When New England had possession, Pittsburgh used a choked-up tight defense. Many defensive coordinators have responded to Brady's pinpoint throws by backing their secondaries off; but New England likes to operate against a backed-off zone. Sunday, Pittsburgh often had eight and sometimes nine defenders up on the line of scrimmage -- and almost always jammed the New England wide receivers. That knocked off the timing upon which Brady relies.
Pittsburgh leading 10-0, New England faced third-and-15. In this long-yardage situation, Brady would expect a backed-off secondary. Instead nine defenders were on the line. All Patriots wideouts were jammed. Pre-snap, it looked as if Pittsburgh would big blitz. Instead only four rushers came, and both pairs ran twists. The result was linebacker LaMarr Woodley unblocked for a sack. In Dick LeBeau choreography, the desired outcome is one rusher coming through unblocked. New England would end up with five sacks on Roethlisberger, versus Pittsburgh with three on Brady. But the herky-jerky Pittsburgh attack doesn't seem to mind sacks, which the Paul Bunyan-like Roethlisberger barely seems to notice. The New England attack relies on precision, and pretty-boy Brady gets flustered when he's hit.
Gregg Easterbrook wrote: