Carter is going to be weak link

[Oviedo]

Huge understatement. I'd rather they put Deshea there. At least he has coverage skills.


Carter is going to be a weak link


Tyrone Carter By Dale Lolley
For SteelCityInsider.com
Posted Sep 20, 2009


Tyrone Carter might as well have a target on his back.


What the loss of strong safety Troy Polamalu means was very evident in the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-14 loss Sunday to the Chicago Bears.

Backup Tyrone Carter was beaten in coverage on both Chicago touchdowns, first getting boxed out by tight end Michael Gaines at the goal line in the first half, then getting beaten to the inside by rookie receiver Johnny Knox for a seven-yard score in the fourth quarter.

The Steelers also had just three pass defenses, with Carter getting one when he jacked up tight end Greg Olsen down the sidelines in the second quarter to jar the ball free.

Opponents are going to continually target Carter in key passing situations because they know they can beat him more often than not.

Polamalu can’t get back soon enough.

© Who would have guessed that next week’s game at Cincinnati would be a huge one for the Steelers? With both teams sitting at 1-1 and Baltimore off to a 2-0 start, a loss against the Bengals would not only have the Steelers chasing the Ravens, but the Bengals as well.

And if not for a fluke play against the Broncos, the Bengals would be 2-0 right now as well.

A loss next week at Cincinnati – which could happen – wouldn’t kill the Steelers, but it would certainly put them in chase mode the rest of the season.

© Without Polamalu in the lineup, the Steelers have to be more aggressive trying to get the ball into the end zone.

We saw a little of that Sunday when head coach Mike Tomlin decided to go for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal on the team’s opening possession, and later when offensive coordinator Bruce Arians called for a throw into the end zone to Santonio Holmes on third down from the Chicago 25 in a 14-14 game.

The fourth-down call worked, as Ben Roethlisberger hit Matt Spaeth in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. The throw to Holmes did not, as Holmes dropped the pass – one of three drops he had Sunday.

© The Steelers are now a team that passes to set up the run.

We saw how that worked Sunday as Pittsburgh gained 80 yards rushing in the second half on 12 attempts after gaining just 25 yards in the first half on 10 rushes.

The running game wasn’t particularly effective when the Steelers lined up and the Bears knew they were running the ball. And that’s something that is going to continue to be a problem for this team.

© Chicago ran a lot of screens and quick passes to help negate the Steelers pass rush. The Bears also completely abandoned their rushing attack, figuring they would not be able to generate anything on the ground.

The scary thing about that is that Chicago doesn’t have great receivers - though running back Matt Forte is an accomplished receiver out of the backfield.

But Pittsburgh’s next two opponents, Cincinnati and San Diego, have good receivers who can better attack this defense down the field as well as catch the short ones and make something happen.

The Steelers had better find a way to stop that attack, which has effectively negated Pittsburgh’s pass rush. The Steelers have just two sacks and one interception in two games. And the interception was by Polamalu.

© It’s very difficult to win on the road in the NFL, though the Steelers have done very well doing so the past few years.

But as we saw Sunday, a little break here or there is all the home team needs.

James Farrior said after the game that this game was one the Steelers usually find a way to win. But the Bears out-Steelered the Steelers.

Just as Tennessee’s Rod Bironas had missed a pair of field goals to leave the door open for the Steelers to pull one out in the opener, Jeff Reed missed two field goals to leave the door open for the Bears.

© Roethlisberger won’t get credit for another fourth-quarter comeback, but he certainly should have.

He did everything he needed to do for the Steelers to win Sunday, from putting the ball right on Holmes’ hands in the end zone, to moving them into field goal range twice in the fourth quarter.

So long as the Steelers can keep him upright - and the protection was very good Sunday - they’ll be in every game they play this year.

[frankthetank1]

besides the hit on olsen carter played pretty bad. i also thought gay looked pretty bad which is two straight games gay has not played all that well

[JTP53609]

gay has not played so happy....

[Steelerphile]

Nobody ever criticizes Ryan Clark, His pass defense is no better than Carter's

[frankthetank1]

Nobody ever criticizes Ryan Clark, His pass defense is no better than Carter's

haha thats pretty funny. the reason why ryan clarks pass defense is not criticized is because ryan clark is a very solid player and there isnt much wrong with his pass defense. tyrone carter was giving up throw after throw after throw which was similar to gay. i dont recall clark giving up too many passes though

[Oviedo]

Nobody ever criticizes Ryan Clark, His pass defense is no better than Carter's

Apples and Oranges comparison because they are playing two different safety positions with very different responsibilities. Clark is the QB of the defensive backfield and plays centerfield and has to mmake rapid decisions on who to support and what deep zone to cover. Carter is playing the SS position which requires much more man to man skills particularly covering WRs and TEs in short to mid range patterns.

Carter's man to man coverage skills are lacking. To his credit he is good supporing the run but it is the former that the Bears exploited.

[Steelerphile]

Nobody ever criticizes Ryan Clark, His pass defense is no better than Carter's

Apples and Oranges comparison because they are playing two different safety positions with very different responsibilities. Clark is the QB of the defensive backfield and plays centerfield and has to mmake rapid decisions on who to support and what deep zone to cover. Carter is playing the SS position which requires much more man to man skills particularly covering WRs and TEs in short to mid range patterns.

Carter's man to man coverage skills are lacking. To his credit he is good supporing the run but it is the former that the Bears exploited.

If Clark is such an estimable player as everyone makes him out to be why then are his passes defensed and interception totals so low? How many INTs do you think Clark will get this season, one or none? Won't be more than that. If he were so awesome he would be more of a factor in pass defense and I did not notice him out there.

So let's pile on Carter and make him out to be the goat. He played hard. He blew up the TE on a great hit and defensed a pass. He knocked himself out and was a little injured after that. He still made a stop on Cutler for what should have been awarded as a sack and a few other good plays.

He was there on the first pass. I call that more good Cutler than bad Carter. Cutler zipped very accurately into a tight space and the receiver made a sure-handed grab.

He couldn't go on the last TD play and He admitted it. They were backed up then so where was Clark? There wasn't much Center Field to be played. Carter seemed like he was back there by himself.

But I also like Knox. good looking young receiver.

Carter doesn't embarrass himself, generally speaking. But with the stellar Polamalu out, it should be Clark stepping up, if he is in fact the all-pro caliber player that most people claim he is.

[JUST-PLAIN-NASTY]

Put the blame on anyone we want. I don't know who to blame but this is what I saw. I saw Woodley and Harrison in more coverage that I would like. They say they will not change things without Troy but that is obviously not true. Live & die with the blitz. I will give this one a pass because of footing and possibly being afraid a defender slips and they give up a big play. But if it is 3rd & long and I see Woodley & Harrison in coverage...Something is up. I don't care if the O knows these guys are coming or not...They can still get there. The pure knowledge of them coming off the edge gets the ball out. If they are going to "dink & dunk" underneath when they are in coverage...Cut them loose. It has been a long time since I didn't like they play calling on D. Mark this one in that column.

On the flip side off the ball was no better. Rumor of no-huddle to show up more but it looked like someone forgot to bring that part of the playbook on the plane. I know it was sloppy out there and there were alot of drops. But I don't get paid what Arians makes and any idiot could have seen what the Bears were doing could work for the Steelers. "ALL DAY" underneath. Moore & Miller could have had double digit catches on simple drags. I would have even put Logan in the slot and let him drag across the field. The Bears were concerned as much as the Steelers and were trying to take away the vertical game because of field conditions. There were times that Ben missed it underneath and went downfield so it isn't all on Arians. If I saw the Bears DB zoning 15 yards downfield when the Steelers set up to pass...I would have made the adjustment and made the Bears play "honest" underneath. I will take this offense anyday...Against any defense...When field/game conditions are good. Elements can even the playing field on "Any given Sunday."

In summary, I would say this. The Steelers lost because of "Under-Confidence" in the Steelers pass coverage without Troy....And "Over-Confidence" in the Steelers vertical passing game.