Pro Football Focus disagrees with you ****ers, says its not the LB'ers, agrees its DL

[BigRob]

[url]https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/09/25/refo-steelers-raiders-week-3/[/url]

Disagrees with you ****ers its the LB. They tell a different tale about them. Even Carter.

Linebackers Strong Against the Run

They may have been without James Harrison but the Steelers still got some very impressive play from their linebackers. None of the four graded negatively for the game, and three of them scored very well against the run. Lamarr Woodley (+1.8), Larry Foote (+2.3) and Lawrence Timmons (+3.3) all showed very well in the run game, and constantly knifed between blockers to make stops in and around the line of scrimmage. The four linebackers combined for 12 defensive stops and just a single missed tackle.


Agrees with you ****ers its the DL:


D-Line Needs Reinforcements


I routinely wonder what some Steelers fans see in Ziggy Hood (-2.4), to the point that I’m actually checking plays more times than I normally would just to make sure I’m not missing some extremely subtle and under-the-radar level of dominance from him. It’s just not there. I was actually shocked in this outing when he made a good play in the run game–and even then he was beaten to the tackle by Timmons. Despite 36 snaps rushing the passer he failed to generate any pressure whatsoever.


I understand that might not be his specialty in this defense (though given his college background it probably should be), but if he’s out there for 36 snaps against the pass he needs to be able to make himself a factor. Otherwise he is just dead weight, because he rarely commands more than one blocker. In the end it was another poor performance from Hood and, as Casey Hampton (-1.3) isn’t getting any younger, Pittsburgh need to find some linemen going forward.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Not just Hood and Hampton, but Kiesel hasn't impressed this season, either...Maybe he oughta shave.

I'd like to see more of Heyward, McLendon, and even Ta'amu...don't think they could do much worse.

[eniparadoxgma]

****ers

If the above means what I think it means is there a reason for it?

[SteelCrazy]

McClendon is backing his man up when he gets to play.need to sit Big Snack more. I think McClendon would command a double team if he had more playing time. I also said during chat that I missed Aaron Smith and wish he didnt retire. He is missed even tho he didnt play a lot his last few years. We need that double team so the LB's can get free.

[BigRob]

If the above means what I think it means is there a reason for it?

Just yinzers why?

[eniparadoxgma]

Oh. Carry on then.

[Dee Dub]

I dont get this. When we are expecting plays to be made (splash plays), by the 3-4 zone blitz defensive lineman we are not really understanding what the D-line's primary function is. I watched Casey Hampton constantly take on two blocks Sunday versus the Raiders. But I also saw two inside LB's out of position, over-pursuing, and just flat out driven back at the point of attack consistently. But hey...keep expecting more from the 3 up front and I'd guess you'd keep being disappointed.

[BigRob]

I dont get this. When we are expecting plays to be made (splash plays), by the 3-4 zone blitz defensive lineman we are not really understanding what the D-line's primary function is. I watched Casey Hampton constantly take on two blocks Sunday versus the Raiders. But I also saw two inside LB's out of position, over-pursuing, and just flat out driven back at the point of attack consistently. But hey...keep expecting more from the 3 up front and I'd guess you'd keep being disappointed.

So you disagree with PFF? I would say they are usually pretty spot on with their grading and are well respected. They have been universal in their disdain for Ziggy Hood as a 3-4 End and grade him consistently low.

[hawaiiansteel]

the DL has been playing poorly, but it's hard to make a case that the LBers haven't been playing poorly also.

[steelz09]

[URL]https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/09/25/refo-steelers-raiders-week-3/[/URL]

Disagrees with you ****ers its the LB. They tell a different tale about them. Even Carter.

Linebackers Strong Against the Run

They may have been without James Harrison but the Steelers still got some very impressive play from their linebackers. None of the four graded negatively for the game, and three of them scored very well against the run. Lamarr Woodley (+1.8), Larry Foote (+2.3) and Lawrence Timmons (+3.3) all showed very well in the run game, and constantly knifed between blockers to make stops in and around the line of scrimmage. The four linebackers combined for 12 defensive stops and just a single missed tackle.


Agrees with you ****ers its the DL:


D-Line Needs Reinforcements


I routinely wonder what some Steelers fans see in Ziggy Hood (-2.4), to the point that I’m actually checking plays more times than I normally would just to make sure I’m not missing some extremely subtle and under-the-radar level of dominance from him. It’s just not there. I was actually shocked in this outing when he made a good play in the run game–and even then he was beaten to the tackle by Timmons. Despite 36 snaps rushing the passer he failed to generate any pressure whatsoever.


I understand that might not be his specialty in this defense (though given his college background it probably should be), but if he’s out there for 36 snaps against the pass he needs to be able to make himself a factor. Otherwise he is just dead weight, because he rarely commands more than one blocker. In the end it was another poor performance from Hood and, as Casey Hampton (-1.3) isn’t getting any younger, Pittsburgh need to find some linemen going forward.

You can continue to have blinders on, live in a dream world, and let PFT tell you something kind of BS. I prefer to watch every single game and re-watch most games and believe my own eyes.

My own eyes tell me that Foote is a stop gap and that Timmons is being outplayed by the stop gap. My own eyes tell me that... not just from the Oakland game but from watching Timmons throughout his career.

[Dee Dub]

So you disagree with PFF? I would say they are usually pretty spot on with their grading and are well respected. They have been universal in their disdain for Ziggy Hood as a 3-4 End and grade him consistently low.

I believe what I said. The 3-4 zone blitz D-line isnt put into a position to make plays. What should we expect? As long as they are taking on their blocks and freeing up the LB's they are doing their jobs. And when LeBeau continues to drop his LB's into coverage you are asking 3 men to beat at least 5 men in pass rush. Odds are stacked against them in regards to making many splash plays. Do you know how many years it took Aaron Smith to become what he was at his best? More years than what Ziggy Hood has had.

[Slapstick]

You can continue to have blinders on, live in a dream world, and let PFT tell you something kind of BS. I prefer to watch every single game and re-watch most games and believe my own eyes.

My own eyes tell me that Foote is a stop gap and that Timmons is being outplayed by the stop gap. My own eyes tell me that... not just from the Oakland game but from watching Timmons throughout his career.

You can feel free to disagree with PFF (Pro Football Focus), but there is no need to insult their integrity by referring to them as PFT (Pro Football Talk)...

[papillon]

I believe what I said. The 3-4 zone blitz D-line isnt put into a position to make plays. What should we expect? As long as they are taking on their blocks and freeing up the LB's they are doing their jobs. And when LeBeau continues to drop his LB's into coverage you are asking 3 men to beat at least 5 men in pass rush. Odds are stacked against them in regards to making many splash plays. Do you know how many years it took Aaron Smith to become what he was at his best? More years than what Ziggy Hood has had.

Aaron Smith averaged 31 tackles and 12 assists over the first ten years of his career (I excluded the last three in which injuries kept him ion the bench more than on the field) and in year 2 he had 4 sacks, 28 tackles and 14 assists. He was productive the moment he was inserted as the starter. The reason everyone believes it took a long time is because it took a long time for the media (Pittsburgh's included) noticed that he was a great player. No one even knew he replaced Orpheus Roye in 2000, because the position isn't glamorous. Fans only started to realize the impact he had when he wasn't in games and opponents had some success running the football.

So, Aaron Smith was productive in his career long before Ziggy is going to be productive. At this point, if we stretch productivity to new limits and consider Hood productive right now it has taken him twice as long as Aaron Smith to be productive, which is about right, because Smith is/was twice the player that Hood is right now.

And, remember, I'm not sure we can call Hood productive right now, he may not be productive until next year.

Pappy

[steelz09]

You can feel free to disagree with PFF (Pro Football Focus), but there is no need to insult their integrity by referring to them as PFT (Pro Football Talk)...

damnit. I missed the details

[BigRob]

damnit. I missed the details

May be you shouldn't trust your lying eyes? Just saying

Here's the truth about the Steelers and the run versus the Raiders ala PFF and BTSC:

In fact, according to them, [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/16797/lawrence-timmons"]Lawrence Timmons[/URL], [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/16799/lamarr-woodley"]LaMarr Woodley[/URL], Chris Carter, and [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/1596/larry-foote"]Larry Foote[/URL] all played reasonably well, against the run in particular.


They tracked the quintuplets as having 12 stops and having missed only one tackle.



Outside of a [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/34385/darren-mcfadden"]Darren McFadden[/URL] 64-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, the [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/oakland-raiders"]Raiders[/URL] only rushed for 55 yards on 20 carries - incidentally, only one more yard than the [URL="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/pittsburgh-steelers"]Steelers[/URL] rushed for on the same amount of carries.
The big difference was McFadden's run, obviously, and while that can't be discounted in the grand scheme, the run defense was solid throughout the game.

The Mcfadden run was on the DL as much as the linebackers. Soo, maybe get some contacts?