Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt were thought to be the Steelers' top playmakers on defense in 2018. So far, neither have led the team in important statistical categories, something which has caused legitimate concern while the defense figures itself out.
After leading the team with 12 sacks in 2017, Heyward has 2.5 sacks in the first six games but is still a vital part of the defense. He's officially listed as a defensive tackle after not being named to the initial AFC Pro Bowl roster because of his label as a defensive end last year.
But much of what Heyward has been these past two seasons has fit the bill of a defensive tackle in the various fronts used in Keith Butler's defense. Heyward is a playmaker who typically is a major threat when an offense only assigns one man to block him.
Look at Heyward's tape and you'll see plenty of double-teams from opponents, or plays that run away from his gap. Here's when the Bengals tried to chip Heyward in the hole to open up space for Joe Mixon.
Watch how No. 65, Clint Boling and No. 66 Trey Hopkins went right to Heyward on the run. Hopkins then leaves to block Vince Williams. The goal of the play was for Hopkins and Boling to blow up Heyward enough to give Mixon more space to work on the left and win his one-on-one with Mike Hilton. But Heyward doesn't move out the hole, and Hilton has a clean shot to tackle Mixon:
Those are the silent moments on the stat sheet that get missed when evaluating Heyward. You can also notice on the other side of the line Tuitt takes on a straight up double-team, but in doing so isn't moved that far back.
Notice how his stand against the two linemen opened up all the room for Jon Bostic to move freely between gaps. Though it doesn't end up impacting the play, it shows how ready the back of the defense could've been if Mixon decided to cut back.
Tuitt has had those moments as well, as we evidenced in the War Room after the loss to the Ravens when Tuitt cleared the path for Williams on a fourth down stop. But Tuitt has to win on his own when given those one-on-one opportunities at the point of attack.
His performance against the Bengals was his best of the season because he won more of those moments. Watch how he shut down this run behind a wham scheme by the Bengals. Their offensive line fires off with a collective left reach step, but Tuitt is so quick off the ball he beats Bobby Hart (No. 68) to the gap, uses his hands to quickly engage and disengage, then bring down Mixon:
Tuitt's problem has been consistency, because many opponents run to his gaps over Heyward's in hope for better run chances. That lack of consistency did come up against the Bengals on one of Mixon's longer runs. It wasn't all on Tuitt, as Williams was completely blown out of his spot, but watch how Tuitt tries to close down his gap and Mixon's ducks right past him:
Tuitt definitely controls his spot against the lineman, which is important, but Mixon cutting through gaps like that are problems teams such as the Patriots will exploit.
However, Tuitt's lack of sack production coming into the Bengals' game was an issue, but not because he wasn't getting into the backfield. He had six quarterback hits, tied for second on the team, but just hasn't gotten to the ball often enough. The one-on-one he gets allows him to maximize the space, walk his man outside, then cut right into A-gap:
Those moments have to happen more for this defense, especially on third downs. Tuitt's presence has to either attract the double teams to free up other pass rushers or win those one-on-ones. But much of that might depend on if the Steelers' coverage behind Tuitt and the pass rush can force quarterbacks to hold onto the ball for longer periods of time.
When judging the effectiveness of Tuitt and Heyward in the coming weeks, don't rely just on statistics and those splash plays. Look for whenever you see other linebackers making plays and running free in space, and when those moments happen, go back and see what those two did to open up that space.
Another example was the huge stop the Steelers had on third-and-one in the second half. Watch how Heyward gets double-teamed on the right side and how Tuitt stones his man so Mixon has nowhere to run when T.J. Watt slices in for the stop:
These players aren't just playmakers, they're the battering rams of this defense that delivers the blunt force to knock opponents back and open up space for the faster players on this defense. If you see either of those two get good marks in War Room without numbers to show for it, that will be the emphasis.
