Checking out sack stats...I find this interesting...

[D Rock]

Big Ben has only taken 10 sacks in 5 games this year...that's a pace for 32 on the season, when he typically takes 35-45 (or is on pace for such numbers based on how many games he plays).

then I looked at the numbers for the leagues sack leaders....there are a ridiculous amount of guys on pace for 10+ sacks. Even more than that, I am shocked by how many guys are becoming sack-a-game players. Now I know that the 'pace' at this point doesn't mean much - having one 3-sack game will pretty much get you there - but I will definitely be keeping an eye on this over the rest of the season. If the number of elite sack artists truly is up this year, and Ben really does keep his sack numbers down around 32, then hopefully he finally is truly changing his style of play a little bit!

[flippy]

And a lot of Ben's sacks happened early in the season. I was wondering the other day if Haley's helped him find that fine line. Because Ben is being like Ben on 3rd down more than ever to keep plays alive. But he's not taking so many sacks recently.

There's not a lot to go on just yet. And it might just be the quality of opponents recently.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

We are facing a real pass rush this week. Let us see how this works out.

[Sugar]

We are facing a real pass rush this week. Let us see how this works out.

Yeah, if the Bengals can do one thing really great it's rush the passer.

[D Rock]

And a lot of Ben's sacks happened early in the season. I was wondering the other day if Haley's helped him find that fine line. Because Ben is being like Ben on 3rd down more than ever to keep plays alive. But he's not taking so many sacks recently.

There's not a lot to go on just yet. And it might just be the quality of opponents recently.


That's most likely what it is, but I like to dream a little. Hey! Maybe these teams all have such bad sack numbers BECAUSE they played the Steelers!


League Leader - GB with 21 sacks
Leauge Loser - Jacksonville with 3 sacks.


Teams the Steelers have played:

Denver - 18 total sacks (Tied for 5th in the NFL) - 5 sacks against Pittsburgh
NY Jets - 9 total, 27th in NFL, 3 against Pittsburgh
Oakland - 4 total, 31st in NFL, 1 against Pittsburgh
Philly - 7 total, 30th in NFL, 0 against Pittsburgh
Tennessee - 8 total, 28th in NFL, 1 against Pittsburgh

[RuthlessBurgher]

That's most likely what it is, but I like to dream a little. Hey! Maybe these teams all have such bad sack numbers BECAUSE they played the Steelers!


League Leader - GB with 21 sacks
Leauge Loser - Jacksonville with 3 sacks.


Teams the Steelers have played:

Denver - 18 total sacks (Tied for 5th in the NFL) - 5 sacks against Pittsburgh
NY Jets - 9 total, 27th in NFL, 3 against Pittsburgh
Oakland - 4 total, 31st in NFL, 1 against Pittsburgh
Philly - 7 total, 30th in NFL, 0 against Pittsburgh
Tennessee - 8 total, 28th in NFL, 1 against Pittsburgh

And three of the Denver sacks were on consecutive plays in garbage time since Ben was in desperation mode (i.e. not playing within the usual confines of the offensive system) after throwing the pick 6. So, essentially, when running the Haley offense, Ben's only been sacked 7 times in 5 games (being sacked only twice in the last 3 games is pretty impressive, especially considering the OL injuries of late).

[Oviedo]

then I looked at the numbers for the leagues sack leaders....there are a ridiculous amount of guys on pace for 10+ sacks.

The problem is not too many of these guys are Steelers. We have really fallen back in the pack WRT our sack ability.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Our sack leader is......Jason Worilds with 3.

[D Rock]

Our sack leader is......Jason Worilds with 3.

That puts him on pace for 9.5 this year...and he has done it without multiple sack games that drive numbers up. If he can keep it up, then maybe he finally has some value after all.

[Mister Pittsburgh]

We have 11 sacks. That is very poor for a supposed attacking 3-4 team with the inventor of the zone blitz running the show. One thing I have wondered about Lebeau...can a 70+ year old man really spend the necessary time needed to study his opponent & gameplan accordingly? We heard players say this year that we do the same things year after year, game after game. It seems to me like the only time we really look good on defense is after a bad loss.....does he spend more time in that scenario?

[hawaiiansteel]

I think LeBeau's problem for awhile now is that he plays not to lose...

[papillon]

I think LeBeau's problem for awhile now is that he plays not to lose...

And, it didn't hurt to have a healthy Polamalu, Harrison, Aaron Smith, and James Farrior, just sayin.

Pappy

[SidSmythe]

We have 11 sacks. That is very poor for a supposed attacking 3-4 team with the inventor of the zone blitz running the show. One thing I have wondered about Lebeau...can a 70+ year old man really spend the necessary time needed to study his opponent & gameplan accordingly? We heard players say this year that we do the same things year after year, game after game. It seems to me like the only time we really look good on defense is after a bad loss.....does he spend more time in that scenario?

I bet that 70 yr old man could kick the crap outta you. Just sayin'!!

[Mister Pittsburgh]

I bet that 70 yr old man could kick the crap outta you. Just sayin'!!

No disrespect to DL but I would accept that bet. You have no idea who I am.

Secondly, DL's toughness has nothing to do with what I said.

[Oviedo]

No disrespect to DL but I would accept that bet. You have no idea who I am.

Secondly, DL's toughness has nothing to do with what I said.

Maybe if the old guy is so tough he should put on a uniform and go sack someone because his playcalling isn't helping.

[Oviedo]

We have 11 sacks. That is very poor for a supposed attacking 3-4 team with the inventor of the zone blitz running the show. One thing I have wondered about Lebeau...can a 70+ year old man really spend the necessary time needed to study his opponent & gameplan accordingly? We heard players say this year that we do the same things year after year, game after game. It seems to me like the only time we really look good on defense is after a bad loss.....does he spend more time in that scenario?

Two coordinators needed to leave after last season. Unfortunately we came up one short. Seventy year olds are not receptive to change. That is just a fact of human nature. We need chnage in many ways on defense and as I have been saying LeBeau won't be the guy who does that.

Tomlin should be forcing it but it is a very awkward dynamic when you have a "legend" who is likely well respected but really needs to go but you can't and don't want to embarass them by forcing them out. See Joe Paterno at Penn State.

[flippy]

No disrespect to DL but I would accept that bet. You have no idea who I am.

Secondly, DL's toughness has nothing to do with what I said.

I bet if some random guy kicked the crap out of DL, they may end up having to deal with James Harrison.

So unless you're Chuck Norris, Steven Segal, or David Hasselhoff, you probably should leave DL alone :)

[Mister Pittsburgh]

I bet if some random guy kicked the crap out of DL, they may end up having to deal with James Harrison.

So unless you're Chuck Norris, Steven Segal, or David Hasselhoff, you probably should leave DL alone :)

So glad my logical post has dissolved into a theoretical debate regarding my fighting skills against a 70 year old and whether his henchmen could defeat me.

[Oviedo]

So glad my logical post has dissolved into a theoretical debate regarding my fighting skills against a 70 year old and whether his henchmen could defeat me.

Just new limits some will go to defend and make excuses for DL. Redirection to talk about his toughness and fighting skills not how he is doing his job.

[flippy]

Just new limits some will go to defend and make excuses for DL. Redirection to talk about his toughness and fighting skills not how he is doing his job.

Just cause you would lose in a fight with DL too, you resort to this ;)

I have a hard time putting this all on DL given his track record of success and what I see from the players on the field. The whole DLine is getting redirected and controlled at the LOS. The LBs aren't getting any pressure or big plays. And Ike can't cover anyone. We're losing 1 on 1 battles all over the field. The lack of talent is very apparent.

I hold the players more accountable. And the drafting of the guys on the current roster.

[Oviedo]

Just cause you would lose in a fight with DL too, you resort to this ;)

I have a hard time putting this all on DL given his track record of success and what I see from the players on the field. The whole DLine is getting redirected and controlled at the LOS. The LBs aren't getting any pressure or big plays. And Ike can't cover anyone. We're losing 1 on 1 battles all over the field. The lack of talent is very apparent.

I hold the players more accountable. And the drafting of the guys on the current roster.

And DL has no say in who is drafted for his "legendary" defense? You really that blinded by LeBeau hype to believe that someone of his reputation, supposedly "legendary" talent and experience has no influence in the draft room and poor Coach LeBeau is just a victim of circumstances and all those who are doing him wrong by taking the wrong players? WOW!!!!

If anything you are making a case that the players have carried him and with the players gone he has been exposed. Is that what you are really saying but not wanting to say?

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Just cause you would lose in a fight with DL too, you resort to this ;)

I have a hard time putting this all on DL given his track record of success and what I see from the players on the field. The whole DLine is getting redirected and controlled at the LOS. The LBs aren't getting any pressure or big plays. And Ike can't cover anyone. We're losing 1 on 1 battles all over the field. The lack of talent is very apparent.

I hold the players more accountable. And the drafting of the guys on the current roster.

Poor prospect evaluation has been the biggest issue, but DL's refusal to bench his vets is another. It simply should not take 2 or 3 seasons for a first round pick to get playing time on a regular basis.

Some will argue that we had great vets so no need to play young guys. Well we drafted Ziggy in 2009 and then re-signed Keisel in the fall of 2009. It doesn't take grooming to play 3-4 DE. And now we have a subpar Keisel blocking Heyward.

[flippy]

And DL has no say in who is drafted for his "legendary" defense? You really that blinded by LeBeau hype to believe that someone of his reputation, supposedly "legendary" talent and experience has no influence in the draft room and poor Coach LeBeau is just a victim of circumstances and all those who are doing him wrong by taking the wrong players? WOW!!!!

If anything you are making a case that the players have carried him and with the players gone he has been exposed. Is that what you are really saying but not wanting to say?

You read a little too much into that. Of course DL has influence on who we draft. So I hold him accountable. It's hard to know who is ultimately responsible for each player beyond Colbert/Tomlin who have to balance out the whole team.

What we do know - DL's system has worked, we've lost our best players to injury, the players on the field are getting beat 1 on 1, and the young guys aren't stepping up and making the impact we need from them. I also haven't noticed this fall off in aggressive play calling - we still bring a lot of guys, but just aren't winning the battles.

I think it's a fair question to ask why young guys aren't being worked into the system faster? I also think it's fair to question the quality of players we've drafted.

But I'm not seeing anything that's age related. DL still seems to be the same guy he's been in the past. DL's system has always been about being sound and not giving up the big plays. I don't see this big change in DL. I do see a difference in the player's ability to execute.

[RuthlessBurgher]

I bet if some random guy kicked the crap out of DL, they may end up having to deal with James Harrison.

So unless you're Chuck Norris, Steven Segal, or David Hasselhoff, you probably should leave DL alone :)

LeBeau is 75 years old. Chuck Norris is 72. Seagal and Hasselhoff are both 60.

They'll tell you to get off their lawn, beat you with their canes, and ride off on their jazzy scooters (and maybe try to eat a cheeseburger off the floor). :p

[flippy]

LeBeau is 75 years old. Chuck Norris is 72. Seagal and Hasselhoff are both 60.

They'll tell you to get off their lawn, beat you with their canes, and ride off on their jazzy scooters (and maybe try to eat a cheeseburger off the floor). :p

I was gonna bring Dirty Harry into the mix, but figured he might be overly occupied with his chair these days.

This is totally off topic, but I thought it would be really cool to do another Expendables type movie but with even older actors - Chuck Norris, Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, etc. And these super old guys kick butt and take names. And we find out in the end, they're just fighting their own dementia so it's not as stupid a movie as the Expendables. We let these guys go out with dignity unlike Stallone and his band of goofballs.

[SidSmythe]

Hasselhoff :p :D:)

[hawaiiansteel]

Hasselhoff :p :D:)

how did David Hasselhoff's name get included into that elite group of tough guys?

I would kick his drunken behind with my left arm tied behind my back...

http://coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/drunk_david_hasselhoff.jpg?w=700&h=

[flippy]

how did David Hasselhoff's name get included into that elite group of tough guys?

I would kick his drunken behind with my left arm tied behind my back...

http://coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/drunk_david_hasselhoff.jpg?w=700&h=

No one messes with the Hoff. Unlike these other so called tough guys, the Hoff is the real deal. After his role as Michael Knight, everyone gave up with messing with him.

He'd do a number on you just like he's doing to that burger.

Why do you think Steven Segal became a cop? So he can try to get shot in the face and come back as the next field agent for Knight Industries. He wants to follow the Hoff's footsteps. Either that or he just likes eating donuts now.

[hawaiiansteel]

No one messes with the Hoff. Unlike these other so called tough guys, the Hoff is the real deal. After his role as Michael Knight, everyone gave up with messing with him.

He'd do a number on you just like he's doing to that burger.




are you sure? :D

http://coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/005.jpg

[flippy]

are you sure? :D

http://coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/005.jpg

Definitely sure. Now that we're both blind.