Dick LeBeau Will Have the Best Defense in the NFL...Again

[Crash]

I would say the same for the offense. For years we've gotten conservative in the fourth quarter. Then when we NEED a play we haven't made it. I can think of a few examples, but the one that stands out in my mind the most is when we lost to the Bengals a year or two ago. The D was struggling, but we were winning. Then there's a pick 6.

The pick 6 was in the first half. They had a 20-9 lead in the 4th quarter when they decided to do what people want and try to run the ball. We all saw how that turned out because LeBeau had his defense (that gave up 3 points all day before the 4th quarter) play back.

[birtikidis]

was that the game with the kick return for a td in the 4th?

[Crash]

was that the game with the kick return for a td in the 4th?

No. They had a big lead in Cincy.

[Crash]

In fact the first 3 points they gave up in Cincy that year LeBeau had his defense play prevent on that series also.

That happens a lot too. In the last 5 minutes of the 1st half? If we're on defense? We are in prevent.

[Discipline of Steel]

Um, no. He won't be.

Well...my opinion carries just as much weight as yours. In fact, mine might carry a bit more since Ive been a Steeler fan since the early 70s and you are, what, 17 ?

[Crash]

Well...my opinion carries just as much weight as yours. In fact, mine might carry a bit more since Ive been a Steeler fan since the early 70s and you are, what, 17 ?

Assistant coaches will not be inducted into the HOF.

Reality please.

[hawaiiansteel]

Dick LeBeau - 5/30 Video from Steelers.com:

[URL]http://www.steelers.com/video-and-audio/videos/Dick-LeBeau---5-30/96475711-827c-484d-9347-5d42ee075f5a[/URL]

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers News Bulletin: LeBeau vs. Belichick

by Neal Coolong on Jun 4, 2012



Random thoughts often go through my head during the day. One landed today to the point I wanted to scrawl it out and see how it took.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is well known for his ability to put his system first, demand his players follow it to a T and in that, utilize those players to the best of their abilities.

He is dynamic with his defense (serving as the defensive coordinator), presenting multiple looks through several successful seasons.

Dick LeBeau contrasts with that philosophy in a few ways. LeBeau is static in his base approach. There are wrinkles, obviously, but Pittsburgh’s base defense has been a 3-4 for going on two decades now. LeBeau does just fine getting the most out of his players (Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison wasn’t drafted, Joey Porter was a third round pick, Ike Taylor barely even played cornerback when he was selected in the fourth round), but his approach is much more consistent – conservative even.

Yet, both coaches have multiple Super Bowls, and will go down as two of the better defensive minds of their era.

Thinking about it from a bigger picture perspective, it seems Belichick’s philosophy really leans on his confidence in his coaching ability, eye for talent and trusting of his position coaches to execute an ever-changing defensive strategy.

LeBeau’s suggests he trust his players – longtime veterans like Casey Hampton, Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark – understand the defense he’s coached, and will always be able to adjust when necessary.

Not that either of them are incapable of doing what the other does, they just choose their own way. Lots of different ways to get from Washington, D.C. to Manhattan.

Maybe that philosophy hindered Belichick’s defense last year. They ranked at or near the bottom in yards allowed, and not particularly impressive in points allowed, either. His borderline amazing ability to maintain a quality secondary filled with younger, lower-level prospects hit a bit of a snag last season, and while scoring big on linebackers like Jared Mayo (first round pick) and Rob Ninkovich (very underrated free agent signing), his team’s pass rush was weak at best. And yet, they still made the Super Bowl.

How often will Belichick’s defense, statistically, be as poor as they were in 2011? They put up great performances in two playoff wins (Ninkovich did what the Steelers could not, contain QB Tim Tebow), and it’s tough to label their Super Bowl loss to New York as a defensive breakdown.

While the Steelers’ one-and-out playoff performance wasn’t a shimmering example of LeBeau’s excellence, they led the NFL in scoring defense for the second straight year, and that was with several veterans in the front seven missing extensive time (every week, a starter was missing and each front seven starter missed at least one game, except ILB Lawrence Timmons - but he was moved out of position due to those injuries several times). They led the league in scoring and pass yards allowed, but they were among the bottom half of the league in sacks, and had, I believe, the lowest takeaway total ever for a playoff team. It’s hard to say this defense will be much, if any, less than what it was last year.

Doesn’t it seem as if these two teams – both with reason to believe their offenses will score a fair amount of points this year – are on a collision course? Is this finally the year for two of the game’s best over the last 11 seasons to square off one more time in the playoffs? The Harrisons and the Bradys and the Polamalus and the Wilforks, and the other last-standing members of dynasty-level teams, doing battle to settle it all? Maybe I’ve just wiped the dust off some bad 2001 memories courtesy of Mr. DeFeo’s column on Kordell Stewart, but I think the Patriots and Steelers will square off twice this year.

And the second one will be epic.

[URL]http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2012/6/4/3063243/Pittsburgh-steelers-new-england-patriots-dick-lebeau-bill-belichick#storyjump[/URL]

[hawaiiansteel]

LeBeau: Steelers defense will be fine

June 8, 2012 12:00 am
By Ed Bouchette / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Three months from tomorrow, the Steelers will open the 2012 season where they ended their 2011 season five months ago today.

Denver! Slowly they turned, step by step, inch by inch. They do not wish to replay that old Niagara Falls trick of theirs in Denver when they open this season Sept. 9.

It hit particularly hard a defense that finished the regular season as the best in the NFL in several important categories, but one that was shredded by Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. If he could do it, what might Peyton Manning do to them this time?

"I sure hope we do a little bit better out there than we did the last time, and we will," coordinator Dick LeBeau promised. "I think we're playing a pretty good quarterback, though."

LeBeau was quick to note that 2011 team ranked No. 1 in scoring defense, total defense and pass defense. Yet, he said he still has no answer for the 316 passing yards Tebow struck them for on 10 completions, including the only play from scrimmage in overtime, his 80-yard touchdown strike to DeMaryius Thomas.

"If I had an answer for that, it wouldn't have happened. But I can tell you this, in the National Football League, a game like that can happen every Sunday, and does happen somewhere around the league. And I don't care what your stats are,

"I don't care who you have out there, the other people have skilled people, too. It only takes a couple plays as we saw, and it's a lot of yards and a lot of points and you end up losing."

LeBeau's defense also took some hits after the season when the Steelers cut linebacker James Farrior, defensive end Aaron Smith, cornerback Bryant McFadden -- all 2011 opening-day starters -- longtime backup nose tackle Chris Hoke retired, and cornerback Willliam Gay signed with Arizona.

Yet there isn't much competition for starting jobs.

Ziggy Hood replaced Smith at left end and stayed there last season, although he will be pushed by Cameron Heyward. Larry Foote takes over at the buck linebacker spot for Farrior, yet he has another big talent behind him as was the case when Lawrence Timmons pushed Foote all the way to sign with Detroit in 2010. LeBeau raved about rookie Sean Spence, a third-round draft choice from Miami.

"I don't have any concerns about Larry playing the buck, but we're going to have to replace numbers there. Somebody is going to have to step up in there. We have some guys who are experienced and some who are not. But I do like our draft choice. He's done everything any first-year player could do in coaching sessions without pads. I think we're in the right direction there."

The most intense competition comes at left cornerback, where Keenan Lewis and two draft picks from 2011, Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown are competing to replace Gay, who replaced McFadden after the first game last season.

"I definitely feel good about Cortez and Curtis," LeBeau said.

What he did not feel good about last season -- aside from the stunning loss in Denver -- was the number of turnovers his team produced. It managed only 15, including just four fumble recoveries, their fewest since they could find records starting in '66.

"That's something we have to get better at,'' LeBeau said. "Just preach it and practice it. Turnovers are funny, one year you're up there, the next year you're not. But I see no reason why we were as low as we were last year. That's not good. We have to improve that number."

Remembering Max Starks

As he did once this time last year, Ben Roethlisberger wore Max Starks' No. 78 at practice. He said it was to honor him. Starks remains an unrestricted free agent as he rehabs from ACL surgery in January. It is possible the Steelers will re-sign him; they did that last year after the fourth game of the regular season.

[URL]http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/lebeau-steelers-defense-will-be-fine-639449/[/URL]

[Crash]

"I sure hope we do a little bit better out there than we did the last time, and we will, I think we're playing a pretty good quarterback, though."

Atta boy Dick, get that "Well we played a great QB" excuse out there early.

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers’ Troy Polamalu: Broncos offense was simple

by SI.com
June 8, 2012



Steelers’ Troy Polamalu said the Denver Broncos offense was simple. That offense beat the Steelers in the wild-card round of the playoffs last season. (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Guess six months isn’t enough time to get over a playoff loss. At least that’s the thinking of Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu.

Polamalu said the playoff loss to the Denver Broncos is puzzling because their offense was not hard to figure out.

“There were so many things about him that were like playing a veteran and so many things like playing a rookie,” Polamalu told Yahoo! Sports when speaking about of Tebow. “When things break down, (Tebow) is a little like (Steelers quarterback) Ben (Roethlisberger).

Whether he played like a rookie or veteran, Tebow threw for 316 yards and two touchdowns against the league’s #1 ranked defense in the Broncos 29-23 overtime victory in the wild-card round last season. He also ran for 50 yards and a score.

When asked about the Broncos offense, Polamalu said “it was an incredibly simple offense that you just don’t think can work in this league, but it worked for them with the kind of talent they had.”

[URL]http://tracking.si.com/2012/06/08/steelers-troy-polamalu-broncos-offense-was-simple/[/URL]