Steelers Film Room: Underrated Steelers: Ramon Foster

Part Two: Pass Blocking

Ramon Foster is a solid run blocker, but the area where he really excels is his pass blocking. Week in, and week out, Foster put on a clinic when it came to his pass protection. By only giving up two sacks during the entire season, Foster solidified himself as a technician. Foster is a very intelligent player, as you can see he understands how to make adjustments and expose his opponents weaknesses. He is good against the bull rush, can contain the speed rush, and make the necessary adjustments when needed. Even when he may have gotten beat, he would always regroup and keep his man off of Roethlisberger. Foster does a good job at keeping the defender out of his punch zone, as well as keeping good leverage. He has quick hands and often takes control of his defender. His ability to move laterally is also a strength. Ramon’s ablesness to succeed in pass protection, due to playing tackle in college, was shown every week, and below I break down his pass pro. against the Raiders in Week 3:

Coaches Film from NFL Game Rewind

Foster prepares for the defensive tackle Tommy Kelly who is to his outside shoulder in a 3-technique. Kelly looks to come across Foster to blitz the A-gap.

Coaches Film from NFL Game Rewind

Foster is now in a good position to slide either left or right depending on which way Kelly goes. It is important that Foster does not lean-to far one way which would make it hard for him to quickly slide to the opposite direction.

Coaches Film from NFL Game Rewind

At this point, Foster has put himself in a great position, with a solid base and square to the line. Tommy Kelly would now have to bull right through Foster, which is extremely difficult to do.

Coaches Film from NFL Game Rewind

Ramon Foster now has total control of the defensive tackle. Kelly”s feet are together, taking away his balance completely. You may also notice that Foster has maybe moved a total of one yard back from the original line of scrimmage, giving up little ground.

Ramon Foster’s pass blocking is much better than Willie Colon’s, which could have played a big part in the Steelers decision to keep him instead. In all the games I charted of Foster’s, I didn’t see him getting a holding call during his pass blocking even once. Colon on the other hand, had several, due to his poor technique. The Steelers season usually relies on the health of Ben Roethlisberger, so it helps a lot to have a superb pass blocker inside at the guard spot.