Film Room: After Impressive Start, Can Bud Dupree Carry Momentum to Week 2?
Bud Dupree would like your attention, please.
As it turns out, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt isn't the only pass-rusher in Pittsburgh searching for a paycheck, as Dupree looks to land a big contract with or without a Steelers watermark following 2020.
Many shared concerns over sharing Dupree's lone productive season that was his 2019 campaign, a year where Dupree recorded 11.5 sacks, 68 tackles, four forced fumbles and two fumbles recovered. The jump in production left many wondering if Dupree was simply riding off a one-season high, or if Dupree had finally put the pieces of the puzzle together after struggling to produce to those levels.
Perhaps the Steelers had those same questions, as the two sides couldn't come to an agreement on a contract extension, ultimately leading to Dupree playing on the franchise tag for 2020.
Those questions followed Dupree up to the Monday night opener, where Dupree lined across fourth-overall pick, Andrew Thomas.
Heralded as one of the best tackle prospects to be drafted in recent memory, Thomas certainly had his hands full every snap. Dupree finished playing 85% of defensive snaps, recording four tackles, including two tackles for loss and one pass defended.
Whether it be his efforts in helping keep golden boy Saquon Barkley to a mere six rushing yards the entire night, or his assistance in turning a Giants red zone opportunity into a turnover, Dupree certainly left his mark on the national stage.
His first contribution came on the play below, where the Giants held a first and goal opportunity at the three yard-line.
Week One Film
I chose both the All-22 and box view to show a good understanding of all angles. The Giants run a zone-blocking scheme to the opposite side of Dupree, as the linemen slide away to Dupree's left. This gives Dupree backside duties, meaning he must not get sucked into the middle of the play too quickly in fear of Barkley breaking to the left. Engram's job as a blocker on this play is to get on the inside of Dupree and create a seal for Barkley, should he choose to cut back.
Dupree quickly disposes of Engram, shoving him down and quickly squeezes down the interior after seeing Barkley commit to running to the right. Barkley nearly slips away before a stumbling/diving Dupree is able to grab his feet and stop him short. The Giants settled for a field goal rather than scoring a touchdown on this short drive, and Dupree played a major role in that happening.
On New York's next drive, the Giants tried a new strategy: Not blocking Dupree.
Bold strategy, Cotton, let's see if it pays off for 'em:
As you can see, it clearly did not. The Giants loaded the opposite side of the line of scrimmage with two extra blockers, leaving just the tackle between Dupree and a tackle for loss. The offensive play design calls for the left guard to pull, further overloading the right side of the ball. Obviously, everybody on the offense knows this and knows who they'll be blocking prior to the ball snapping.
Then, Watt moves from the strong side of the formation to the weak side before the Giants are ready to snap the ball. After Watt switches sides, you see quarterback Daniel Jones and the right side of the offensive line re-assess their assignments. Once the ball is snapped and the guard pulls, the center blocks nose tackle Tyson Alualu and the right tackle slides down to block Watt (correctly, as Watt presented himself as the most inside threat to disrupting the play), leaving Dupree untouched.
Dupree, using superb speed, takes a direct line to Barkley before he can ever get going, resulting in a four-yard loss. Poor play-calling, Watt suddenly switching sides and Dupree's downhill speed led to the fantastic play that served as another momentum boost for Pittsburgh's defense.
On the very next play (3rd and long for New York), the Giants opt for a quick screen pass to Barkley. While this play won't show up on the stat sheet, Dupree's effort in trailing is crucial here.
Should Dupree not have been trailing after rushing, Barkley (very) likely cuts to nothing but green grass inside for another trademark/highlight play. Dupree's presence was vital in keeping Barkley contained to the sideline and eventually tackled, where Dupree would have finished a potentially broken tackle had Cam Sutton cleaned up.
One of Dupree's greatest strengths is his ability to wreak havoc in the run game. We saw it a few plays ago, and you'll see it again on the play below.
It's another pulling play, but this time going to Dupree's side. The idea for New York is to leave Dupree unblocked and let the tackle double/climb to a linebacker in hopes of either the pulling guard or tight end to quickly seal Dupree out of the picture and give Barkley daylight. As you can see, Dupree's jump off the ball and tight angle to the ball doesn't allow either pulling blocker to touch Dupree, resulting in the play being blown up for a loss.
Finally, the play you all have been waiting for. On play nineteen of a Giants drive that seemed to have lasted the entire third quarter, with a chance to take the lead with a touchdown and extra point, Dupree came up big once again when it mattered.
This was ruled an interception, although it may be a fumble depending on who you talked to. It doesn't matter: Dupree still forced a turnover. Dupree lined up over two tight ends on a loaded left side on the line of scrimmage. Both tight ends immediately release to run routes, leaving Dupree open on what was supposed to be a play-action bootleg for Jones.
Although it didn't appear Barkley was going to attempt to block Dupree before heading to the flat, Dupree side-stepped any thought and immediately changes direction to chase down Jones. Jones, trying to make a play rather than throwing the ball away to live another down, attempts to throw a ball into crowded space while he's moving to his left and his feet aren't planted. Dupree did a great job of getting his hands up and smacks Jones' wrist/arm, causing a beautiful duck that could only be caught by a superior ball-hawk such as Cameron Heyward.
What Lies Ahead in Week Two?
While Bud Dupree played an overall solid game, his notable plays came where he was left unblocked. Aside from those, rookie tackle Andrew Thomas did a fairly solid job playing against Dupree, keeping him quiet for most of the night. There are two sides you can take: You either believe Thomas will live up to his hype of being a franchise tackle and give Dupree some leeway, or you can believe Dupree should have held a bigger impact on a rookie tackle making his first start with limited prep time.
The Steelers now fly back home to host the Denver Broncos, who also played on Monday night. Dupree will see action against Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles, who has started every game since being drafted number 20 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft.
However, Interesting enough is Denver declined Bolles' fifth-year option earlier in the offseason, making him a free agent after this season. Not exactly a vote of confidence from the front office.
From ESPN's Jeff Legwold:
"Bolles has still been flagged 46 times, including penalties that were declined. Bolles has also led the league in holding penalties in each of his three seasons and has finished second, tied for fourth, and tied for second in penalties overall. In all, 34 of his career flags (73.9 percent) have been for holding."
Bolles (with zero penalties on Monday) was part of Denver's offensive line that allowed zero sacks and six quarterback hurries on Drew Lock. A fairly tough task to accomplish given a strong Titans' front-seven that added Jadeveon Clowney in free agency recently, a match-up Bolles handled fairly well.
However, Bolles was seen practicing with a brace on his arm on Wednesday, doing individual work with no contact rather than practicing with the team, per Broncos lead writer Aric DiLalla. His official designation was limited. Should Bolles not be ready to go for any reason, it appears that second-year Calvin Anderson would be next to handle duties against Dupree.
With running back Phillip Lindsay out and a handful of receivers expected back for Denver in week two, it's reasonable to assume the Broncos may want to throw the ball more on Sunday. Will the Broncos mirror New York's gameplan to execute quick passes and reduce the chances of quarterback pressure? That remains to be seen.
However, when it comes to Dupree, his speed is enough to gain an edge when rushing outside the tackle. We know what he brings when it comes to run support, and while Dupree applied pressure to the quarterback a handful of times last week, people only pay attention to the stat sheet, which still shows a donut for Dupree in the sack column.
Dupree looks to face an at-best equally talented tackle in Bolles as he did Thomas in week one. With Watt on the opposite side of the ball drawing the majority of the double-teams, it will again be up to Dupree to retain the balance of Pittsburgh's pass-rush. I think Dupree will see more of an opportunity to get to the quarterback. Still, if Bolles was able to keep premium pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney (granted, it was his first game with the Titans) quiet, expectations remain questionable. Yet in a year that counts more than any other for Dupree's bank account, match-ups are needed to be won regardless of the opposing tackle.
Donnie Druin is a Staff Writer with AllSteelers. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
