Continued Sissification of the NFL

[RuthlessBurgher]

I was shocked, after all the hubbub this offseason about the leading with the helmet rule, that Brandon Meriweather was not flagged when he knocked Eddie Lacy out of the game with a concussion because of an earhole shot from the crown of his helmet. Karma struck quickly, though, because when Meriweather tried to knock out another Packer RB, James Starks, with a helmet-to-helmet shot, this time, his knocked himself the [EMAIL="#&@%"]#&@%[/EMAIL] out!

[flippy]

Saying "defenses can't force turnovers because the offense didn't run the ball" is outdated thinking. Look around the NFL Slapstick, time of possession and rushing yards have never meant less, yet other teams defenses are still better at forcing turnovers than the Steelers. Besides, the offense was top 5 in TOP in 2011 and 2012 and the defense still couldn't get turnovers. For a team that spends most of it's money on defense, you need to stop trying to blame the offense for all of the defense's short-comings. And no, by no means am I saying this offense is great (far from it), but to blame the defense's lack of turnovers on the offenses is just beyond foolish.

The reason the defense doesn't force turnovers is because they play scared in the secondary. There's always huge cushioning space between the Steelers DBs and the other teams WRs. Playing safe or "tackling the catch" gets you nowhere in today's NFL.

I bet that's a reason why Steeler fans loved the idea of "dink-and-dunk." They saw other teams do it to the Steelers so often, so they figure if the Steelers do it they'll be just as successful. Wrong. Other teams defenses, while maybe not as great statistically, are much more aggressive than the Steelers' defense. They press against the Steelers' WRs and don't give them the space to dink-and-dunk. Since the Steelers let go of their last deep threat, and won't let the potential new one (Wheaton) play because he's a rookie, dink-and-dunk has no chance to work for the Steelers.

I think he was just saying when an offense is under pressure to score and takes more chances to do so, there become more errors which lead to turnovers. But no one has to take chances against us if we can't either get a big lead or put the fear of God in teams that we can score at will so they feel pressured to score. Our lack of success on offense leads to more conservative play against us. And the opportunity for mistakes goes down with it.

Sure the D has responsibility to make things happen. But it seems more opportunities comes for better offenses. It's a whole cycle that works together and makes the better teams better and the worse teams worse.

[flippy]

The idea that the Steelers secondary always plays with a cushion is a myth. For example, there was no cushion on Thomas in the Denver playoff game against Tebow.

The Steelers have been more aggressive in coverage since Lewis and Allen both showed that they were up to the task.

I think a lot of the lack of turnovers is due to the lack of pressure. The Steelers didn't force a turnover last week, but they got close on a couple.

With Shark playing in the nickle, I'd expect seeing a lot of bumping of WRs at the LOS tonight.

[NorthCoast]

Saying "defenses can't force turnovers because the offense didn't run the ball" is outdated thinking. Look around the NFL Slapstick, time of possession and rushing yards have never meant less, yet other teams defenses are still better at forcing turnovers than the Steelers. Besides, the offense was top 5 in TOP in 2011 and 2012 and the defense still couldn't get turnovers. For a team that spends most of it's money on defense, you need to stop trying to blame the offense for all of the defense's short-comings. And no, by no means am I saying this offense is great (far from it), but to blame the defense's lack of turnovers on the offenses is just beyond foolish.

The reason the defense doesn't force turnovers is because they play scared in the secondary. There's always huge cushioning space between the Steelers DBs and the other teams WRs. Playing safe or "tackling the catch" gets you nowhere in today's NFL.

I bet that's a reason why Steeler fans loved the idea of "dink-and-dunk." They saw other teams do it to the Steelers so often, so they figure if the Steelers do it they'll be just as successful. Wrong. Other teams defenses, while maybe not as great statistically, are much more aggressive than the Steelers' defense. They press against the Steelers' WRs and don't give them the space to dink-and-dunk. Since the Steelers let go of their last deep threat, and won't let the potential new one (Wheaton) play because he's a rookie, dink-and-dunk has no chance to work for the Steelers.

umm... what more do you want from a defense besides being top 5 in the NFL in scoring defense for the last 3 yrs. Seems that is the definition of a defense. Meantime, the offense continues to gift opponents with turnovers. Oh wait, you're one of those guys that thinks the defense needs to score to make up for the shabby Offensive...

[BlitzTo7]

umm... what more do you want from a defense besides being top 5 in the NFL in scoring defense for the last 3 yrs. Seems that is the definition of a defense. Meantime, the offense continues to gift opponents with turnovers. Oh wait, you're one of those guys that thinks the defense needs to score to make up for the shabby Offensive...

Again, more outdated thinking. Defense in today's NFL is no longer about yards allowed, it's about turnovers and splash plays. It's about setting up the offense with shorter fields so more points can be scored. Yards allowed is a stat, nothing more. Turnovers change field position and lead to more points for. You can complain endless and write Roger Goodell nasty letters, but that's how it is today.

And do keep in mind the Steelers spend more money on defense than offense. So following that logic, shouldn't the defense be asked to do more?

[Djfan]

I was shocked, after all the hubbub this offseason about the leading with the helmet rule, that Brandon Meriweather was not flagged when he knocked Eddie Lacy out of the game with a concussion because of an earhole shot from the crown of his helmet. Karma struck quickly, though, because when Meriweather tried to knock out another Packer RB, James Starks, with a helmet-to-helmet shot, this time, his knocked himself the #&@% out!

It was announced today that he gets suspended.

Still, the NFL is no longer the sport I fell in love with. Honestly, tonight's game is the first one I have watched this year including preseason. It's just lame.

Glad hockey is back. And this hunting season is working out so well.

[Discipline of Steel]

Pussification has reached disgusting proportions. [URL]http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/23578415/nfl-week-1-had-more-td-passes-than-any-week-ever-in-league-history[/URL] Week 1...NFL quarterbacks combined to throw 63 touchdown passes in Week 1, the most touchdowns thrown in any week ever in NFL history, according to the [URL="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/elias?date=20130910"]Elias Sports Bureau[/URL]. The previous record was 58 and that had happened twice before: in Week 13 of 2004 and Week 17 of 2007. Week 1 also set the record for most total passing yards in a week in NFL history as the league's quarterbacks combined to throw for 8,143 yards. That broke the record of 7,946 yards set in Week 2 of 2011... during the 1970's there were only five 400-yard passing games in the entire decade. There were three in Week 1.