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Thread: Pittsburgh Steelers Change Defensive Philosophy

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Oviedo View Post
    Understand but in the league now 1st down is also a passing down so its just a matter of pick your poison. We will lose more games because of not being able to stop the opponents passing game than not being able to stop their running game.

    The meaningless honor of #1 defense may be lost because it is based on yards allowed but I'll trade that for 15-20 more sacks and 10 more INTs anyday.
    But what if that also comes with 15-20 more plays of 20+ yards given up and 10 more 40+ yard TD's allowed as well?
    Steeler teams featuring stat-driven, me-first, fantasy-football-darling diva types such as Antonio Brown & Le'Veon Bell won no championships.

    Super Bowl winning Steeler teams were built around a dynamic, in-your-face defense plus blue-collar, hard-hitting, no-nonsense football players on offense such as Hines Ward & Jerome Bettis.

    We don't want Juju & Conner to replace what we lost in Brown & Bell.

    We are counting on Juju & Conner to return us to the glory we once had with Hines & The Bus.

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Oviedo View Post
    Exactly! Why not use your DL like that all the time. Don't have to rush every play but should be involved much more.
    Because our defense has been better than any other.
    Concerns at OLBer may force change, but we did not do it routinely because NOBODY was better than us for so long.

    Note the quotes from Keisel:
    "We've kind of changed our techniques [from] years past until now," said Keisel, who led the Steelers by a wide margin with 41 pressures in 2012. "In years past, when we had James and LaMarr, it was mostly just push the pocket, try to collapse the pocket"

    Based on that quote, DL might have TOLD THEM this is why the D-Line needs to do more pass rushing.




    In view of the fact that Mike Tomlin has matched Cowhers record I give him the designation:

    TCFCLTC-
    The Coach Formerly Considered Less Than Cowher

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by RuthlessBurgher View Post
    But what if that also comes with 15-20 more plays of 20+ yards given up and 10 more 40+ yard TD's allowed as well?
    The formula of preventing big plays has worked well for a number of years. If the OLBs do their jobs and get pressure, the turnovers will return.

    The death of the running game is also greatly overstated. I'm certainly not willing to concede well in excess of 40% of the snaps. The Steelers defense has always been about results, not fantasy football stats for the defensive line.

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by RuthlessBurgher View Post
    But what if that also comes with 15-20 more plays of 20+ yards given up and 10 more 40+ yard TD's allowed as well?
    For the last two years the Steelers defense has been #1 in yards allowed, but otherwise very stale and non-intimidating. It couldn't get to the QB and it couldn't generate turnovers. The base philosophy of the defense was "tackle the catch" and hope the other team's offense made a mistake. That doesn't work. Defenses need to force the issue. Also keep in mind the Steelers were #2 in the NFL in time of possession, so the defense wasn't on the field as often, thus it didn't give up as many yards.

    If this defense can generate pressure on opposing QBs and force turnovers, then it doesn't need to be #1 in yards allowed.

  5. #15
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    One gap teams are able to consistently stop the rush year in and year out...

    As well as the Steelers? No...

    But, if LeBeau thinks that changing the upfront DEs from one gap to two fits these players better, I'm happy to go along with it...it is not a change that was made lightly, by any means...

  6. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Captain QB View Post
    For the last two years the Steelers defense has been #1 in yards allowed, but otherwise very stale and non-intimidating. It couldn't get to the QB and it couldn't generate turnovers. The base philosophy of the defense was "tackle the catch" and hope the other team's offense made a mistake. That doesn't work. Defenses need to force the issue. Also keep in mind the Steelers were #2 in the NFL in time of possession, so the defense wasn't on the field as often, thus it didn't give up as many yards.

    If this defense can generate pressure on opposing QBs and force turnovers, then it doesn't need to be #1 in yards allowed.
    I agree... I think TO's is the biggest stat being ignored while throwing around the #1 rankings.

  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Oviedo View Post
    The meaningless honor of #1 defense may be lost because it is based on yards allowed but I'll trade that for 15-20 more sacks and 10 more INTs anyday.
    When we have guys like Lewis leading the league in "passes defensed" yet has ZERO ints following the decade long example of no hands Ike....on the number one pass defense......it would seem the issue preventing picks has much more to do with the "hands" in the secondary than the pass rush.

    In ONE GAME (Cincy) Cortez had TWICE the ints of Lewis and Ike COMBINED (all he needed was 2).
    During just the three games he started, Cortez created 5 tunovers.

    Lewis had ONE FF/ Ike had ONE int....for the season.

    Cortez had 2 ints and 3 FF in THREE games.

    The only thing preventing turnovers is that our starting corners could cover but did not create turnovers.

    Lack of "pass rush" did not prevent Lewis from getting his hands on the ball as much as anybody could want. Yet ZERO picks.

    Cortez proved turnover can be created by our defense just fine if the players make plays.
    Last edited by Captain Lemming; 08-06-2013 at 01:22 PM.




    In view of the fact that Mike Tomlin has matched Cowhers record I give him the designation:

    TCFCLTC-
    The Coach Formerly Considered Less Than Cowher

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Captain QB View Post
    For the last two years the Steelers defense has been #1 in yards allowed, but otherwise very stale and non-intimidating. It couldn't get to the QB and it couldn't generate turnovers. The base philosophy of the defense was "tackle the catch" and hope the other team's offense made a mistake. That doesn't work. Defenses need to force the issue. Also keep in mind the Steelers were #2 in the NFL in time of possession, so the defense wasn't on the field as often, thus it didn't give up as many yards.

    If this defense can generate pressure on opposing QBs and force turnovers, then it doesn't need to be #1 in yards allowed.
    I'm not really sure what you are trying to say with this post. The "Tackle the Catch" philosophy has worked for a number of years now and it has nothing to do with the number of sacks or turnovers. Granted we haven't done well forcing turnovers or getting sacks the last couple of years but that is what this change is trying to fix. We will still "Tackle the Catch" ... we will still try and prevent big plays ... we will still try and make the other team make a mistake.

    Granted yards allowed is not the end all stat for the defense. It's just one benchmark. Since this is a game we keep score in the best stat for a defense is points allowed. We've done extremely well in that category for the last couple of years. Especially if you take out all the special team TDs and interceptions returned for TDs. This defense has been very good the last couple of years. Not great but very good. Of course we can get better and one of the ways is applying more pressure on the opposing QB. I'm sure this isn't news to DL and he has tried things the last couple of years that haven't worked. There is also nothing to say that what he is trying this year will work.

    We all just hope it does.
    As many on this site think ... The Rooney's suck, Colbert sucks, Tomlin sucks, the coaches suck, and the players suck.

    but Go Steelers!!!

  9. #19
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    Look at our opponents this year, and think about whether it would be prudent to sacrifice potential open lanes for running backs in favor getting more pressure in the passing game. Who scares you more, the RB or QB for each team?

    Tennessee. Chris Johnson over Jake Locker and it isn't close. Would much rather two-gap than one-gap here.

    Cincinnati. A.J. Green is a bona fide elite weapon and they have a couple of quality TE's too, but Dalton is more of a game manager type. Cincy can win games with a nasty defense and a solid running game (and they added the potentially electric Gio Bernard to complement the plodding Law Firm). Gimme the two-gap here as well.

    Chicago. Cutler to Marshall puts up numbers, but their offense revolves around the versatile Matt Forte (with Michael Bush complementing him). Two-gap.

    Minnesota. Adrian Peterson over Christian Ponder and it isn't close. Would much rather two-gap than one-gap here.

    New York. Chris Ivory isn't a world beater, but he's better than Mark Sanchez or Geno Smith with no one to throw to. Two-gap.

    Baltimore. Flacco flourished in the playoffs when his go-to guys were Boldin and Pitta. They are both gone now, and Torrey Smith is essentially a poor man's Mike Wallace. Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce are more dangerous. Two-gap.

    Oakland. Darren McFadden over Matt Flynn. Two-gap.

    New England. Brady is obviously always dangerous no matter what, but Welker and Hernandez are gone and who knows where Gronkowski will be in early November. They already run the ball more than people think (Ridley had over 1250 rushing yards and 12 rushing TD's last year), and they also plan to use Shane Vereen more creatively this year to make up for some of the talent lost. While Brady is your focus, obviously, you still have to respect the run.

    Buffalo. C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson over Kevin Kolb and E.J. Manuel. Two-gap.

    Detroit. The Lions throw the ball more than anyone (Stafford threw the ball 727 times last season, and has over 10,000 passing yards in the last 2 seasons). When you have Calvin Johnson at your disposal, who can blame you? But they did bring in Reggie Bush this offseason, giving them a threat in backfield for the first time since Jahvid Best's concussions got the better of him. While the passing game is your focus, obviously, you still have to respect the run.

    Cleveland. Trent Richardson over Brandon Weeden and it isn't close. Would much rather two-gap than one-gap here.

    Miami. Lamar Miller is somewhat of an unknown in the Miami backfield, but Ryan Tannehill hasn't exactly established himself fully in the league either. Teams with developing QB's often run to set up the pass, though, so two-gap makes sense here.

    Green Bay. Aaron Rodgers is obviously the man, but the Pack added Eddie Lacy and Jonathan Franklin in the draft, so the offense shouldn't be as one-sided as it has been in the recent past. While Rodgers is your focus, obviously, you still have to respect the run.


    So, to recap, it seems to me like will be facing more potentially dominant RB's than we will truly elite passers this year (and I think that it is still important to respect the run, even when facing the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady).
    Last edited by RuthlessBurgher; 08-06-2013 at 01:42 PM.
    Steeler teams featuring stat-driven, me-first, fantasy-football-darling diva types such as Antonio Brown & Le'Veon Bell won no championships.

    Super Bowl winning Steeler teams were built around a dynamic, in-your-face defense plus blue-collar, hard-hitting, no-nonsense football players on offense such as Hines Ward & Jerome Bettis.

    We don't want Juju & Conner to replace what we lost in Brown & Bell.

    We are counting on Juju & Conner to return us to the glory we once had with Hines & The Bus.

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Captain QB View Post
    Also keep in mind the Steelers were #2 in the NFL in time of possession, so the defense wasn't on the field as often, thus it didn't give up as many yards.
    Both offense and defense contribute to the TOP edge.
    True long sustained offense impact that number. However, every time the other team goes 3 and out or stalls on the second drive, the opponent's TOP numbers go down too.




    In view of the fact that Mike Tomlin has matched Cowhers record I give him the designation:

    TCFCLTC-
    The Coach Formerly Considered Less Than Cowher

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