Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Run defense

Much has been made of the impact of the Casey Hampton injury on the run
defense. As I said previously, it hurts, but it can be overcome.

Less has been made of the impact of the Chad Scott injury on the Steelers'
pass defense. Once again, it hurts, though Scott is quite frankly, not good
in coverage.

What I haven't heard from any media pundits is any discussion of the impact
that Scott's injury will have on the Steelers' run defense. I believe his
injury will have a greater impact on the run defense than it will on the
pass defense, especially in combination with Hampton's injury.

How can that be? Simple. The only reason Scott is a starter in the NFL is
because he still excels at run support. This never gets mentioned in the
media because it's one of those hidden things that the casual observer
doesn't notice, but it's the only reason Cowher keeps Scott around. Scott's
replacement will probably be Ricardo Colclough. I haven't seen enough of him
to know how well he performs in run support, but his size indicates that he
probably is not as effective as Scott.

As I said in my previous post, defending the run is a team concept. With
Hampton out, the Steelers will be depending on others in the lineup to fill
the holes that Hampton previously clogged with his girth. Without Scott to
share that load, 4 yard gains might become 6 yard gains. It's a subtle
thing, but it bears mentioning.

posted by bkopec @ 12:18 PM   3 comments