills and range more than Elliott, who they like better as a run defender and closer to the line of scrimmage. If Trice isn’t the answer as that sixth DB, I imagine Elliott will end up playing in these packages with him or Kazee down near the line of scrimmage in that Rover/dime backer role. Elliott is a little more likely with some size and slot skills.
On a defensive day when Pittsburgh didn’t do much interesting schematically, keeping things simple and vanilla, this was one takeaway. It’s not exactly a shocking one, given the looks they’ve shown in camp, but it confirms they’re willing to take it to a stadium.
