Scathing FO article on Steelers vs. Tampa

[fezziwig]

If a dominant nose tackle is no longer important, what is the a Steelers problem with the defense ? Outside opposing quarterbacks barley get touched, our corners can't cover and our secondary get few interceptions ?

[K Train]

If a dominant nose tackle is no longer important, what is the a Steelers problem with the defense ? Outside opposing quarterbacks barley get touched, our corners can't cover and our secondary get few interceptions ?

Tackling has been a problem, bigger problem than i ever remember. Steve Mcclendon should not have to tackle justin forsett 9 yards down field.

Cortez Allen is lost in zone coverage, much worse than Keenan Lewis ever was.

Jason Worilds gets easily blocked and is a very low effort player

Keisel gets pummeled in the run game, decent pressure against the pass

Heyward was a no show until carolina, and then he was very good, and was very good again against the bucs.

Mcclendon is rock solid as a pass rusher and in pursuit of the ball carrier, he has been getting good pentration on zone stretch runs.

Mitchell has reall struggled...im really hating the secondary right now...he needs to play as a single high safety rolling to gay/blake and cotez needs to man up on his guy. Troy has been ok in short/intermiate zones and in stacking the box as always but mitchell has struggled there with just going for the kill shot which has led to broken plays and penalties. He has tremendous closing speed, make him use it in deep single coverage.

Id like to see shamarko out there, but Shamarko, Mitchell, and Polamalu out there might be a little too much torpedoeing around.

Moats was solid, Harrison played ok...nothing special, but he still gets held like its 2008, spence was pretty good...hope to see him stay in the rotation, hes a better tackler than shazier....Shazier needs to get reps though and find a way to make an impact.

And then theres cam thomas....biggest piece of **** ive seen wear a steelers uniform since ricardo coclough

[fezziwig]

Thanks K Train

[NorthCoast]

There have been concerning signs regarding the defense for some time. While everyone wants to point to scheme, certainly some blame needs to be levelled at the talent on the field, the 'newness' of the players on the field, changes in rules that heavily favour passing offense,and the NFL's tactic for removing 'violent' play (which has really put the brakes on this team IMO).

This is not me absolving LeBeau of critisism. He should make adjustments to the scheme to suit the players at hand, accomodate the rules as they change & also freshen things up to not let teams get to used to the scheme itself.

LeBeau is guilty of resisting too much change of his style.

That said, his Defense's have gotten worse once players of the quality of Aaron Smith & Casey Hampton moved on.

It's not easy replacing guys of that calibre. And I'm not convinced they have the mix right yet.

It's probably time for LeBeau to move on. Or at least sideways. The Steelers are guilty of perhaps not making that call earlier.

I still don't think LeBeau's scheme is bad, I just don't think the players are right for him "RIGHT NOW". They might be, in time, but right now they are not playing the scheme at top level.

Personally I think the Defense is rather promising. I just think it's wildly inconsistant.

Keisel & Harrison are part-timers right now. Ike is out. Polamalu & Timmons are THE ONLY PLAYERS starting that held starting positions going into Training Camp 2013.

It's a team in transition.

A voice of reason.

Here are some facts:

2010 W-L 12-4: Avg experience of starting Defensive roster = 7.9 yrs
2011 W-L 12-4: Avg experience of starting Defensive roster = 6.7 yrs

Last week: Avg experience of starting Defensive roster = 4.6 yrs

Notice any trend???? Those complaining about young guys not starting are getting their wish, and the result is inconsistent play and mistakes on just about every play. Welcome to your defense.

[steelz09]

I don't buy the fact that Colbert is the problem.

After all these years, he still knows how to draft offensive players but completely forgot how to draft defensive players?? That strange. I'm not buying it.

[skyhawk]

I've been saying for 10 years the Steelers have had the worst 2 minute Defense in the league.

That being said, the article is a little harsh on DLB. The Steelers D of 2008 is one of the top THREE of all time statistically.

[Steelhere10]

I don't buy the fact that Colbert is the problem.

After all these years, he still knows how to draft offensive players but completely forgot how to draft defensive players?? That strange. I'm not buying it.

I agree, Mitchell and Dickeys are the problems . Old coaches stuck in their old ways.

[BURGH86STEEL]

wow. that article really digs into the numbers that give credence to the impression many of us have had over the years. playing down to the opponents and not being able to hold the lead.

People need to stop believing this. The Steelers were never more superior than the opposition by a wide margin. Same can be said for 80% to 90% of the teams in the league. Records, statistics, and everything else goes out the window when one team faces another team. Different factors, usually mistakes, often level the playing field between a team that might appear to be better on paper. The other teams also have professionals that get paid to play too. Some of the professionals on the other teams are better then their counterparts that play for the Steelers. Sometimes, the opposition has a lot to do with how the Steelers perform.

[Ghost]

People need to stop believing this. The Steelers were never more superior than the opposition by a wide margin. Same can be said for 80% to 90% of the teams in the league. Records, statistics, and everything else goes out the window when one team faces another team. Different factors, usually mistakes, often level the playing field between a team that might appear to be better on paper. The other teams also have professionals that get paid to play too. Some of the professionals on the other teams are better then their counterparts that play for the Steelers. Sometimes, the opposition has a lot to do with how the Steelers perform.

Do you sing any other tune? It's so tiresome listening to your stupidity. According to you all teams are the same, all coaches are the same, and every team has the same talent level. Jacksonville is equal to Seattle....

I'm sure the 0-16 Lions were no less superior than any other team in the league that year. Please stop posting your nonsense. The board is exhauseted having to listen to a know nothing tool.

I'm 100% positive you have been the least fun person at every party you have ever attended your entire life. People pray (including atheists) that you don't come over and talk to them.

[Slapstick]

Wow. I'm not certain where all of this hostility is coming from, but I'm going to attempt to explain this belief with a minimum of snide contrariness and a complete absence of ellipses.

It isn't necessarily the case that anyone believes that all coaches are the same, all teams are the same, etc.

But, it is a fact that all teams draft from the same talent pool and just about every coach has learned strategies and philosophies from other coaches on different teams. If those strategies weren't explicitly taught, coaches look at film. And copy things that they see and incorporate them
into their own play books.

Now, a better way to state the point would be this:

If Seattle and Jacksonville played 10 times, Seattle would probably win 9 out of those 10 times. But, since they don't play 10 times, there is always the chance that the game could be the hypothetical 1 in 10. The differences in the talent and coaching aren't so great that a win can be fully guaranteed each and every Sunday. This has led to the popularity of so-called "suicide pools".

Because there is only one game per week, the stakes of winning are much greater than baseball or basketball.

Every single week, there are so-called "stunning upsets" in the NFL. My question is, if these upsets happen virtually every week, why are the so stunning? These upsets seem fairly commonplace.

The 0-16 Detroit Lions are brought up. The thing is, 4 of their losses were by 7 points or less. One of those was a 2 point loss. It isn't as though they were not competitive in all 16 games.

By that same token, there has been only one 16-0 regular season, and that team lost in the SB to a wild
card team.

I can't speak for anyone else, but part of the reason that I find the NFL compelling is that very real possibility of an upset. Unfortunately, sometimes, the Steelers happen to be on the receiving end.

[BURGH86STEEL]

Do you sing any other tune? It's so tiresome listening to your stupidity. According to you all teams are the same, all coaches are the same, and every team has the same talent level. Jacksonville is equal to Seattle....

I'm sure the 0-16 Lions were no less superior than any other team in the league that year. Please stop posting your nonsense. The board is exhauseted having to listen to a know nothing tool.

I'm 100% positive you have been the least fun person at every party you have ever attended your entire life. People pray (including atheists) that you don't come over and talk to them.

If you don't like what I have to post then don't read what I post. Place me on ignore and be done with me. Simple solution to a simple issue.

[BURGH86STEEL]

Wow. I'm not certain where all of this hostility is coming from, but I'm going to attempt to explain this belief with a minimum of snide contrariness and a complete absence of ellipses.

It isn't necessarily the case that anyone believes that all coaches are the same, all teams are the same, etc.

But, it is a fact that all teams draft from the same talent pool and just about every coach has learned strategies and philosophies from other coaches on different teams. If those strategies weren't explicitly taught, coaches look at film. And copy things that they see and incorporate them
into their own play books.

Now, a better way to state the point would be this:

If Seattle and Jacksonville played 10 times, Seattle would probably win 9 out of those 10 times. But, since they don't play 10 times, there is always the chance that the game could be the hypothetical 1 in 10. The differences in the talent and coaching aren't so great that a win can be fully guaranteed each and every Sunday. This has led to the popularity of so-called "suicide pools".

Because there is only one game per week, the stakes of winning are much greater than baseball or basketball.

Every single week, there are so-called "stunning upsets" in the NFL. My question is, if these upsets happen virtually every week, why are the so stunning? These upsets seem fairly commonplace.

The 0-16 Detroit Lions are brought up. The thing is, 4 of their losses were by 7 points or less. One of those was a 2 point loss. It isn't as though they were not competitive in all 16 games.

By that same token, there has been only one 16-0 regular season, and that team lost in the SB to a wild
card team.

I can't speak for anyone else, but part of the reason that I find the NFL compelling is that very real possibility of an upset. Unfortunately, sometimes, the Steelers happen to be on the receiving end.

I'm not sure where all that hostility came from either???? I guess some folks will never truly understand what happens around the league? Disappointment often clouds an individuals' judgment.

I am glad you understood where I was coming from. Some people would rather live with anger, disappointment, frustration, ect then to seek understanding and enlightenment. Having a better understanding of why the team won or loss helps me to have optimism going into the next week regardless of the opposition. I also understand that that a team can lose any game if they don't play well regardless of that teams record.

It seems that some people are just to stubborn to learn from history.

[WindyCitySteel]

I can't speak for anyone else, but part of the reason that I find the NFL compelling is that very real possibility of an upset. Unfortunately, sometimes, the Steelers happen to be on the receiving end.

The Steelers have been on the receiving end of bad upset losses far too often in the last several years. Cleveland twice, Oakland THREE times over a span where the Raiders were 38-74, Minn, Tampa, KC, SD...the list goes on and on.

Then again, maybe they're not upsets. If you can't beat the tomato cans, you're probably a tomato can.

[Slapstick]

The Steelers have been on the receiving end of bad upset losses far too often in the last several years. Cleveland twice, Oakland THREE times over a span where the Raiders were 38-74, Minn, Tampa, KC, SD...the list goes on and on.

Then again, maybe they're not upsets. If you can't beat the tomato cans, you're probably a tomato can.

Yeah, no other teams are ever upset...only the Steelers....

[Ghost]

I'm not sure where all that hostility came from either???? I guess some folks will never truly understand what happens around the league? Disappointment often clouds an individuals' judgment.

I am glad you understood where I was coming from. Some people would rather live with anger, disappointment, frustration, ect then to seek understanding and enlightenment. Having a better understanding of why the team won or loss helps me to have optimism going into the next week regardless of the opposition. I also understand that that a team can lose any game if they don't play well regardless of that teams record.

It seems that some people are just to stubborn to learn from history.

So you don't understand the hostility and then proceed to say, some people will never truly understand, disappointment clouds judgement, people would rather live with anger than see enlightenment, that you have a better understanding of why a team loses, and that people are stubborn.

5 separate statements of condesending, narcissistic garbage with no intent other than tell people you have a better grip on how the game works. And every post you make is some variation of this theme. It shouldn't be hard to understand at all.