This week LeBeau needs to be the Hall of Famer that he is!!

[Dee Dub]

No excuses. LeBeau needs to step it up. He has the players and he has the knowledge to out scheme the Pats. What has been used in the past does not work. He needs to change it up and show something different.

A different outcome will require a different approach.

I dont expect the Steelers to shut down the Pats offense but they can keep the score to a point that leads to a winnable outcome.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: This week LeBeau needs to be the Hall of Famer that he i

He needs to be a cornerback?

[pittpete]

Re: This week LeBeau needs to be the Hall of Famer that he i

He has the players and he has the knowledge to out scheme the Pats.

Who are Potsie,Foote & Clark going to cover?

[Steel Life]

Re: This week LeBeau needs to be the Hall of Famer that he i

Just being the realist but NE will coming off a bye & that means rest & extra time to film...I mean prepare for the Steelers. Get ready to see a steady diet of Welker, Gronkowski & Hernandez being chased by Farrior, Foote & Gay. I'm hoping Hoke is back rather than Hampton for this game as his penetration could make a difference than how they typicaly play us when Hampton is in there.

[Slapstick]

Re: This week LeBeau needs to be the Hall of Famer that he i

This might be the week to get Sylvester some more playing time...if Worilds is capable of playing, that should let Timmons play more coverage in the middle...if he can cover a TE and Polamalu can cover a TE, the Steelers could be OK...

[steelz09]

Re: This week LeBeau needs to be the Hall of Famer that he i

I completely agree... I would probably match Ike against Welker and stuff him at the line of scrimmage.

I would use Polamalu and Timmons on their TE's and stuff them at the line of scrimmage as well. Pure bump and run.

I would then attack Brady with Harrison (if he plays or whomever else), Farrior, and Woodley. I would switch it up reguarly and send different people at different angles. For example, I'd line Farrior on the outside and blitz Harrison right up the middle.

The most important piece is stuffing guys at the line of scrimmage. If we give them a nice cushion, Brady and Belicheck will pick us apart all game long... 5 yards at a time like they normally do.

[proudpittsburgher]

Re: This week LeBeau needs to be the Hall of Famer that he i

Not to pick nits, but the offense plays a bit of a part in the outcome. And not even in the "score more points than the other team" way, but when we lost to the Pats last time out, the offense did virtually nothing in the first half, putting Lebeau and the defense behind the eight ball. The last time we truly dominated a Brady-led Pats offense was Halloween quite a few years ago, and the offense opened up the play, gave us a lead, and lebeau could dictate his defense. Even then we didn't shut them down. The D did just enough to win. So it goes both ways. If Ben goes out there and just starts to chuck it 50 yards downfield every third play, he ain't doing Dick Lebeau any favors.

[Dee Dub]

Re: This week LeBeau needs to be the Hall of Famer that he i

Not to pick nits, but the offense plays a bit of a part in the outcome. And not even in the "score more points than the other team" way, but when we lost to the Pats last time out, the offense did virtually nothing in the first half, putting Lebeau and the defense behind the eight ball. The last time we truly dominated a Brady-led Pats offense was Halloween quite a few years ago, and the offense opened up the play, gave us a lead, and lebeau could dictate his defense. Even then we didn't shut them down. The D did just enough to win. So it goes both ways. If Ben goes out there and just starts to chuck it 50 yards downfield every third play, he ain't doing bad word Lebeau any favors.

Agreed and great point! I'm hoping the Steelers win the coin toss and Antonio Brown takes the opening kickoff back for a TD. 7-Zip right off the bat.

And LeBeau tends to be a little more aggressive when the Steelers have a lead.

[Oviedo]

Re: This week LeBeau needs to be the Hall of Famer that he i

Be realistic. After five times it is a trend. Lebeau doesnt have an answer for Brady. He is afraid of his passing which is why we drop our Lb into coverage which means Brady has all day. Don't expect anything different this time

[NorthCoast]

Re: This week LeBeau needs to be the Hall of Famer that he i

Be realistic. After five times it is a trend. Lebeau doesnt have an answer for Brady. He is afraid of his passing which is why we drop our Lb into coverage which means Brady has all day. Don't expect anything different this time

Well said Oviedo. I chuckle at those that think something is different for the D this time around. Can someone point to exactly what it is that gives you hope that the defense will be different for this game vs the past 8 against NE?

OK, Ike is playing a little more press coverage but he is the only one we DON'T usually need to worry about. Take a look again at the game yesterday, if Kolb wasn't such a horrid QB there were a few more plays to be made against us. Be assured that Brady won't be so kind....

[Dee Dub]

Re: This week LeBeau needs to be the Hall of Famer that he i

Be realistic. After five times it is a trend. Lebeau doesnt have an answer for Brady. He is afraid of his passing which is why we drop our Lb into coverage which means Brady has all day. Don't expect anything different this time

Well said Oviedo. I chuckle at those that think something is different for the D this time around. Can someone point to exactly what it is that gives you hope that the defense will be different for this game vs the past 8 against NE?

OK, Ike is playing a little more press coverage but he is the only one we DON'T usually need to worry about. Take a look again at the game yesterday, if Kolb wasn't such a horrid QB there were a few more plays to be made against us. Be assured that Brady won't be so kind....

Well you are talking to the wrong person here. I have always been under the thought that it hasnt been the players or lack of execution that has hurt the Steelers defense in the games versus the Patriots, Saints, and Packers. These are the hi-powered pass happy offenses that spread the Steelers out on defense. Go back and look at those games and you will see 6, 7, 8 men dropping in coverage for the majority of those games.

It doesnt work. They have to go after Brady just like they did in 2004. The personnel is there. Ike, Troy, LaMarr, and Timmons are some of the best defensive players in the game. It isnt a lack of not having the personnel to get it done. They just have to be put in the right position that maximizes their strength. What do you have to lose? What you've been doing doesnt work. Why not go to your strength?

[Slapstick]

Re: This week LeBeau needs to be the Hall of Famer that he i

I would seriously take a look at the tape of the Green Bay vs. New England game last year...

Brady did not tear up the Pack...the packers were done in by a 71 yard KO return by an offensive lineman and the fact that Flynn was their QB while Rodgers recovered from a concussion...

[Oviedo]

Re: This week LeBeau needs to be the Hall of Famer that he i

Be realistic. After five times it is a trend. Lebeau doesnt have an answer for Brady. He is afraid of his passing which is why we drop our Lb into coverage which means Brady has all day. Don't expect anything different this time

Well said Oviedo. I chuckle at those that think something is different for the D this time around. Can someone point to exactly what it is that gives you hope that the defense will be different for this game vs the past 8 against NE?

OK, Ike is playing a little more press coverage but he is the only one we DON'T usually need to worry about. Take a look again at the game yesterday, if Kolb wasn't such a horrid QB there were a few more plays to be made against us. Be assured that Brady won't be so kind....

Well you are talking to the wrong person here. I have always been under the thought that it hasnt been the players or lack of execution that has hurt the Steelers defense in the games versus the Patriots, Saints, and Packers. These are the hi-powered pass happy offenses that spread the Steelers out on defense. Go back and look at those games and you will see 6, 7, 8 men dropping in coverage for the majority of those games.

It doesnt work. They have to go after Brady just like they did in 2004. The personnel is there. Ike, Troy, LaMarr, and Timmons are some of the best defensive players in the game. It isnt a lack of not having the personnel to get it done. They just have to be put in the right position that maximizes their strength. What do you have to lose? What you've been doing doesnt work. Why not go to your strength?

You're right. The only way to beat Brady is to blitz the daylights out of him. For whatever reason LeBeau refuses to do that. He thinks by playing conservative dropping the LBs into coverage and preventing the big play Brady will make a critical mistake...doesn't happen.

[Starlifter]

Re: This week LeBeau needs to be the Hall of Famer that he i

does anyone NOT think the patsies are going to do everything in power to match up their TE's against farrior and foote? we'll probably do ok against the run and I think we can defend the deep ball - but I'm very concerned those 8-15 yard hits to gronkowski and co. are going to kill us.

I don't believe for one second our middle LB's have the ability to cover their backs/TE's one on one. Not sure how you scheme for that.

[ikestops85]

Re: This week LeBeau needs to be the Hall of Famer that he i

does anyone NOT think the patsies are going to do everything in power to match up their TE's against farrior and foote? we'll probably do ok against the run and I think we can defend the deep ball - but I'm very concerned those 8-15 yard hits to gronkowski and co. are going to kill us.

I don't believe for one second our middle LB's have the ability to cover their backs/TE's one on one. Not sure how you scheme for that.

I agree ... Timmons has got to move back to the middle. He really hasn't been a factor on the outside so let's put him back where he is strongest. That way hopefully he and Troy can stay on their TEs.