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Aaron Curry Drills Steelers ILBs on Gap Integrity

Originally posted on Steelers Now | By Alan Saunders | Last updated 8/10/23

The Pittsburgh Steelers have an almost entirely new inside linebackers unit, and that continues right through to a new coach in Aaron Curry.

Curry had his charges working on a different type of drill on Wednesday that involves gap integrity.

The nature of a linebacker in a run play is to pursue, but sometimes those instincts can get the better of a player, allowing for an open cut-back lane for the running back.

Curry had his players hitting a blocking sled while keeping their feet moving and their head up, waiting for the running back to commit to a hole before they abandoned their original angle in pursuit.

Curry even changed up the drill the second time around, varying his timing to simulate more and less patient running backs.

The Steelers have a veteran group at the position, with Kwon Alexander, Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts, and their biggest jobs this offseason are coming together as a group, communicating, and fine-tuning the details of how they want to play.

It seems like Curry is doing just that with his group, while also getting a good look at NFL veterans Tanner Muse and Nick Kwiatkoski and developing youngsters Mark Robinson and Chapelle Russell.

Interestingly, on the other field, running backs coach Eddie Faulkner was doing the same drill in reverse. Faulkner laid out pads to represent multiple holes through which a running back could choose to run. He left all the option open until the back had made his first cut, then Faulkner threw cones into two of them, closing them off and making the back choose a different lane.

Eddie Faulkner putting the #Steelers RBs through a drill yesterday, working on finding the open hole. pic.twitter.com/DeMi9y9mYt

— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) August 10, 2023