Turnovers ...

[JAS]

... the lack of turnovers by this defense is a major factor in why this team struggles.

Total number of turnovers by year:

2012 16 ----- N.E. currently has 39!
2011 15 ----- N.E. had 34!

2010 35 (Superbowl)
2009 22
2008 29 (Superbowl)
2007 25
2006 29
2005 28 (Superbowl)
2004 32
2003 25
2002 36

Two straight years without getting to at least 20 turnovers.

This trend has got to change.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Didn't you hear? You're supposed to be happy we have a #1 ranked defense.

Quit complaining and enjoy the mediocrity.

[Oviedo]

... the lack of turnovers by this defense is a major factor in why this team struggles.

Total number of turnovers by year:

2012 16 N.E. currently has 39!
2011 15 N.E. had 34!

2010 35 (Superbowl)
2009 22
2008 29 (Superbowl)
2007 25
2006 29
2005 28 (Superbowl)
2004 32
2003 25
2002 36

Two straight years without getting to at least 20 turnovers.

This trend has got to change.

The trend line is going in the wrong direction but it won't change because we will not make the necessary structural changes. Expect more of the same next year because our "professor has tenure. What most people forget or don't know about tenured professors in college is they are usually the least innovative, teach outdated material and have the least grasp on new concepts, ideas and technology.

[ikestops85]

Didn't you hear? You're supposed to be happy we have a #1 ranked defense.

Quit complaining and enjoy the mediocrity.

What difference would getting more turnovers make? I seem to recall us getting 3 turnovers in our most important game of the season and what did the offense do with them? NOTHING!!

So let's change the part of the team that works and leave alone the part that is broken :roll:

[BradshawsHairdresser]

I never said we shouldn't work on the offense as well. That's a no-brainer.

But if your D isn't getting turnovers? That's a no-brainer as well. Has to be addressed.

Or, go ahead and let the defense be...but as I said, get used to medocrity then.

[Chadman]

Turnovers and pressure tend to go hand-in-hand. There are several talented DB's on the roster, same with LB's. The Steelers need to collapse the QB pocket faster, putting the QB under pressure, and forcing them into bad decisions.

The last 2 years we have seen reduced sacks & turnovers. Hampton has been noticeably less effective over the same time period. Dominate the LOS, and watch the pressure, and the turnovers, increase.

[BURGH86STEEL]

I don't believe the inability to create more turnovers was a major reason why the team struggled. Sometimes turnovers happen and sometimes they don't. Turnovers can't be counted on to win games on a weekly basis. I believe it's more important to take care of the football then it is to create turnovers.

Even with the inability to create more turnovers, the team probably makes the playoffs if the offense didn't give the ball away at bad times in 3 or 4 games.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Turnovers and pressure tend to go hand-in-hand. There are several talented DB's on the roster, same with LB's. The Steelers need to collapse the QB pocket faster, putting the QB under pressure, and forcing them into bad decisions.

The last 2 years we have seen reduced sacks & turnovers. Hampton has been noticeably less effective over the same time period. Dominate the LOS, and watch the pressure, and the turnovers, increase.

Well-said.

[Snatch98]

Turnovers and pressure tend to go hand-in-hand. There are several talented DB's on the roster, same with LB's. The Steelers need to collapse the QB pocket faster, putting the QB under pressure, and forcing them into bad decisions.

The last 2 years we have seen reduced sacks & turnovers. Hampton has been noticeably less effective over the same time period. Dominate the LOS, and watch the pressure, and the turnovers, increase.

I'm a fan of "Big Snack" but as you said and the majority of the base knows he's fallen way off. If we can get someone to play to the level that he used to play or at least close it will most definitely open everything up. He just isn't commanding the double teams that he used to command and the entire front seven suffers.

[steelfin]

I never said we shouldn't work on the offense as well. That's a no-brainer.

But if your D isn't getting turnovers? That's a no-brainer as well. Has to be addressed.

Or, go ahead and let the defense be...but as I said, get used to medocrity then.

Who said anything about letting the defense be...or are you implying that we should fire DL to fix the turn-over issue? Or maybe you want to change to a 4-3 because I am sure that will fix all the turn-over issues....

I think everyone would agree that getting more turn-overs would increase our chances of putting up points...Let's face it, the offense needs all the help it can get...

I am not certain what the issue is with turn-overs the last two years...could be talent, luck, scheme...I don't know and I am sure as hell not going to pretend to know more than someone who has been in the NFL longer than I have been alive...

I really don't think turn-overs would have made much of a difference this year....The offense struggled...whether it was injuries, new OC, what have you...They did not take advantage of the turn-overs or ST field position provided to them...Go back and look at the games...they left a lot of points on the field.

Unless the defense was scoring 14 points a game this year...it wouldnt have mattered.

While I agree the defense needs more turn-overs, if the offense doesnt get better we will need to get used to medocrity....

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Who said anything about letting the defense be...or are you implying that we should fire DL to fix the turn-over issue? Or maybe you want to change to a 4-3 because I am sure that will fix all the turn-over issues....

I think everyone would agree that getting more turn-overs would increase our chances of putting up points...Let's face it, the offense needs all the help it can get...

I am not certain what the issue is with turn-overs the last two years...could be talent, luck, scheme...I don't know and I am sure as hell not going to pretend to know more than someone who has been in the NFL longer than I have been alive...

I really don't think turn-overs would have made much of a difference this year....The offense struggled...whether it was injuries, new OC, what have you...They did not take advantage of the turn-overs or ST field position provided to them...Go back and look at the games...they left a lot of points on the field.

Unless the defense was scoring 14 points a game this year...it wouldnt have mattered.

While I agree the defense needs more turn-overs, if the offense doesnt get better we will need to get used to medocrity....

Well, I agree that the offense needs to get better, too. I don't like mediocrity due to offensive underperformance any better than I like mediocrity due to defensive underperformance.

As far as what has been keeping the D from getting turnovers? We need a talent infusion at several positions. The play of some (not all) players has fallen off...In spite of investing two first-round picks on the DL in recent years, it's not nearly as good as when Smith, Hampton (Hoke) and Keisel were tearing things up a few years back. Who knows if Harrison and Woodley will ever be back to what they once were? And having Polamalu out or limited for so many games has definitely hurt. We need to have other bodies to bring in, to replace or at least spell some of our declining "stars".

But over the years, it seems to me that DL's defense has to make some more changes. Not saying we have to switch to a 4-3, but let's face it, our D has gotten predictable. Other teams know what we're going to do, especially late in games. Our defense doesn't attack enough to generate the kind of pressure that creates turnovers. It's more of a vanilla approach that may end up leading the league in fewest yards allowed, but too often yields points at critical junctures.

Someone may say we don't have the players to bring such an attacking D, but I think that some of those players may be here, but in LeBeau's system, too often they languish on the bench. I think we could have rotated McLendon in for Fat Casey more this year, and actually brought some pressure on the opponents. I get it that Woodley is penciled in as the top dog at his position, but Worilds actually played better with fewer opportunities.