Aggressive defense...guess who?

[Oviedo]

Heard on the radio this morning that one of the best defenses in the NFL is also one that blitzes more than anyone else...Pittsburgh? No, but it is Pittsburgh West...the Arizona Cardinals. The ESPN host and guest were discussing how strong the Arizona defense was and they attributed it to them being the top blitzing team in the NFL which has directly led to their 8-1 record despite not having a strong offense. I hope our defensive coaches were listening.

[Steelhere10]

I knew it wasn't Dickey.

[WindyCitySteel]

Tragic that Mauro can make that team and not the Steelers, where there is a paucity of quality DL.

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelersball: Building a Pittsburgh D is a lot harder than it used to be

November 16, 2014

The Steelers defense has been in decline for several years, with age and injuries certainly an obvious factor, but several experienced talent evaluators and decision makers also pointed to another factor in trying to quantify the unit's fall – sheer numbers.

Pittsburgh has run a base 3-4 defense seemingly forever, long at the vanguard of that movement while perennially boasting a top-five unit under master coordinator Dick LeBeau. And, for much of that time, the Steelers were one of a very few teams running that scheme, giving them an inherently less competitive market for certain kinds of scheme-specific players, who they could usually wait to draft until deeper rounds in many years, and also could invariably pay less to as well, with less competition for them on the open market. And, for a team that always has to be cash-conscious, those were significant advantages that they alertly exploited through expert drafting.

If you think of it in Moneyball terms, they could apply a unique value to certain characteristics – huge two-gap nose tackles, certain tweener edge rushers, specific inside linebackers – that other teams would naturally not value nearly as much as they weren't as good of a fit. But given the rise of the 3-4 defense in other organizations, that's no longer the case, while the Steelers still remain bound to a certain budget that will preclude them from making major forays into free agency for other team's talent.

Consider that in 2004, only five teams including the Steelers in the NFL ran a base 3-4, while in 2009 the number had grown to 13 (those players have only just recently finished their rookie contracts and hit the market) and this season 15 teams run a base 3-4 – nearly half the league.

Since 2004, the Steelers have led the NFL in yards or points allowed six times, and in five seasons since LeBeau took over they ranked in the top two in both stats. Last year, they ranked 14th in scoring defense and 13th in yardage allowed. They currently rank 13th in yards allowed per game and 20th in points allowed per game.

The market factors and more intense competition for certain players certainly is not lost on the Steelers brass, league sources said, though they aren't making any excuses about it. But when you talk to talk to coaches and execs about the extent to which this defense has slipped from its loftiest of standards, the rise of the 3-4, with this being such a copy-cap league, is something several have pointed out to help explain the phenomenon.

[URL]http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/...-it-used-to-be[/URL]

[Oviedo]

Steelersball: Building a Pittsburgh D is a lot harder than it used to be

November 16, 2014

The Steelers defense has been in decline for several years, with age and injuries certainly an obvious factor, but several experienced talent evaluators and decision makers also pointed to another factor in trying to quantify the unit's fall – sheer numbers.

Pittsburgh has run a base 3-4 defense seemingly forever, long at the vanguard of that movement while perennially boasting a top-five unit under master coordinator Dick LeBeau. And, for much of that time, the Steelers were one of a very few teams running that scheme, giving them an inherently less competitive market for certain kinds of scheme-specific players, who they could usually wait to draft until deeper rounds in many years, and also could invariably pay less to as well, with less competition for them on the open market. And, for a team that always has to be cash-conscious, those were significant advantages that they alertly exploited through expert drafting.

If you think of it in Moneyball terms, they could apply a unique value to certain characteristics – huge two-gap nose tackles, certain tweener edge rushers, specific inside linebackers – that other teams would naturally not value nearly as much as they weren't as good of a fit. But given the rise of the 3-4 defense in other organizations, that's no longer the case, while the Steelers still remain bound to a certain budget that will preclude them from making major forays into free agency for other team's talent.

Consider that in 2004, only five teams including the Steelers in the NFL ran a base 3-4, while in 2009 the number had grown to 13 (those players have only just recently finished their rookie contracts and hit the market) and this season 15 teams run a base 3-4 – nearly half the league.

Since 2004, the Steelers have led the NFL in yards or points allowed six times, and in five seasons since LeBeau took over they ranked in the top two in both stats. Last year, they ranked 14th in scoring defense and 13th in yardage allowed. They currently rank 13th in yards allowed per game and 20th in points allowed per game.

The market factors and more intense competition for certain players certainly is not lost on the Steelers brass, league sources said, though they aren't making any excuses about it. But when you talk to talk to coaches and execs about the extent to which this defense has slipped from its loftiest of standards, the rise of the 3-4, with this being such a copy-cap league, is something several have pointed out to help explain the phenomenon.

[URL]http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/...-it-used-to-be[/URL]

Exactly what I have been saying for years. I you need to catch a prize fish you don't going fishing where everyone else is fishing and over fish that spot. We were in the vanguard of the 3-4 and it served us well for putting great defenses on the field. But now too many teams are playing the 3-4 so we don't get those late round gems and the time to convert players is a luxury we don't have. With so many players looking for the same types of 3-4 there is far less of a margin of error.


It is time now to be in the vanguard going to something else that enables us to get talent and get them onthe field sooner with less of a margin of error because don't rely on converting players to new positions. Conversion to the NFL is tough enough.

[Iron City Inc.]

3 corners that can play man has a lot to do with that. Anyone here want our corners left on an island?

[fordfixer]

3 corners that can play man has a lot to do with that. Anyone here want our corners left on an island?

Do I get to pick the island?

[RuthlessBurgher]

Tragic that Mauro can make that team and not the Steelers, where there is a paucity of quality DL.

Arizona tried to sign both Keisel and Harrison earlier this season...

[NorthCoast]

Heard on the radio this morning that one of the best defenses in the NFL is also one that blitzes more than anyone else...Pittsburgh? No, but it is Pittsburgh West...the Arizona Cardinals. The ESPN host and guest were discussing how strong the Arizona defense was and they attributed it to them being the top blitzing team in the NFL which has directly led to their 8-1 record despite not having a strong offense. I hope our defensive coaches were listening.

Arizona's defense is ranked in the bottom half of the league in opponent passing first down percentage, opponent completions, opponent passing yards/att, and opponent passing TD percentage, but OK... they pass the eye test.

[papillon]

Exactly what I have been saying for years. I you need to catch a prize fish you don't going fishing where everyone else is fishing and over fish that spot. We were in the vanguard of the 3-4 and it served us well for putting great defenses on the field. But now too many teams are playing the 3-4 so we don't get those late round gems and the time to convert players is a luxury we don't have. With so many players looking for the same types of 3-4 there is far less of a margin of error.


It is time now to be in the vanguard going to something else that enables us to get talent and get them onthe field sooner with less of a margin of error because don't rely on converting players to new positions. Conversion to the NFL is tough enough.

Ok, so half the league is playing the 34 defense, so by default half of the league is playing the 43 defense. Since all teams are fishing from the college football talent pool, both styles of defense are being over fished. The scheme doesn't matter.

Pappy

[fordfixer]

Ok, so half the league is playing the 34 defense, so by default half of the league is playing the 43 defense. Since all teams are fishing from the college football talent pool, both styles of defense are being over fished. The scheme doesn't matter.

Pappy

That's why we should switch to the 25 defense

[RobinCole]

AZ beat Detroit 14-6 today. They're winning with not much of a running game and now with a backup QB. And a D that "only" passes the eye test. If this continues Arians is a strong candidate for COY...again.

Looks like Art2D2 retired the wrong coach.

[NorthCoast]

AZ beat Detroit 14-6 today. They're winning with not much of a running game and now with a backup QB. And a D that "only" passes the eye test. If this continues Arians is a strong candidate for COY...again.

Looks like Art2D2 retired the wrong coach.

AZ does it with a strong run defense and takeaways. Their defensive line is massive and strong, something the Steelers have struggled to put together since Smith and Hampton retired.

[RobinCole]

And Foote is starting at LB at age 34. I guess the old man can still contribute.

Anyway, in the year 2014, you would guess that a team with a strong run defense and an average at best pass defense would not be 9-1, especially when their own offense is not doing the 40 and 50 points a game thing.

[feltdizz]

AZ beat Detroit 14-6 today. They're winning with not much of a running game and now with a backup QB. And a D that "only" passes the eye test. If this continues Arians is a strong candidate for COY...again.

Looks like Art2D2 retired the wrong coach.

I'm happy for Arians...

I wonder how Arian bashers feel about his success. There were some people on here who used his lack of HC opportunities as proof he wasn't a good coach.

Look at him now.