Is midrange defense a weakness for the Pittsburgh Steelers?

It sounds a bit like a fantasy. Because the Steelers' defensive group is interlocking layer by layer, the seemingly relatively loose mid-pass area is actually still heavily hoarded, and the main focus of the two guards is not in the far-reaching area, but to complete the defense in the mid-pass area with full devotion.

The San Francisco 49ers have made two consecutive big-yard advances in the mid-range area, which should be just a coincidence. Just as it is impossible for the offensive team to score every time, it is impossible for the defensive team to successfully stifle the opponent every time, except that the gap between the passes just happens to be in the same area.

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.

But what is certain is that the San Francisco 49ers have come to the forefront of the Red Zone; What is also certain is that the San Francisco 49ers did not intend to leave breathing space and time to think, and under the leadership of Lu Ke, they quickly completed the formation and were ready to attack again.

James Harrison, the leader of the Steelers' defensive team, straightened up and quickly greeted his teammates, repeating the same code over and over again, "Code Fifteen, Code Fifteen, Code Fifteen...... to make sure every member of the defensive team was picking up his signal accurately.

Code fifteen.

It's not complicated to explain, it's a tactic to raid a quarterback.

There was no change in the entire defensive formation, refusing to let the opposition attacking team see their changes, but the assignment of tasks after the defenders were activated had a completely different shape.

Two cornerbacks and two safety guards switch to man-to-man mode, following the four receivers to move their positions; The two interior guards work together, with one inside guard in charge of marking the running back, whether it's a run-and-ball offense or a passing offense as an outside receiver, and the other inside guard joins the ranks of the raiding quarterbacks.

For the five defenders who mark the receiver, it is not a merit, but a fault, because the full weight of this defensive gear is exposed to the first-line defense.

Three defensive tackles, two outside guards, and one interior guard took advantage of defensive misalignment to play six players against the opposing five's offensive line, first gaining an advantage in numbers, and then breaking through the opponent's pocket with a thunderous momentum to complete the quarterback's sack. It's pretty much a top-hat stance, and all the defensive weight is piled on them.

In the face of the opponent's recovery momentum, the Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive team changed the passive mode and chose to take the initiative to show the strong offensive characteristics of the defensive group with a fast and accurate attitude, this time the goal is not to press, but to kill, and stifle the attack from the source before the quarterback starts to attack the pass.

On the one hand, it is to contain the opponent from continuing to approach the red zone, and on the other hand, it is to give the opponent a head start in the momentum of climbing.

Harrison immediately noticed the change on the field of play and made corresponding adjustments. The Steelers' defensive team is not only strong this season, but the historical glory of the entire team is built on defense, with a long and thick history, which is definitely not so easy to deal with.

As the league's Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, Harrison's form this season doesn't seem to be so hot, but so far, he still has nine tackles and 51 effective tackles, and is still one of the league's most powerful outside passers, absolutely top-notch; At the same time, because of his strong and ferocious defensive style, he is also one of the best defensive players in the league at creating the ball.

Any offensive group that underestimates Harrison is bound to pay a price.

Now, Harrison entered the preoccupation mode, slowly lowering his center of gravity, and the muscles in his body tightened to the extreme, like a tiger out of the gate, and his eyes burst out with a fierce murderous aura.

"Attack!"

In the midst of a series of dazzling kick-off commands, Harrison was never distracted, and after keenly capturing the real command, he sprinted out in an instant-

With only five offensive forwards and six in their own defensive team, including the absolute strong league's top pinnacle Casey Hampton, the Steelers had the absolute upper hand.

Hampton stuck the positions of Jonathan Goodwin and Mike Ruppati one-on-two, and the two defensive ends and an interior guard collided one-on-one with the other three offensive forwards, and almost in a flash of lightning, the two outside guards Harrison and Woodley had already pulled out, and instantly bypassed the offensive line, one left and one right, and rushed towards the quarterback.

There were no obstacles, with defensive misalignment and numerical superiority, Harrison and Woodley were not hindered in the slightest, just a small turn, and then Lu Ke could be seen completely exposed in his pocket.

In a second, or even a second, almost at the same time as the kickoff, the two linebacks had already completed the transcendence, and the ferocious momentum directly tore through the pockets of the offensive front, as if it was paper, like an innocent little Bambi, Lu Ke was already standing in place and restrained.

At this time, Lu Ke didn't even have time to smell the danger, and was still observing the passing target. For the two outside guards, they had the absolute upper hand, the smell of blood bursting from between their lips and teeth, and they rushed towards their prey with ferocity and brutality, and the thrill of killing made every cell in their bodies start screaming.

At this moment, Harrison's pupils shrank slightly: Lu Ke began to move his feet.

Bambi tries to escape, but the clumsy footsteps only make the game more thrilling, how can a prey be as fun as a living thing?

Subconsciously, Harrison licked his lips.

……

Almost the first moment of kick-off, Lu Ke sensed that something was wrong.

Because the Steelers defensive front line in front of him came in the face, as if the stormy waves smashed over the head and face, setting off a surging wave, and the afterglow of the eye immediately caught the two tornadoes that burst into the attack on both sides of the pocket-

At this point, he hadn't even had time to turn, let alone hold the ball to observe, and the left side hadn't become the blind side, so he could clearly see two white clouds sweeping towards him. Immediately, Lu Ke realized that he had fallen into the Steelers' surprise trap, and the opponent took advantage of the numerical advantage to forcibly break through the pocket.

This means that a smart quarterback should choose to drop the ball on the spot, or throw the ball in the direction of the wide receiver's run, but deliberately throw the ball out of bounds to avoid sacks and yards; At the same time, it also means that the opponent's second-line defense is relatively weak, and even if it is a man-to-man defense, it can completely use the opposition advantage to complete the reception.

It's a desperate situation, but it's also an opportunity.

If it's a running quarterback, he can choose to run out of his pocket, risk being tackled by a lineback, and try to complete the pass, which can be a surprise effect, the only problem is that the passing accuracy is not reliable enough.

Lu Ke is not a running quarterback, but he doesn't plan to tie his hands either.

Step back, quick step back, "Marcus!" Lu Ke only had time to shout, trying to get Marcus to block Harrison, as for whether Marcus could understand, this was not something he could control.

Standing in the pocket, Lu Ke's footsteps did not hesitate, he continued to retreat, pretending to be looking for a passing target, but the peripheral guards on the left and right sides were fully taken into his eyes, and he made a judgment between the lightning and flint, and shouted loudly in his mind, "Absolute pace!" ”

The first second.

Lu Ke's footsteps began to move sideways to the right, following closely behind Marcus.

Sure enough, after Marcus got the reminder, he immediately understood what Lu Ke meant, and immediately noticed Harrison rushing over from the right, and then took the initiative to meet Harrison, trying to complete the dismantling.

But neither Marcus nor Harrison expected that Lu Ke actually moved to this side at the same time, Harrison's whole person crashed into Marcus's body, and the momentum of the forward rush suddenly stopped, and he watched Lu Ke move sideways quickly from behind Marcus, the light and dexterous steps were like a ballerina dancing on the edge of the cliff, and the elegant steps were really pleasing to the eye.

Harrison took advantage of the impact to brake hard, then pushed Marcus away, used the reaction force to take a big step back, changed the center of gravity, and pounced towards Lu Ke on his left hand side for the second start.

The second second.

Lu Ke had completely left the pocket protection range, completely exposing himself to the field of vision of the outside linebacks and cornerbacks, but at this time he didn't have time to care about this, raised his chin, and tried to find a passing target, but everything happened too fast-

The opponent broke through the pocket so quickly, and he left the pocket so quickly that the four players scattered across the pitch were still pushing according to their established running routes, just realizing the chaos on the field and preparing to readjust their center of gravity, which made their receiving positions terrible.

"Hell."

Lu Ke cursed secretly, and then saw the haunting Harrison out of his eyes.

Harrison obviously came prepared, and when his center of gravity was unstable, he did not rush up, but quickly adjusted his position with small steps, opened his hands, like an eagle catching a chicken, surrounded Lu Ke, and after finding the rhythm in an instant, he simply flew up neatly.

I saw that Lu Ke did not panic, but calmed down, his footsteps paused slightly, and when Harrison was about to touch him, the soles of his feet were lightly wiped to the left, and the light steps interpreted the elegance and subtlety of the dance perfectly, and then he shook Harrison, and the next moment, a little on his toes, like an agile cheetah, took a step towards the left front, completely throwing off Harrison.

The third second!