#1 Pass Defense was a huge mirage

[DrCalculus]

Look at the Murderer's Row of QBs the team faced this season, due to a weak schedule and advantageous injuries:

Wk 1: Joe Flacco
Wk 2: Tavaris Jackson
Wk 3: Kerry Collins / Curtis Painter
Wk 4: Matt Schaub
Wk 5: Matt Hasselbeck
Wk 6: Blaine Gabbert
Wk 7: Kevin Kolb
Wk 8: Tom Brady
Wk 9: Joe Flacco
Wk 10: Andy Dalton
Wk 11: bye
Wk 12: Tyler Palko
Wk 13: Andy Dalton
Wk 14: Colt McCoy
Wk 15: Alex Smith
Wk 16: Kellen Clemens
Wk 17: Seneca Wallace


ONE game vs an Elite QB (Brady), THREE against decent QBS (Flacco in Baltimore, Schaub, & Smith), and 12 games against scrubs, back-ups, wash-ups, and rookies.

No Brees, Rodgers, Stafford, Manning, Rivers, Romo, or Ryan. One game against a top-10 QB (by yardage) all season (which, inexplicably, they won due to the best play-calling of Bruce Arians career). (If you want to go by rating, then Alex Smith & Matt Schaub also make top 10, but I noted them above already).

Considering that the team nearly lost to Painter in Indy, Palko in KC, and Wallace in Cleveland, and did lose to Flacco, Smith, & Schaub on the road, last week's disaster against Tebow was not really that big of a surprise after all.

That #1 rating was a mirage.

Next year's lineup is somewhat mitigated by the fact that they will be playing a 2nd place schedule and avoid the NFC Central & South:

2 vs Flacco, 2 vs Dalton, 2 vs Browns QB du jour, Home vs Mark Sanchez, Michael Vick, Redskins QB (RG3?), Orton/Cassell, Rivers, Away vs Romo, Eli Manning, Jake Locker, Tim Tebow, Carson Palmer

Those young DBs had better develop quick.

[hawaiiansteel]

I like Willie Gay, just not as a starting CB. somebody else needs to step up and claim the starting CB job opposite Ike and let Willie go back to being the #3 CB.

[Dresden]

IMO our pass defense ranking was a product of an exceptional Coach in Carnell, (whom was actually an elite player at the Pro Level) and a very soft schedule.

The latter not even being of much importance,....when you take into consideration how the secondary performs when anyone has the ballz to actually go after them.

But i digress,..as most of you here are adults. And if you have been a Steeler fan for a considerable amount years now,...you all can grasp (whether or not you admit it publicly) that the common threads in 95% of our worst losses since the very late 80's/early 90's has been suspect play from marginal players in the secondary and bonehead QB play.

[Oviedo]

As I have said before, our high defensive rankings are a mirage because we beat up on weak teams and usually do poorly against Super Bowl caliber teams. It pads our statistics which is why statistics, why easy to look at, are such an unreliable means to evaluate.

[Steelerphile]

I think you need to do thiis type of breakdown for more than one team to be more convincing from my point of view. I don't think any defense plays a murderer's row of QBs week after week.

The Steelers still played NFL teams not the Big East and I think calling their accomplishments a HUGE mirage is a HUGE overstatement.

[Slapstick]

The #1 pass defense was not a mirage...

It was a miracle, considering the dearth of turnovers...

It was the result of consistent, sound defensive play every week...

It just seems that, in today's NFL, sound defensive play isn't enough...especially in the playoffs when one bad game sends you home...

Turnovers count for more...

[DukieBoy]

And the Offense's performance and ranking was all too real.




1. Steelers must score more Points: 20. 5 NFL RNK: 21
2. Steelers must reduce the number of Sacks Allowed: 42 Sacks NFL RNK: 23
3. Red Zone Efficiency: 51% NFL RNK: 18

[DukieBoy]

[url="http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/massarotti/2012/01/belichick_wont_make_mistake_st.html"]http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists ... ke_st.html[/url]


It will be interesting to watch how the Pats*** defend TeBow. I'm guessing they hold Denver's offense to 10 or 13 points, unless it's a blowout early.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

The #1 pass defense was not a mirage...

It was a miracle, considering the dearth of turnovers...

It was the result of consistent, sound defensive play every week...

It just seems that, in today's NFL, sound defensive play isn't enough...especially in the playoffs when one bad game sends you home...

Turnovers count for more...

This is one area where our aging D hurts us, IMO. We might be playing "sound" D in a lot of ways, but we aren't getting the turnovers. A youth infusion might help greatly in this regard.

[SteelCrazy]

DrC is half right or maybe 75% right, but the rest of it goes to LeBeau and Tomlin for coming up with that horrible game plan against Tebow. In theory, it was an awesome way to stop the unstarted machine. Instead, we tweeked a few things and got that POS running and we couldnt kill it. Stack the line and make Tebow's arm beat us. Tebow cant throw, so keep those safety's shallow. Let Ike do it by himself.

Well, that didnt work and we made no adjustments, NON! At least in over time, show a different look and Tebow would possibly have panicked.