by JJ Cooper
There are a lot of reasons the Steelers lost to the Colts. We've talked a lot about Ben Roethlisberger's turnover trouble, but just as importantly, the Steelers were stuffed on a pair of goal line running plays by one of the worst run defenses in the league. To try to figure out what happened, I went back and rewatched how the Colts stuffed the Steelers' running game.
Second And Goal: With the ball at the one, the Steelers line up with three tight ends (Trai Essex is in for Max Starks at left tackle while Starks slides over to tight end on the right side, Matt Spaeth is the tight end on the left side. Just before the snap, Tim McHugh goes in motion and stops at the left guard/left tackle gap at the snap. By the design of the play, right guard Darnell Stapleton is supposed to block linebacker Clint Sessions, while left tackle Max Starks is asked to block middle linebacker Gary Brackett. Strong safety Bob Sanders is left unblocked by the line, with the thought that fullback Carey Davis or McHugh would pick him up if he managed to fill the hole. In reality, Sanders had the responsibility for containment on any outside run, so he ended up running himself out of the play by sliding down the line to get on the outside shoulder of Spaeth and McHugh.
Steelers Line Falls Apart Against Colts Mighty Mites originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 08:43:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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