Can we finally place some blame on Lebeau's D?

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers defense in need of change

By Jeff.Hartman on Sep 12 2014



The 2014 Pittsburgh Steelers defense looks like a mirror image of their 2013 selves, except this unit could be worse. The time has come to make some changes.

Soft coverage, surrendering big plays and can't defend against the run.

Sound familiar?

That was the theme of the 2013 season, and it looks to have carried over to 2014 with a new cast of characters. Gone are Ziggy Hood and Al Woods, enter Cam Thomas. Gone is Ryan Clark, enter Mike Mitchell. Gone is Larry Foote, enter Ryan Shazier. You get the picture.

The 2014 Pittsburgh Steelers season very well could be defined by the team's ability to change. Not scheme, but personnel.

I've seen enough of Cam Thomas to know that I've seen too much. If you're going to trot out a large human being to just get pushed around, you might as well put someone out there having a little bit of upside. That's where Stephon Tuitt comes in.

Tuitt might not be any more effective than Thomas, but he sure does have the ability to improve throughout his rookie campaign and better himself for the future.

Mike Mitchell very well could be a ghost on the field, because the only time he's seen is when taking bad angles or drawing penalties. Possibly a bigger issue is his counterpart in the secondary, Troy Polamalu, who hasn't been much better.

In my humble opinion, it's time for Shamarko Thomas. I'm not suggesting Thomas replace either safety as the full time starter, but the young man needs to see the field. He plays the run better than both safeties and has the speed that seems to be lacking in the back half of the defense.

Ryan Shazier hasn't been awful, but it's time to spell the rookie in games every now and then. Asking a rookie to step in and play every down isn't easy for anyone. The preseason showed that Sean Spence is more than capable of stepping up to stop the run and play this role on the team.

Change is necessary to success; It's a pretty simple concept.

The Steelers now have 10 days until they play another football game. Ten days for them to implement this change. Ten days for the coaching staff to put something together resembling a functional defensive unit. Ten days to at least put a band-aid on the gaping hole the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens left through the middle of this defense.

Ten days to put the first two performances behind them and start fresh with some new personnel eager and ready to go to make a difference on Sunday Night Football.

The time for change is now.

[URL]http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/nfl-week-2-thursday-night-game-steelers-ravens-preview-analysis-schedule/2014/9/12/6139861/steelers-defense-in-need-of-change[/URL]

[NJ-STEELER]

his version of the 3-4.

the key phrase right there.
more teams are playing a 3-4 then years ago, but its a more attacking style

if ur going to draft DL high (not like they did with smith, kimo, keisel etc) then let them use their ability (their strength, quickness, power) that got them drafted that high in the first place and penetrate the defense

he's asking them to take those skills, and hold up blockers so the LBs can flow to the ball
doesnt make any f**kin sense


what have we heard mitchell say about recent high picks on the DL. they have to forget everything they learned in their football career up til now to be taught this scheme

wwwwwwhhhhaaattttt ?????????

[hawaiiansteel]

Dick LeBeau, not Todd Haley, should be on hot seat

By John_Phillips on Sep 12 2014



The Steelers offense sputtered in a 26-6 loss Thursday at Baltimore, managing just two field goals. But it was the lackluster play of the defense that has JP worried, along with the future of its architect.

Pathetic.

That's the word that comes to mind when I begin to assess the Steelers effort in a 26-6 loss at Baltimore on Thursday. Is there any other way to describe what happened at M&T Bank Stadium?

At the outset of the game, it didn't look like it was going to be such a bad night. The offense began the game with a 12-play, 64-yard drive that consumed 8:04 and featured three third-down conversions (one aided by a Ravens penalty) of 9 and 14 yards.

Sadly, the promising opening drive came to an end when Justin Brown fumbled away a chance at the Ravens' 15 to take an early lead on the road against the Steelers' biggest rival.

It was all pretty much downhill from there and much of that had to do with the lackluster play of the defense.

For starters, the defensive line provided no push, or any pressure for that matter. As for the linebackers, they ran around for much of the game with little purpose or direction, seemingly racing around in unorganized fashion.

As for the secondary...

See the very top of the article for my thoughts on their night.

Yet as I took to social media during the fray between these two bitter rivals, much of the dissatisfaction from fans seemed to center around the play calling of Steelers OC Todd Haley and how the O was sputtering along, much like it did in the second half last week vs. the Browns.

The offense isn't the problem here.

Ben Roethlisberger was off last night for sure, but he'll rebound. Antonio Brown, despite leaving the game in the first quarter due to a concussion scare, continues to make plays and is the team's biggest threat.

Le'Veon Bell is a star in the making, rushing for 59 yards, including a highlight-reel, 21-yard jaunt where he leaped over a would-be defender with ease. He followed that up on the very next play with a screen pass that covered 19 yards and led to the team's lone, first-half field goal.

Yet all I heard was that Haley needs to go, Haley's offense is stagnant and Haley can't call plays. It's time for the calls for Haley's firing to end and the era of Dick LeBeau to wind down.

LeBeau has spent his entire life in football. His list of accomplishments is long, both as a player and as an innovative defensive coordinator. But all good things must come to an end.

LeBeau's defense allowed Ravens QB Joe Flacco to go 11-for-13 vs. the Steelers D when they rushed five or more against the lanky QB. The Ravens gashed LeBeau's D for 157 rushing yards, averaging 4 yards per carry. Last week, the Browns averaged 5 yards per attempt with two rookies at running back.

The secondary also was bad, collecting four personal-foul calls during the course of the game, allowing several Ravens' drives to continue and produce points. On top of all that, they went a second straight game without forcing a turnover and didn't record even one sack on Flacco the entire night.

It's unacceptable and someone has to pay the price. The past 34 games have been a major indicator that LeBeau's defense isn't confusing NFL offenses anymore. Aside from wholesale changes with players, what else can be done to make significant upgrades that are needed?

LeBeau has spent 56 years as an active member of the NFL. It's time for this season to be his last.

[URL]http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/pittsburgh-steelers-opinions-reactions-news-updates/2014/9/12/6139407/dick-lebeau-not-todd-haley-should-be-on-hot-seat[/URL]

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers defense shredded on short passing through two games

By Neal Coolong on Sep 12 2014



What used to be big plays has turned into a more methodical, conservative, yet highly-effective approach opposing offenses are using against Pittsburgh's defense. The lack of turnovers forced is showing teams they can throw short, maintain possession and lean on them to victory.

The Steelers' defense was savaged on big plays throughout the 2013 season. This year was supposed to be a rebound from that and, by and large, it has been. Or perhaps the needle of definition has simply shifted a bit.

The trend in the NFL is to something shorter, a more complete set of higher-percentage throws. The reality is, the Steelers defense couldn't keep up with the big-play production of their opponents last year. Now, they're being nickel-and-dimed to death.

According to NFL Savants, the Steelers have allowed 32-of-49 completions on what the site describes as "short" middle, left and right throws, gaining 223 yards (4.55 yards per attempt), comprising of an eye-popping 84.5 percent of the passes against them through two games.

At first glance, it wouldn't seem like those stats are really all that impressive. The 4.5 yards per attempt usually seems like a winning number for a defense, but when a team is completing such a high percentage of those passes (65.3 percent), it can, to a certain degree, serve as a second running game. For example, if a team were to rush 32 times and gain 223 yards, they're running extraordinarily well on the ground. Add in the remaining 17 hypothetical carries for 0 yards, and you can probably imagine the result might look a lot like the Steelers' first two games - stretches of dominance followed by long strings of possessions allowed.

Perhaps more than anything, these numbers bear out the importance of turnovers - as if this needs to be explained to a Steelers fan who has watched this team dutifully over the last three seasons. Teams aren't even bothering to challenge the Steelers deep anymore. Only nine of 58 throws have been of the deep variety, with the one big play coming from Cleveland's Jordan Cameron in Week 1. Instead, what we're seeing is the same kind of methodical, execution-based approach used by successful rushing teams a generation ago.

What used to be death by the sword is turning into death by the pin. The Steelers' defense needs to figure out both how to force turnovers and how to prevent short passing from dominating time of possession - Baltimore held a 35-25 time-of-possession advantage while only outgaining the Steelers 323-301. Three turnovers will do that but, more importantly, no turnovers by Baltimore plus a steady diet of short completions drives it home.

[URL]http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/nfl-pittsburgh-steelers-news/2014/9/12/6139463/steelers-defense-shredded-on-short-passing-through-two-games[/URL]

[Slapstick]

Yeah, John Phillips, Haley should be feeling the heat as well...

[pittpete]

Impossible, LeBeau is a HOF coach.
It can't be his fault.
Remember years ago when he had #1 defenses..
LeBeau will fix this i'm certain.
He's been working on this special new defense for 3 years now and plans to unleash it soon.
He just needs the right players

[Steelhere10]

All the high draft picks go to the D
All the free agent money is tied up on the D
All the players retained is on the D
If people can't see that it's the DC by now your their just blind. Just like the Rooney's, Tomlin and Colbert.

[Oviedo]

Yeah it can't be LeBeau...must be a "vendetta"...lol. The D sucks...but it's not LeBeaus fault...ok.

I'll accept responsibility for turning this message board against LeBeau since we know it isn't his fault. My constant criticism and "beating the dead horse" has achieved my goal of mystically turning the Steeler Nation against LeBeau. Just because of everything I have said and predicted continues to occur it still can't be LeBeau being in love with a system that doesn't work anymore.

I'll fess up, the defensive woes are my fault and my bad vibes have altered the cosmos against poor Coach LeBeau. Everyone should hate me. Or those with open minds could reflect back and see that the major cracks that were opening in our supposed Steel Curtain were obvious to anyone who wanted to see them and could get beyond blind faith and idol worship. I've always said that talent replacement, development of players and lack of flexibility and innovation would doom the "LeBeau Way" and it's happening.

[Slapstick]

All the high draft picks go to the D
All the free agent money is tied up on the D
All the players retained is on the D
If people can't see that it's the DC by now your their just blind. Just like the Rooney's, Tomlin and Colbert.

All the high draft picks? Pouncey? DeCastro? Gilbert? Adams? LeVeon Bell?

All the free agent money? Pouncey and Gilbert (again?). Antonio Brown? Lance Moore? Blount? Roethlisberger?

All the players retained? Miller? Roethlisberger (again)? Pouncey and Gilbert (a third time)? Antonio Brown (again)? Foster?

You might be exaggerating...

[Slapstick]

I'll accept responsibility for turning this message board against LeBeau since we know it isn't his fault. My constant criticism and "beating the dead horse" has achieved my goal of mystically turning the Steeler Nation against LeBeau. Just because of everything I have said and predicted continues to occur it still can't be LeBeau being in love with a system that doesn't work anymore.

I'll fess up, the defensive woes are my fault and my bad vibes have altered the cosmos against poor Coach LeBeau. Everyone should hate me. Or those with open minds could reflect back and see that the major cracks that were opening in our supposed Steel Curtain were obvious to anyone who wanted to see them and could get beyond blind faith and idol worship. I've always said that talent replacement, development of players and lack of flexibility and innovation would doom the "LeBeau Way" and it's happening.

Yeah, talent replacement will doom any way...

Remember when Steve Spagnuolo was the hot name in defense? How is he regarded now?

It's easy to look like a genius when you have Michael Strahan and Osi Umeniora...

[hawaiiansteel]

I'll accept responsibility for turning this message board against LeBeau since we know it isn't his fault. My constant criticism and "beating the dead horse" has achieved my goal of mystically turning the Steeler Nation against LeBeau. Just because of everything I have said and predicted continues to occur it still can't be LeBeau being in love with a system that doesn't work anymore.

I'll fess up, the defensive woes are my fault and my bad vibes have altered the cosmos against poor Coach LeBeau. Everyone should hate me.

I suspected it was you all along...

[BradshawsHairdresser]

I'll accept responsibility for turning this message board against LeBeau since we know it isn't his fault. My constant criticism and "beating the dead horse" has achieved my goal of mystically turning the Steeler Nation against LeBeau. Just because of everything I have said and predicted continues to occur it still can't be LeBeau being in love with a system that doesn't work anymore.

I'll fess up, the defensive woes are my fault and my bad vibes have altered the cosmos against poor Coach LeBeau. Everyone should hate me. Or those with open minds could reflect back and see that the major cracks that were opening in our supposed Steel Curtain were obvious to anyone who wanted to see them and could get beyond blind faith and idol worship. I've always said that talent replacement, development of players and lack of flexibility and innovation would doom the "LeBeau Way" and it's happening.

If you'd just quit setting your expectations so darn high, you'd be a lot happier and the Steelers would probably play better...

[sick beats]

Talk about a joke of a defense. They have given up 50 points in the last 6 quarters and teams are running to the 2nd level untouched...

No more excuses... this is not Steeler football and no one is scared of our D.

I also really, really think we need a legit NT if we are going to stay in this 3-4. We used to force teams to protect their QB but now we are cool with letting them put us in nickel and running the ball down our throats.

I think it's time for DL to retire. The game has passed him by.

I've been saying this ever since last season. I see some of you long timers are agreeing with me now.

[Slapstick]

If you'd just quit setting your expectations so darn high, you'd be a lot happier and the Steelers would probably play better...

Yeah! Imagine what life would be like if you were actually realistic!

[BlitzTo7]

Yeah! Imagine what life would be like if you were actually realistic!

Imagine what life would be like if Slapstick actually wasn't afraid to blame something other than Ben for the Steelers woes!