Though the performance from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons was a dominant one, there was one area of concern for former Steelers defensive lineman Chris Hoke.
That would be the leaky run defense that popped up at times, particularly from second-year defensive lineman Keeanu Benton.
Appearing on the 93.7 The Fan Joe Show with host Joe Starkey Thursday, Hoke expressed some disappointment in Benton’s showing and detailed what led to his struggles.
“Trying to make plays. I remember being a defensive lineman of the Steelers and Coach [John] Mitchell, the great Coach Mitchell, who’s not there anymore, would always say, ‘Hokey, I don’t need you to make a play. I need you to make your play.’ A lot of times we try to make plays. What you’re doing is you’re getting soft, you’re getting high, you’re playing bad technique,” Hoke said of Benton’s struggles against the Falcons, according to video via 93.7 The Fan on YouTube. “If you play good technique, you’re gonna make plays. You’re gonna make your play. And if you remember in that first series, Tyler Allgeier went for 13 or 14 yards. You remember that? Went off left side, and Benton was playing in the three technique over the outside shoulder of the guard to the defensive. And he had perfect position and then he swam inside to the A gap. Tyler Allgeier goes right where he was and went for 13, 14 yards.
“If he just keeps pushing and stays in his gap, he has nowhere to go.”
Coming into his second season, expectations were set sky-high for Benton, who had an impressive rookie season. Though he played just 448 snaps as a rookie, Benton impressed, utilizing his speed and power to make impactful plays on the interior.
This offseason, Benton shed some weight and got his body into NFL shape, which he believes will allow him to be more explosive, stronger and play more snaps.
Against the Falcons on Sunday though, things didn’t start off all that well.
Benton played just 27 snaps and graded out at a 45.6 overall from Pro Football Focus. That grade includes a 39.7 against the run, though he did have a 71.6 grade as a pass rusher, generating two pressures.
As Hoke pointed out, Benton had a rough play on Atlanta running back Tyler Allgeier’s 13-yard run in the first quarter, taking himself out of position and leaving a huge gap for Allgeier to burst through.
Here’s the play Hoke is referencing.
Watch the way Benton tries to get inside with a swim move. While he wins initially, he takes himself out of the play completely, giving up the B-gap to the running back, who has a clear lane to the second level.
Later on, Benton was pushed around against the run, too, drawing the ire of Hoke.
“So what happened was Benton, I think, came in here trying to make plays. And that’s really a weakness for a lot of defensive linemen is when you try to make plays, you play bad technique and you get outta your gap,” Hoke added. “And then you gas the defense. And that’s what happened a couple times. He was trying to make plays at the nose tackle position, stood him straight up, he got soft, got knocked off the ball into [Patrick] Queen.
“I don’t expect that to become a pattern for him. I think they obviously know that happened ’cause it’s very clear on film. He’ll get that cleaned up. But that was a story of his first game.”
There shouldn’t be any concerns with Benton moving forward in regard to him getting that cleaned up. That promise for him in his second season still remains, even with a tough first game on film. It’s also important to note he only played 28 snaps in the preseason, so he’s still getting his legs underneath him from a true football standpoint, especially against the run.
Hopefully the Wisconsin product makes the necessary adjustments this week and bounces back in Denver because the Steelers can’t afford for him to be soft against the run like he was against Atlanta.
