Here's how I would stop Derek Henry next season if I were the Steelers.

Before you bash me for thinking outside the box....just remember NO defensive coordinator has been able to stop him. So maybe a little irrational thinking might work.

As it is now, his Oline is so dominant that he get's a running start, hits the hole with speed and power, bursts through the secondary and he's off.

So Defensively, I would start with handling the Ravens Offensive line first. The idea is to not let Henry get that 5 yard, untouched, running start. And not allow huge holes to form.

How? BY MATCHING OFFENSIVE LINES. (I would do the same to stop the Eagles' Tush Push.)

Most Defensive lineman are outweighed by 30-40lbs per person by the opposing offensive line.
So to combat that, I would use Offensive lineman on defense. This would likely cause a huge pile up in the middle which would create no running holes to run through. Forcing Derek Henry to run laterally gives you a better chance of slowing him down, plus having 6'5, 300lb offensive lineman tacking Henry would weigh on him quite a bit.
Now I wouldn't do this on every play but I would substitute offensive lineman and defensive lineman in rotation to slow down the Ravens offensive line from dominating at the point of attack. And on every short yardage or goal line play I would match Olineman with Olineman. Size vs Size. Again the idea is to not allow for gaping holes to form.

I don't know of any NFL Team that does this, but I would.

 

By getting players that can actually tackle.

 

Here's the thing, you don't. You tackle when he doesn't have the ball and when he does you let him gash you for 186 yards.

If I had to guess he probably averaged a -1 yard per carry for every time he was tackled without the ball.

 

If you really want to stop him, I know a chick that can help. Tonya Harding. She has some friends that can swing a mean pipe.

I have always liked Derek Henry. The guy is a primal force at RB. Unfortunately for us, he is now on a well coached team with a great QB and a very good oline in our division.

 

K..what about Lamar?? He ran for 81 yards..

 

Did you see how many time TJ came went straight for Henry last night and it Lamar with the ball gashing us ..
Hate to say it but if the RATBIRDS continue playing like this no one is beating them.
You have to commit a safety for Lamar,that will be this safety only job.Unless you have a LB than can run

 

That's how RPO's work. The QB makes a key read and decides whether to hand it off or keep it. Jackson made the proper reads all game.

 

Yep,

Yep. Why in the world did Tennessee let him go?

 

Knew a guy who was a Titans fan and asked him back when it happened. He said it was a cap related thing. I am sure the Titans are kicking themselves now.

 

The Eagles and Chiefs slowed him down and beat the Ravens.
He's not unstoppable.
Subbing in OL isn't a realistic solution. You're risking injury to your starting OL by asking them to do things they never do.

 

You beat the ravens and stop the run by scoring points and sustaining drives. Eat the clock on offense. If we were scoring that would have forced them to pass which would then allow our OLB's to make big plays. That's our strength. This defense can only work if our offense is doing its job. Our game prep is a disaster.

 

The sad thing is the defensive game plan seemed to be to key on Henry and make Lamar beat us. But we didn’t put a dent in Henry, and Lamar beat us, too. If Lamar ran wild and we corralled Henry, at least the tactic would have worked a little, but the scheme failed dramatically. And it’s not like we don’t know how the Ravens play. Sheesh. How sad.

 

So basically you're saying games are won up front

 

The Steelers have always done a good job against Henry until the last two meetings.