Bizarro Steelers

[Oviedo]

From ESPN. Botomline--offense leads the way.

[url]http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13266548/bizarro-steelers-need-win-offense-nfl[/url]

[Jooser]

Seems I dreamt of this....hmmm

[Djfan]

They had to prioritize offense. The new rules make a defensive dominant team less than what it was a decade ago.

[RuthlessBurgher]

The new rules make a defensive dominant team less than what it was a decade ago.

Is that why Seattle would be two time defending champs if their coach just made the easiest decision that even your grandmother would have made...handed the ball to Skittles on the goal line? And why the previous Super Bowl before that featured Baltimore vs. San Fran? Dominant defense is just as important as ever.

[Iron City Inc.]

Is that why Seattle would be two time defending champs if their coach just made the easiest decision that even your grandmother would have made...handed the ball to Skittles on the goal line? And why the previous Super Bowl before that featured Baltimore vs. San Fran? Dominant defense is just as important as ever.

I agree it's just that a dominant D in the 70's gave up 10 pts a game and today a dominant D gives up 20 points a game.

[Djfan]

Is that why Seattle would be two time defending champs if their coach just made the easiest decision that even your grandmother would have made...handed the ball to Skittles on the goal line? And why the previous Super Bowl before that featured Baltimore vs. San Fran? Dominant defense is just as important as ever.

Ruth,

Did I say that defense is irrelevant? No. Just less important.

[RuthlessBurgher]

The most important aspect is a franchise QB. The second most important is defense. Franchise QB + Defense wins championships. If you lack either of those two things, you are ultimately more pretender than true contender.

[NorthCoast]

it seems if you prevent your opponent from scoring more points than your team you will win a lot of games.

the way i look at it, there are two ways to accomplish that, but the more consistent way has favored strong D over strong O. Most good offenses rely on a great QB and at least one other great offensive weapon (these days it seems to favor a WR). Lose one of the two, and the offense completely changes. my opinion, a defense can handle more missing playmakers and still perform better than an offense missing key guys.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

So, the real question is ... do people think we have a SB-caliber defense this year?

(Offense - clearly so, IMO. Defense ... well, I'm asking your opinion because I'm not sure! I somehow think it comes down to Cortez Allen. And that is a scary thought ...).

[RuthlessBurgher]

I want Cortez to succeed as much as the next guy. We really could use a big, skilled corner to deal with some of the behemoth wideouts this league has to offer these days, and Cortez is our only CB over 6' right now. However, if it doesn't happen, then I don't think we are in dire straits with Will Gay as our #1, Antwan Blake as our #2, Senquez Golson as our #3, and Doran Grant as our #4, even if all of those guys are listed as either 5'9" or 5'10". Gay is solid and coming off his best season as a pro, I like Blake more than most (really like his feistiness and attitude back there), and the two rooks look promising.

I'm a little bit more worried about our safeties, since we are counting on Mike Mitchell and Shamarko Thomas to start (both huge question marks right now) with Will Allen the only bona fide depth behind them (and Will Allen is only a year younger than Troy Polamalu who we released because he got too old). Robert Golden and Ross Ventrone are pretty much only special team contributors at this point, and Gerod Holliman may never play in any actual NFL games if he doesn't get his tackling issues straightened out.

If Cortez does work out at corner, and we are able to start Tez and Gay with Blake and Golson contributing in nickel and dime situations, might they try Doran Grant out at safety with fellow Buckeye alum Will Allen as his tutor?