To the Critics of Our Defense

I am constantly amazed at how Steeler fans can complain so much about how we play defense year in and year out. They always point to the flavor of the year and want us to copy their style. I especially remember 2010 when fans constantly whined that LeBeau couldn't use players like Dom Capers from Green Bay.

Well, I happened to be on a Green Bay site when I came across a thread titled:
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Will The Defense Still Be a Problem?
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and the first post said

[/SIZE][/SIZE][quote][COLOR=#ffff00][FONT=Georgia]In 2011 we were historically bad, last year we improved a bit but i wouldn't have consider us a good defense by any means. We suffered some injuries yes but even more so in 2010 yet we won the SB..so we cant use that excuse. Whats preventing GB from being a top defense year in year out like Pittsburgh? Or Baltimore? [/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia]Is it coaching? Is Capers run over? Do we need a fiery young guy running the defense? Or is it truly a lack of talent? By lack of talent i mean not the right prsonnel to run a 3-4. Or is it truly a lack of talent? I mean do we just not have enough speed and athleticism? Im curious to hear opinions on why certain teams can continuously lose Guys rather it be injury, free agency, or retirement and still attain a certain level expectation. We have to develop a mindset like Pitt or Baltimore where no matter who we lose our defense might not be the same..but we not going to play bad football on that side of the ball.[/FONT][/COLOR][/quote][COLOR=#141414][FONT=Georgia]
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The post really made me chuckle because it appears that the only people who don't admire the Steeler's defense and how it is consistently great over the years are Pittsburgh fans. Yes, I realize that this was only one person but talk to fans around the league and they all give props to our defense. About the only team that can rival our defensive prowess for the last decade is the Ravens. Nobody else comes close.

So let's boot LeBeau out the door and completely change our philosophy with the defense. [/SIZE][/SIZE]:roll:[SIZE=4][SIZE=2]
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The difference is their offense... and our offense.


We run to keep the ball, we run and we keep the play clock low.


GB like most other high octane offenses goes high play, and quick. They don't run the play clock down to 0 on every single play like we do, and they struggle running the ball.


Keeping the ball on O, = not getting your D gashed.


See the Steelers Vs Broncos game this year, O held the ball forever, and then our D would take it and get gashed quickly for a score.

We didn't get killed Stat wise that game, but they hardly had the ball

I only see highlights of other teams best plays. I see everything my team does, so it's natural to be more critical of your own team.

[QUOTE=flippy;562487]I only see highlights of other teams best plays. I see everything my team does, so it's natural to be more critical of your own team.[/QUOTE]

Which is my point. Steeler fans see some highlights of the other teams best defensive plays and use those plays to compare to the Steeler defense. They forget about all the bad plays the other team's make, letting the opponent score after they score or blowing 4th quarter leads.

I'm not saying our defense doesn't have warts. They certainly do but to suggest that other teams have caught on to what we are doing and we need to overhaul everything is ridiculous. Fans around the league recognize that we have one of the best defenses year after year. The talking heads also recognize that fact. People that have coached defense in the NFL recognize it. Why can't some Steeler fans recognize and embrace it ... warts and all?

[QUOTE=ikestops85;562577]Which is my point. Steeler fans see some highlights of the other teams best defensive plays and use those plays to compare to the Steeler defense. They forget about all the bad plays the other team's make, letting the opponent score after they score or blowing 4th quarter leads.

I'm not saying our defense doesn't have warts. They certainly do but to suggest that other teams have caught on to what we are doing and we need to overhaul everything is ridiculous. Fans around the league recognize that we have one of the best defenses year after year. The talking heads also recognize that fact. People that have coached defense in the NFL recognize it. Why can't some Steeler fans recognize and embrace it ... warts and all?[/QUOTE]


I think the flip side is true to. Other fans and coaches and players only see our highlights too. So they don't see our warts either. And all these others that see us being great are like us seeing others teams and thinking they're great.

Granted, some people do watch just about every game. But I think they're just the ones playing FF and paying attention to random stats and can't possibly see everything. I rewatch Steelers plays 3 or 4 times sometimes and still miss stuff happening. :)

Dont count me in the group of LeBeau haters. I definitely appreciate his approach to the defense. It is a [U]rare event[/U] for the defense to be completely overwhelmed an entire game. (last one i recall was Baltimore several years ago). DL has a knack for quickly righting the ship in almost any game. Experience [I]does [/I]count for something. He has seen every offense there is and knows how to defense it, knows how to use the players to their strength. I will be very interested in how Philly's O develops this year due to the supposed novel Kelly offense. How quickly can teams adjust the arena speedball offense? And can their defense hold up their side of the field if the O scores so quickly?
Keep in mind the more plays a unit plays in a game, the more likely a major injury will happen. I haven't checked into it, but perhaps that was a factor in all the offensive injuries for the Steelers. Their TOP was on a leading pace for a while.