This is a continuation of my preview on Penn St.'s offense. This post will look particularly at the matchup that I think is key when Penn St has the ball - the Pitt pass rush v. the PSU offensive line and who I think the matchup favors (hint: Pitt is it).
I read a few opinions after the Albany game that the pass rush wasn't effective and that the defense relied too much on the blitz. Respectfully, I disagree with that assessment. While the defensive line started a little slow, it got to a point in the game when Testaverde simply couldn't stand in the pocket without knowing he was about to be hit - hard. Nearly every single time he threw.
For a little explanation, I don't necessarily consider a pass rush "explosive" unless they get quick pressure on the quarterback. To me, quick pressure is under 3 seconds from snap-to-pressure on the QB. To put that in perspective, the average time for a quarterback to receive the snap and throw is about 2.5-2.6 seconds. Very, very good NFL defenses (PHI and PIT were #1 and #2) at pressuring the quarterback quickly. Philly got pressure in 2.5 seconds or less 30% of the time and the Steelers did so 28% of the time.
In college, it's pretty great to get pressure in 3 seconds or less. Pitt got that Saturday from at least 6 different players. The best part was that these weren't all "free runs" where the OL couldn't pick up an extra blitzer, quite a few happened on pass rushers beating their man that quickly. This equaled sacks, incompletions, and interceptions. Additionally, the job Testaverde did getting crushed and delivering the ball was fairly miraculous.
Here are some examples.
This is the corner blitz from Mathis early on which resulted in a completion on Briggs up the sideline. The end result wasn't great, but I want you to pay close attention to Wirginis. He's actually on a delayed blitz and flies to the ball once he identifies a lane to attack the QB and delivered a pretty hard hit.
To his credit...Vinnie Jr. makes a heck of a throw under duress.
Next is a really nice inside pass rush by Camp, who's playing the RDE. I also circled Briggs not playing deep safety because this is where Briggs played after the opening few minutes of the game and it's where he played well last year.
The main observation I want you to make, though, is Camp getting instant pressure from an inside swim move, hitting the quarterback, and causing an incompletion on third down. This is the type of stuff that helps a secondary still in development.
Next, we have the pick by Mathis. It was a really nice play by a young player who showed a ton of athleticism and showed a glimpse of why I think this Pitt defense can be really good. Bet you think I'm talking about Mathis, right? Well, sure he definitely deserves props...but it actually starts with Weaver getting instant pressure, a hit, and forcing a slight underthrow by Testaverde which made the INT a little easier for Mathis.
Weave dips inside and again lays a hard hit on the quarterback.
And now, a line stunt.
Here, the weak side DT slants outside and the DE loops around to the inside. Usually this is done to free up the DE for a delayed pressure. Instead, the DT (Wheeler) is so quick that the tackle can't recover and he kills the play all by himself. It was a really impressive display of athleticism.
And some overload pressure.
Everything to this point has been 4 man pressure - and a few times having a 5th man coming on a delayed blitz. Bringing 5-6 immediately isn't something the defense actually did very often but when they did, it was effective.
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Now, you might be thinking..."That was Albany. Can Pitt do this against Penn State?" I believe the answer is "yes"...and the App State game confirmed it for me. Basically, I think the things Pitt showed against Albany are translatable to Penn State because I saw App State (a decent team but not nearly the same caliber of defense) give Penn State major problems. App State gave up points because McSorley was able to escape danger and the Penn State skill position players were a step too fast over the 60+ minute game and just barely couldn't finish some big plays.
However the major problem for Penn St. is that the Pitt LB's are significantly better and so is the Pitt DLine. Maybe McSorley escapes trouble enough to really hurt Pitt, but he really is going to have to play a great game Saturday.
Here's a 4 man initial rush with a delayed twist from a 5th man. The RG does a poor job recognizing the stunt and there's a free run at McSorley.
Here, the PSU line again fails to recognize the blitzing safety. They had enough men to block. It was 6 on 6. But the interior of the PSU line fails to pick up the 6th man. On a 3rd down with 5:30 left and the game very much in doubt, you're not seeing a Penn St. offense holding anything back from a playcalling perspective either.
This is a 3 man rush (!!!!!) in which the RG completely whiffs and the App St lineman practically has a free run on McSorley.
Here's another blitz from the secondary from the weak side of the field (something Pitt loves to do) and again, there's a free run at McSorley. He escapes the pressure well enough and gets rid of the ball...but you can see how pass rushers clearly aren't as athletic as the Pitt defense. Maybe McSorley can dance out of this Saturday, but he'll be facing a much tougher challenge this week.
This could really be the biggest advantage for Pitt against Penn St...the linebackers and defensive line versus the Penn State offensive line. That's not something I can ever remember seeing in a Pitt-PSU matchup.
I read a few opinions after the Albany game that the pass rush wasn't effective and that the defense relied too much on the blitz. Respectfully, I disagree with that assessment. While the defensive line started a little slow, it got to a point in the game when Testaverde simply couldn't stand in the pocket without knowing he was about to be hit - hard. Nearly every single time he threw.
For a little explanation, I don't necessarily consider a pass rush "explosive" unless they get quick pressure on the quarterback. To me, quick pressure is under 3 seconds from snap-to-pressure on the QB. To put that in perspective, the average time for a quarterback to receive the snap and throw is about 2.5-2.6 seconds. Very, very good NFL defenses (PHI and PIT were #1 and #2) at pressuring the quarterback quickly. Philly got pressure in 2.5 seconds or less 30% of the time and the Steelers did so 28% of the time.
In college, it's pretty great to get pressure in 3 seconds or less. Pitt got that Saturday from at least 6 different players. The best part was that these weren't all "free runs" where the OL couldn't pick up an extra blitzer, quite a few happened on pass rushers beating their man that quickly. This equaled sacks, incompletions, and interceptions. Additionally, the job Testaverde did getting crushed and delivering the ball was fairly miraculous.
Here are some examples.
This is the corner blitz from Mathis early on which resulted in a completion on Briggs up the sideline. The end result wasn't great, but I want you to pay close attention to Wirginis. He's actually on a delayed blitz and flies to the ball once he identifies a lane to attack the QB and delivered a pretty hard hit.
To his credit...Vinnie Jr. makes a heck of a throw under duress.
Next is a really nice inside pass rush by Camp, who's playing the RDE. I also circled Briggs not playing deep safety because this is where Briggs played after the opening few minutes of the game and it's where he played well last year.
The main observation I want you to make, though, is Camp getting instant pressure from an inside swim move, hitting the quarterback, and causing an incompletion on third down. This is the type of stuff that helps a secondary still in development.
Next, we have the pick by Mathis. It was a really nice play by a young player who showed a ton of athleticism and showed a glimpse of why I think this Pitt defense can be really good. Bet you think I'm talking about Mathis, right? Well, sure he definitely deserves props...but it actually starts with Weaver getting instant pressure, a hit, and forcing a slight underthrow by Testaverde which made the INT a little easier for Mathis.
Weave dips inside and again lays a hard hit on the quarterback.
And now, a line stunt.
Here, the weak side DT slants outside and the DE loops around to the inside. Usually this is done to free up the DE for a delayed pressure. Instead, the DT (Wheeler) is so quick that the tackle can't recover and he kills the play all by himself. It was a really impressive display of athleticism.
And some overload pressure.
Everything to this point has been 4 man pressure - and a few times having a 5th man coming on a delayed blitz. Bringing 5-6 immediately isn't something the defense actually did very often but when they did, it was effective.
----------------
Now, you might be thinking..."That was Albany. Can Pitt do this against Penn State?" I believe the answer is "yes"...and the App State game confirmed it for me. Basically, I think the things Pitt showed against Albany are translatable to Penn State because I saw App State (a decent team but not nearly the same caliber of defense) give Penn State major problems. App State gave up points because McSorley was able to escape danger and the Penn State skill position players were a step too fast over the 60+ minute game and just barely couldn't finish some big plays.
However the major problem for Penn St. is that the Pitt LB's are significantly better and so is the Pitt DLine. Maybe McSorley escapes trouble enough to really hurt Pitt, but he really is going to have to play a great game Saturday.
Here's a 4 man initial rush with a delayed twist from a 5th man. The RG does a poor job recognizing the stunt and there's a free run at McSorley.
Here, the PSU line again fails to recognize the blitzing safety. They had enough men to block. It was 6 on 6. But the interior of the PSU line fails to pick up the 6th man. On a 3rd down with 5:30 left and the game very much in doubt, you're not seeing a Penn St. offense holding anything back from a playcalling perspective either.
This is a 3 man rush (!!!!!) in which the RG completely whiffs and the App St lineman practically has a free run on McSorley.
Here's another blitz from the secondary from the weak side of the field (something Pitt loves to do) and again, there's a free run at McSorley. He escapes the pressure well enough and gets rid of the ball...but you can see how pass rushers clearly aren't as athletic as the Pitt defense. Maybe McSorley can dance out of this Saturday, but he'll be facing a much tougher challenge this week.
This could really be the biggest advantage for Pitt against Penn St...the linebackers and defensive line versus the Penn State offensive line. That's not something I can ever remember seeing in a Pitt-PSU matchup.
