NKySteeler
09-22-2008, 06:14 PM
God, I hate the title of this article... Because it should have been a priority TWO YEARS AGO, while we had the time to form a quality line. At the very latest, last year in the draft, because everyone saw the issues coming (Faneca, etc...)... At any rate, this is a decent article, and makes a few good comments later in it... I highlighted/underlined the ones that stuck out to me...
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Protection is now top priority
by Bob Labriola, Editor
PHILADELPHIA — It was the football version of the perfect storm, and the Steelers were the ones who got inundated.
For them, this game followed a couple of emotional weekends — the season opener and then a road game at Cleveland for early control of the AFC North — and in addition, it came against a non-traditional opponent from the other conference.
Their opponent, on the other hand, was experiencing a bit of early-season desperation after losing to its most hated rival six days earlier, to go along with the realization that two losses in three games isn’t going to cut it in a division where all four teams were .500 or better last year.
Winning this game meant more to the Eagles, and understand these Eagles are good enough to be one of the dozen or so teams that have the components necessary to make a run at a championship. Talent mixed with desperation usually provides a winning edge, especially before the season exits September, and so it was last Sunday here by a
score of 15-6.
That the Steelers’ deficit was just four points, 10-6, as late as midway through the fourth quarter should provide no comfort because with the way the Eagles defense was
dominating, four points was a comfortable lead.
And that brings us to the final part of the storm, which can be described as the Eagles’ search for their own defensive identity. Shortly after Andy Reid was hired in 1999 as Eagles coach, he hired Jim Johnson to coordinate Philadelphia’s defense, and from 2000-07 those units were tied for first in the NFL with 342 sacks. Pressure is what Johnson
creates, but when the football was being set on the tee last Sunday at 4:15 p.m., Jim Johnson’s defense had zero sacks on the season.
It’s not known whether any NFL team has gone from last in the league in sacks to first in a single game, but the Eagles gave it a shot. Ben Roethlisberger went down eight times, second-most in his career to the time the Ravens sacked him nine times during that disaster of a 2006 season, and the team total was nine because Byron Leftwich got to
share in some of the fun late in the fourth quarter.
Those nine sacks don’t include the intentional grounding penalty in the end zone for a safety, or the four times Roethlisberger gained a few meager yards while running for his
life from the pass rush, or the couple of times he threw the ball away because he had no other viable options.
Nine sacks could have been 15 sacks. Easily.
“I don’t think there’s any secret. We blitzed much more,” said Johnson. “Today, we felt there were some things we could take advantage of, although they are a good offensive
team, but it was just there.” Whether it was “just there” for a good Eagles defense on an occasion where they were playing at home and really needed a win, or whether it’s going to be there for every opponent from here on out is the real issue facing the Steelers today.
Bad performances happen all the time in today’s NFL — look no farther than Foxborough and what Miami did to New England — but there is a lingering fear that what happened to Roethlisberger against the Eagles is closer to the start of a trend than a pure aberration.
Twelve sacks to this point means Roethlisberger is on pace to get dumped 64 times, which would reflect a frightening increase to the unacceptable 47 he endured last season, and the culpability goes beyond the five guys up front.
Granted, the offensive line stunk against the Eagles, what with the sacks just part of a performance that also included a complete inability to run the ball plus a bunch of
penalties.
But if the problem was as simple as a couple of offensive linemen playing poorly, then it’s simple to stick some butts on the bench and go from there. This is not a simple issue, however, because a lot more than five people are involved.
Every road to recovery must begin with the admission of a problem, and it’s time for the Steelers to admit that protecting Roethlisberger is a problem with which they are not dealing effectively. Concessions must be made, in everything from scheme to formations to play calls, with the idea of keeping Roethlisberger upright moved much higher on the to-do list.
There could be more change-of pace play calls — draws, screens — fewer empty set formations where Roethlisberger is exposed. The Steelers do not employ a West Coast offense, but this doesn’t mean some components of the scheme that get the ball out of the quarterback’s hand quickly can’t be poached.
The Eagles completed 10 passes to running backs compared to one for the Steelers. The Eagles completed passes to seven different receivers and only two had per-catch
averages higher than 10; compare that to five players catching passes for the Steelers with four of them having per-catch averages higher than 10.
This protection situation is reaching the critical stage, because it is the one facet of the Steelers’ performance that could derail their entire season, and the copycats are hovering. The defense has plugged the leaks that sprung in its run defense late last season, and in the splash play department the unit is on pace for 32 interceptions and close to 50 sacks. The kick coverage has been solid, and the placekicker is automatic.
It’s all there, except a comprehensive commitment to protect the quarterback, and Roethlisberger has to buy into it like everyone else. If this does not change, the storm the Steelers faced against the Eagles will be just the start of a deluge that washes away this team’s chance to be special, to accomplish something special.
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Protection is now top priority
by Bob Labriola, Editor
PHILADELPHIA — It was the football version of the perfect storm, and the Steelers were the ones who got inundated.
For them, this game followed a couple of emotional weekends — the season opener and then a road game at Cleveland for early control of the AFC North — and in addition, it came against a non-traditional opponent from the other conference.
Their opponent, on the other hand, was experiencing a bit of early-season desperation after losing to its most hated rival six days earlier, to go along with the realization that two losses in three games isn’t going to cut it in a division where all four teams were .500 or better last year.
Winning this game meant more to the Eagles, and understand these Eagles are good enough to be one of the dozen or so teams that have the components necessary to make a run at a championship. Talent mixed with desperation usually provides a winning edge, especially before the season exits September, and so it was last Sunday here by a
score of 15-6.
That the Steelers’ deficit was just four points, 10-6, as late as midway through the fourth quarter should provide no comfort because with the way the Eagles defense was
dominating, four points was a comfortable lead.
And that brings us to the final part of the storm, which can be described as the Eagles’ search for their own defensive identity. Shortly after Andy Reid was hired in 1999 as Eagles coach, he hired Jim Johnson to coordinate Philadelphia’s defense, and from 2000-07 those units were tied for first in the NFL with 342 sacks. Pressure is what Johnson
creates, but when the football was being set on the tee last Sunday at 4:15 p.m., Jim Johnson’s defense had zero sacks on the season.
It’s not known whether any NFL team has gone from last in the league in sacks to first in a single game, but the Eagles gave it a shot. Ben Roethlisberger went down eight times, second-most in his career to the time the Ravens sacked him nine times during that disaster of a 2006 season, and the team total was nine because Byron Leftwich got to
share in some of the fun late in the fourth quarter.
Those nine sacks don’t include the intentional grounding penalty in the end zone for a safety, or the four times Roethlisberger gained a few meager yards while running for his
life from the pass rush, or the couple of times he threw the ball away because he had no other viable options.
Nine sacks could have been 15 sacks. Easily.
“I don’t think there’s any secret. We blitzed much more,” said Johnson. “Today, we felt there were some things we could take advantage of, although they are a good offensive
team, but it was just there.” Whether it was “just there” for a good Eagles defense on an occasion where they were playing at home and really needed a win, or whether it’s going to be there for every opponent from here on out is the real issue facing the Steelers today.
Bad performances happen all the time in today’s NFL — look no farther than Foxborough and what Miami did to New England — but there is a lingering fear that what happened to Roethlisberger against the Eagles is closer to the start of a trend than a pure aberration.
Twelve sacks to this point means Roethlisberger is on pace to get dumped 64 times, which would reflect a frightening increase to the unacceptable 47 he endured last season, and the culpability goes beyond the five guys up front.
Granted, the offensive line stunk against the Eagles, what with the sacks just part of a performance that also included a complete inability to run the ball plus a bunch of
penalties.
But if the problem was as simple as a couple of offensive linemen playing poorly, then it’s simple to stick some butts on the bench and go from there. This is not a simple issue, however, because a lot more than five people are involved.
Every road to recovery must begin with the admission of a problem, and it’s time for the Steelers to admit that protecting Roethlisberger is a problem with which they are not dealing effectively. Concessions must be made, in everything from scheme to formations to play calls, with the idea of keeping Roethlisberger upright moved much higher on the to-do list.
There could be more change-of pace play calls — draws, screens — fewer empty set formations where Roethlisberger is exposed. The Steelers do not employ a West Coast offense, but this doesn’t mean some components of the scheme that get the ball out of the quarterback’s hand quickly can’t be poached.
The Eagles completed 10 passes to running backs compared to one for the Steelers. The Eagles completed passes to seven different receivers and only two had per-catch
averages higher than 10; compare that to five players catching passes for the Steelers with four of them having per-catch averages higher than 10.
This protection situation is reaching the critical stage, because it is the one facet of the Steelers’ performance that could derail their entire season, and the copycats are hovering. The defense has plugged the leaks that sprung in its run defense late last season, and in the splash play department the unit is on pace for 32 interceptions and close to 50 sacks. The kick coverage has been solid, and the placekicker is automatic.
It’s all there, except a comprehensive commitment to protect the quarterback, and Roethlisberger has to buy into it like everyone else. If this does not change, the storm the Steelers faced against the Eagles will be just the start of a deluge that washes away this team’s chance to be special, to accomplish something special.