Another new series we’re adding to Steelers Depot throughout the offseason. One that’s been on my mind for a little while. These won’t mean too much but these articles will just be cool plays in Pittsburgh Steelers’ history throughout their history. Not all-time great moments, not ones that show up on a season-end highlight reel, the outcome of the game doesn’t matter. Just fun little moments that made me smile watching them back.
While not one specific moment, the Steelers’ Fire X blitz was a fun concept that made those Pittsburgh defense’s a real headache to deal with. Simply put, this had both ILBs rush into opposite A gaps with the intent of screwing up the opponent’s pass protection scheme and getting one of the linebackers free. Often, it did.
With a scheme that had wrinkles on top of wrinkles, the team would occasionally dial up the Triple Inside Fire Zone. They even did so after Dick LeBeau went to Tennessee, replaced by Keith Butler but mostly by Mike Tomlin. This is far from the only example but the best and first I was able to find.
In one of the Steelers’ classic mop-up games to close out a year, this time the 2015 season where Cleveland started the forgotten Austin Davis, Pittsburgh sent the house on third and long late in the first quarter. Not only did Ryan Shazier and Lawrence Timmons criss-cross A gaps, safety Will Allen crept down and screamed right up the middle. Cleveland perfectly picked up Shazier and Timmons. But they missed Allen. A defender’s dream, a free shot on a sitting duck of a quarterback, Allen took him down.
Here’s a look from the TV tape along with a replay.
And I discovered an All-22 tweet from seven years ago that offers a better view of the Triple Fire X.
(the text of the tweet was referring to a different game, for the record)
We can take it another step further and go straight to the source and check out LeBeau’s playbook. Here it is drawn up, exactly as you watched it above.
It’s a concept you don’t see from Pittsburgh today under Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin. I’m not sure if any team runs it with modern defenses mugging A gaps with linebackers and shooting straight ahead instead of twisting, let alone bringing a safety into the mix. So this feels something of a relic but a cool look-back on one of Dick LeBeau’s best wrinkles.
