All 22: The Cotch Watch

Picture 1: Shows Steelers come out 3WR (Z-Cotchery, X-Wallace, Y-Miller, slot-Sanders) set with slot to the left and TE to the right side of the formation. As we usually see in these breakdowns, the RB is offset away from the TE for pass protection purposes. Both outside receivers are outside the numbers showing a look to draw the safeties to the sidelines suggesting something to the middle of the field. If that's the case out of this alignment, the pre-snap read is the Y (TE) or slot (Sanders) by reading if the MLB takes the Tampa 2 drop, and the drift of the SS located at the top of the frame. If the SS shades to the sideline, it leaves the hash open for the TE. But if the MLB drops, it opens up the slant to the slot and the dump off to the RB on this 3rd down play. Film study and understanding personnel packages tells the SS the the receiver at the top of the frame (Cotchery), doesn't have the speed to stretch the field.

On defense, we see a standard cover 2 shell with 2 deep safeties. Also shows wide 9 alignment away from the TE side of the formation and suggest man coverage on RB and TE. The outside technique at the bottom of the screen suggests zone coverage out of the cover 2 shell in an attempt to funnel the route from Wallace back to the middle of the formation or up the hash.

Picture 2: This frame diagnoses the front. Shows the wide-9 edge rusher to the weak side of the formation with the DT next to him shaded to the outside shoulder of LG Willie Colon as to not allow him to protect from the inside rip of the wide-9 rusher. Across the formation, the RG is covered with JPP in standard 7 technique over TE. The offset MLB is a B-gap blitz threat and must be accounted for in pass pro should he blitz.

Picture 3: The protections unfold. The call is to roll them left to the weak side of the formation with the wide-9 rush threat. OC Maurkice Pouncey slides to the DT, LG Willie Colon picks up blitzing Will backer, LT Max Starks kickslides to speed move wide-9 rusher. RB Isaac Redman slides to the interior to acquire any interior blitz threat from a LB. Strong side 7-technique Jason Pierre-Paul shows why he's in 7-technique to chip TE Heath Miller on his release to slow him down for 1:1 matchup with Sam backer. The MLB doesn't blitz indicating he's in man coverage on the RB, allowing Redman to release.

Picture 4: The coverage unfolds. Both CB's bail on the snap, the FS drops down into man coverage on slot WR Emmanual Sanders, the SS drifts between the hash with both free LB's in man in underneath man coverage on TE and RB. What started as a cover 2 shell, is now standard cover 3 with man under.

The post snap read for the eligible receivers just went from cover 2 and zone beaters to cover 3 and man under beaters. Heath Miller releases vertical into a skinny post. This TE route was set up on an earlier call where Miller ran a stick-nod route (double move faking the out by sticking the plant foot at top of stem and releasing vertical). Slot WR Emmanual Sanders stems to a hard inside release to the slant. And both outside receivers run a mirror route concept (identical routes on both sides of formation to lessen QB read) of comeback routes at the chains on this 3rd down play. Both outside receivers stem vertical and show proper route running techniques of keeping head over their feet and accelerating until the CB opens his hips. At that point, the landing gear goes down, and both receivers set up camp at the the chains waiting for the ball to be delivered.

Picture 5: Cotch gets the nod. Makes proper read, runs a good route, after that its like shootin fish in a barrel against this coverage.