The Steelers hoped inside linebacker Mark Barron would be a major fix for their defensive woes in the middle of the field, particularly in coverage. As they try to move on from being 0-3, Barron hasn't looked the part.
Let's get into what's going wrong:
Through the first two games he finished with 13 tackles on 127 snaps, meaning he found the ball 10.2 percent of the plays he was on the field against the Patriots and the Seahawks. Those numbers aren't great for an inside linebacker, but they're serviceable on a struggling defense.
All that changed against the 49ers. Barron played all 79 defensive snaps, but only made one tackle. That's an astounding 1.3 find percentage, dropping his season-long find percentage from 10.2 to 6.8 on a team that gave up 436 yards on Sunday.
That's inexcusable.
Here's a view of his lone tackle of the game on a five yard run by Matt Breida. Barron comes from the strong side of the formation and jumps into the fray. As Kyle Juszczcyk approached A-gap, Barron shot around him and jumped on Breida for the tackle.
It was a veteran move to avoid the fullback and make the tackle, but he was brought on the team to do more than just make tackles on five-yard gains:
The Steelers got Barron for his veteran savvy and ability to stop smartly diagnosed plays. That hasn't materialized enough for his $3.87 million salary cap hit.
Watch the 49ers' touchdown run with Justin Wilson. They pull both their guard and Juszczyk from the weak side to block to the strong side. Barron is the weak-side inside linebacker that has to read that pulling guard and either follow him or jump ahead to where they're going to shut down the run, or at least free up Devin Bush.
Barron is unable to do either, and Wilson scores:
But the play where everyone saw Barron was on his defensive holding call against George Kittle that erased a crucial third down stop against the 49ers on what would become their game-winning drive.
Watch how Barron plays Kittle and tries to stick with him, but overplays his break on Kittle's route just a little too hard. That draws the flag and extends the drive:
Barron's play before the 49ers game had been serviceable as a veteran working in the middle of a mostly young defense still searching for its identity.
But after that performance the Steelers need to see a rapid improvement in the coming weeks. Even with Vince Williams returning from injury soon, Barron has to be a piece of the puzzle for this defense moving forward. And only getting to the ball carrier 1.3 percent of his snaps during a game isn't going to cut it.
Carter’s Classroom needs your help! We are seeking sponsors for the 2019 NFL season that would be willing to see their brand grow through advertising with us. All interested parties should contact me at christopher@dkpittsburghsports.com.
MORE CLASSROOM
Sept. 23: Gassed, gashed run defense
Sept. 20: Fix the run with the pass
Sept. 19: Nelson’s lockdown start
Sept. 18: Rudolph’s best weapon
