Week 4 Film Study–An X’s & O’s look at a key concept from the past week in the NFL:

Steelers 2-Read Fire Zone Coverage

The Steelers intercepted Joe Flacco on Thursday Night Football with a zone blitz pattern reading defense known as “2-Read Fire Zone.” 2-Read Fire Zone involves a 5 man pressure scheme with very specific rules for the LBs/DBs who are in coverage. To get a better understanding of 2-Read Fire Zone, let’s first look at what routes the Ravens are running on 3rd and 6:

At the top of the screen, the Ravens are running a 5-yard speed out and a vertical. At the bottom of the screen, the Ravens are running a “Drive” combination, which involves a drag and a dig route.

The Steelers have the perfect defense called to not only stop the play but also force a turnover. First, the Steelers are sending a 5 man pressure scheme via a Fire Zone blitz using multiple DB’s. The blitz should make the ball come out of the Quarterback’s hands before he can fully identify the trap coverage behind it. Quarterbacks are often taught to throw “hot” by throwing the ball where blitzers are coming from, or replacing blitzers with the ball. 2-Read Fire Zone baits Quarterbacks into throwing to a trap:

With respect to coverage, 2-Read Fire Zone is both a zone and pattern reading concept. The coverage transforms depending on the route combination of the offense, but 2-Read Fire Zone is specifically designed to stop the out/vertical concept. The assignments at the bottom of the screen are fixed; the Cornerback on the short side of the field (bottom of the screen) has deep half coverage responsibility while the Linebacker has the short side flat.

As for the top of the screen, the Cornerback gives a man-to-man look but is actually reading the #2 (slot) receiver first. If the #2 receiver runs to the flat, the Cornerback will squat and trap the flat looking for an interception or big hit. The single high Safety in the middle of the field is also reading “2 to 1.” In this scenario, the Safety must match #1 vertical because the Cornerback has trapped the out route. Finally, the outside Linebacker will “Wall #2”, meaning he will try to keep the #2 WR from getting inside of him, and also try to get underneath any deep out cut by #2. See how perfectly the defense unfolds for Pittsburgh:

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Once the Steelers Corner reads #2 (Steve Smith) he traps the out route, while the Safety stays over top of #1 vertical. Flacco feels the pressure from the blitz and releases the ball quick without properly identifying the coverage. If he had, he probably would have had a window to throw to the vertical for a first down. It appears the Steelers had a good reason to call this coverage, as the Ravens had run out/vertical several times earlier in the game.