Hats off to the defense

[Steelhere10]

How could people not be sold on Mitchell, he is the last line of defense and he have stopped a lot of big runs or yac from being worse.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Mitchell is playing better, and I'm liking him more than I did.

I'm still afraid he's going to cost the Steelers big time in a crucial situation by taking a cheap shot at an opponent.

[Eich]

I'm sold on Butler. The defense is playing their collective hearts out and we're seeing more turnovers than I'm used to seeing.

I love LeBeau "the man" AND the magic he provided for years, but does anyone think the defense plays like this so far this year with LeBeau?

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Why did they sign Boykin if they won't allow him to see the field ?

Good question. They must feel he's nowhere near as good as he was advertised to be at Philly. Sucks that the Steelers spent draft picks on both Boykin and Scobee.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

I'm sold on Butler. The defense is playing their collective hearts out and we're seeing more turnovers than I'm used to seeing.

I love LeBeau "the man" AND the magic he provided for years, but does anyone think the defense plays like this so far this year with LeBeau?

Let me beat Oviedo to the punch, and say, "Change is good."

[RuthlessBurgher]

Good question. They must feel he's nowhere near as good as he was advertised to be at Philly. Sucks that the Steelers spent draft picks on both Boykin and Scobee.

They got one back from trading Wing too. And Boykin won't meet the requirement to elevate his compensation up to a 4th rounder.

[Steelhere10]

I think you are suggesting he misses a lot of tackles. Blake is 2nd leading tackler on the team. 39. Very unusual for a CB He is also listed with 5 passes defensed and an int pick-6. Those are more than acceptable numbers. The defense is keeping them off the board, in spite of being dominated in TOP the last three games, and Blake is bringing a lot of energy to the effort. He was also involved in the play where Harrison got the strip and recovery. His pluses clearly outweigh the negatives to me. The passes he has been burned on required good routes and good throws and every DB is going to get beat sometimes.

Blake have missed 7 tackles in the last 3 games alone and that's counting just 1 Sunday. They track it weekly on Depot, but my eyes tells me alone I don't need them to tell me that.

[Steelhere10]

Plus I seen from my own eyes he missed 3 tackles in NE, so that's 10 total in 4 games. Besides if he's allowing every WR to catch a pass he's going to be the first one on the tackle.

[feltdizz]

Mitchell is playing like I expected when I watched him in Carolina.

Blake is frustrating but he always redeems himself.

[feltdizz]

Good question. They must feel he's nowhere near as good as he was advertised to be at Philly. Sucks that the Steelers spent draft picks on both Boykin and Scobee.

I thought it was foolish when some suggested we held Boykin back to make sure he didn't cost us a higher pick... but I think that is exactly what's going on.

I wouldn't be shocked if we start seeing him get more reps next week or 2

[phillyesq]

Mitchell is playing better, and I'm liking him more than I did.

I'm still afraid he's going to cost the Steelers big time in a crucial situation by taking a cheap shot at an opponent.

I agree that he's certainly playing better. The best comment on him that I saw came from Bill Crawford, noting the irony that Mitchell finally made a play worth celebrating and was physically unable to celebrate it.

[Steelerphile]

Plus I seen from my own eyes he missed 3 tackles in NE, so that's 10 total in 4 games. Besides if he's allowing every WR to catch a pass he's going to be the first one on the tackle.

If he misses all these tackles but still basically leads the team in tackles, I think it can also be seen as an illustration of his ability to cover ground. He is in position to make a lot of tackles. And he has stripped balls and gotten passes defensed so you I think you are being somewhat unfair. He is basically playing well and is far from the liability you are trying to portray him as being.

[WindyCitySteel]

They held the Cards to 13 without Jarvis and Shazier. Wonder what this D would look like had those two first round picks been spent on defensive backs.

[Slapstick]

It might have looked worse...

[WindyCitySteel]

Antwon Blake was all over the field. 12 tackles. Still a work in progress but his speed is an asset. His one of one tackle of Fitzgerald was a beauty.

He's tackling a lot of receivers after they catch the ball on him. He's not good in coverage.