Steelers Film Room: Defense, Mark Robinson Included, Shined in Carolina

Steelers EDGE Rushers Explode for High-Quality Sacks

Coming into the season, it was anticipated that Pittsburgh would have one of the most dynamic pass-rushing tandems in the league, but T.J. Watt's injury delayed that revelation a bit. Even with Watt back in the lineup at less than 100%, he still offered flashes of greatness as a pass rusher. He notched a high-quality sack against Taylor Moton using his signature cross-chop move which featured a nuanced euro-step to throw off the timing of the right tackle. 

Highsmith had another nice day at the office and racked up yet another sack on his inside spin move, his favorite counter when tackles try to take away the short corner. 

Devin Bush's Continued Improvement

The former top-ten pick from back In 2019 has shown some signs of gradual improvement over the course of the season, but this week was one of the cleaner performances. 

One of the biggest improvements that Bush has made of late in comparison to where he was last season is that he's playing with more physicality at the point of attack. He's become more willing to attack pullers or blockers entering the second level and showcasing the ability to stack and shed for run stops, earning three in Carolina. 

Bush also made a nice play in coverage on a play-action bootleg from the Panthers, deploying a ROBOT technique, locating the intermediate crosser, and deterring Darnold from pushing the ball down the field. 

Terrell Edmunds Was Elite Against the Run

Carolina came in with a top-five rushing offense since trading away their best offensive player In Christian McCaffrey. Under new interim head coach Steve Wilks, they had made a commitment to running the football and that formula had been enough to keep them competitive in games. 

Pittsburgh's response to that plan was to insert Terrell Edmunds into the box early and often in order to neutralize the effects of Carolina's run game in an effort to make them one-dimensional. Edmunds delivered one of his best performances of the season, making three separate run stops, a couple of which were extremely sound tackles in one on one matchups with running backs. 

Edmunds's ability to hold up near the line of scrimmage despite being outweighed by as much as 100 pounds is a sight to behold. 

Mark Robinson's Flashes Beyond the Stat Sheet

With Myles Jack missing the contest due to an injury, Mark Robinson got a helmet for just the second time during his rookie season. He was only on the field for seven total snaps on the defensive side of the football, but in limited exposure, he was awfully impressive. 

Robinson played extremely fast, triggering downhill and just looking to destroy anything in his path. Early in the game, near the goal line and destroyed the fullback at the point of attack while the running back was stopped near the line of scrimmage. For a team without perceived long-term answers at the position, Robinson's brand of violence is worth keeping in mind for next season. 

Not a Banner Day for the Corners

Carolina threw for less than 200 yards on Sunday which usually signals a good day for the secondary, but the box score can always be deceiving. 

The cornerbacks had a tough time keeping the Panthers' receivers in front of them. James Pierre busted a coverage where he failed to get depth in the deep third, allowing Terrace Marshall to run free down the sideline to secure a 40-yard catch. Later in the day, Marshall dusted Cam Sutton off of the line and stacked him vertically with ease but Darnold under-threw him, resulting in a defensive pass interference penalty instead of a touchdown. 

Levi Wallace was probably the best of the bunch, but D.J. Moore did beat him on a stutter-go with Wallace not falling for the fake, but his lack of top-end speed showed up on film as Moore created separation later in the route. Luckily that ball also didn't have enough air on it, ending up in an incompletion. 

What's the Plan for DeMarvin Leal?

It's been an odd season for DeMarvin Leal. After adding a bunch of weight to hold up better along the defensive line, he was forced to play out of position at edge when T.J. Watt was out with an injury. Now that Watt is back and Chris Wormley is down with a season-ending injury, it appeared that Leal's time to shine at his most natural-seeming position might finally be here. But Tyson Alualu and Isaiahh Loudermilk both played over him in Week 15 in typical two or three-down lineman defensive looks. 

The majority of Leal's snaps came when Pittsburgh deployed their 4-4 looks to counteract the heavy personnel looks from Carolina. He's yet to be able to carve out a role for himself and even when he's on the field, there's a glaring lack of a pass-rushing plan which is somewhat dissimilar to his college tape. 

It's early, but it's somewhat concerning that we haven't seen any real flashes on tape despite limited action.