We've talked a bunch about whether our issues on D are more about scheme or execution.
I was listening to the Terrible Podcast and they had what I thought was interesting insight into this problem.
I think that part of the reason Butler wasn't fired was that he was brought in to get sacks and we've had the most sacks in the league since he was hired. But, we suck at generating turnovers.
On Steelers Depot, Alex K has an interesting article about how teams with sacks have historically gotten interceptions too.
https://steelersdepot.com/2019/02/ru...in-pittsburgh/
I won't quote the whole article, but I thought these two paragraphs were interesting (emphasis is mine).
Over the last two seasons, no team in football has recorded more sacks than the Steelers 108. That’s 16 more than second place. And yet, since 2017, they rank near the bottom of the league in takeaways. The disparity between them and the rest of the high-sack teams isn’t just jarring, it should be statistically impossible. Here are the top five teams in sacks and where they rank in turnovers.
...
"Since 2000, there have been 11 teams to record 100 total sacks over a two year span. Nine of them had at least 50 takeaways and no team had fewer than 43. The Steelers? Just 37. Unacceptable in every sense of the word."
Now why don't we get picks and fumbles? It must be some combination of scheme, execution, and lack of play making ability.
If it's scheme, hopefully moving Butler to more of a front 7 role and bringing in a new coach for the secondary helps. Maybe being an ex-LB coach helps Butler get sacks and pressures, but he doesn't understand good coverage schemes?
I tend to believe that it's more play making ability. Another thing I heard on the podcast today was that PFF had the Steelers with the most dropped ints in the league at 13 (about double the average of 7). To me that's on lack of talent / execution since the player seems to have been in the right place at the right time, but couldn't make the play.
https://twitter.com/PFF_Sam/status/1...ense-in-nfl%2F
I also think we should get more strip sacks, but I didn't see any data on the rate that happens vs. the Steelers strip sack rate.
Anyway, I thought this was some interesting information that I thought I'd share with everyone. I think it fits with what I already believed about the team, so I'd be interested in hearing some other opinions to challenge my confirmation bias.
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