Timmons & Woodley

[Mister Pittsburgh]

These 2 have been pretty damn quiet this season. I thought they would both be forces to be dealt with but so far Woodley has been blocked 1 on 1 and Timmons has been fairly invisible other than the play here or there where Lebeau actually blitzes him.

Am I wrong in this assessment? What seems to be the problem with them?

[stlrz d]

Re: Timmons & Woodley

A short, quick passing game is an effective way to nullify a pass rush.

Watch things change when Troy is 100% and able to defend that short passing game.

[Oviedo]

Re: Timmons & Woodley

These 2 have been pretty damn quiet this season. I thought they would both be forces to be dealt with but so far Woodley has been blocked 1 on 1 and Timmons has been fairly invisible other than the play here or there where Lebeau actually blitzes him.

Am I wrong in this assessment? What seems to be the problem with them?

Agree with Woodley. He lacks the explosiveness he showed during the play offs last year.

Totally disagree with your opinions about Timmons. he has been steady against the run, He has been a force bringing pressure on inside blitzes and off the top of my head I can recall three pass break ups. I think he has been solid.

As pointed out the opponents are exclusively utilizing a short, quick passing game to nulify all our LBs and force them to chase RBs and TEs versus pressuring the QB.

[JUST-PLAIN-NASTY]

Re: Timmons & Woodley

I have no problem with any of the starting LBs. When Troy is 100%...Nobody else will either. Don't look at the stat sheet after the game. Focus on Woodley for several series and tell me he isn't coming full when he is supposed too. We as Steeler fans hold production to a higher expectation than most. We aren't happy unless we were 5-0. Things will change as Troy returns to 100% as long as the run defense holds up.

[flippy]

Re: Timmons & Woodley

Woodley is hurt imho.

He went through a similar stretch last season where he didn't produce. But then got healthy by playoff time.

Woodley is a beast. And he's shown it consistently over the last 2 years and in the playoffs. He'll be fine when healthy again. I'm not sure what it is, but it's gotta be something.

The other thing hurting the LBs is the decline in Hampton's play + Aaron Smith hasn't been up to snuff this season either. Clearly he's been playing through some pain and now he's out.

I expect Timmons to take a while to adjust to being an every down player. Brett Keisel is another good example of a guy who recently struggled in transitioning to an every down player. He was explosive playing on 3rd downs. And when he became a full time player, he didn't play as at as high a level.

His second year as a full timer was a big improvement and right now, Keisel plays as good as Aaron Smith imho.

Timmon will be spectacular by the playoffs or next year. Hoping it's in time for the playoffs.

[hellbanger]

Re: Timmons & Woodley

Out of our LB, and i cant believe im saying this, but Farrior is the one missing. Hes missed tackles, coverages and has been caught out of position several times this year. Hes been my favorite D player for years and has always been reliable and solid. But hes not playing his best football right now.

I agree with Oviedo, Timmons has been playing well. Hes awesome in coverage and is a blitzing monster. Hes also coming off a high ankle sprain. He has nowhere to go but up. We should see more production from woodley when hes not constantly dropping back in coverage.

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Re: Timmons & Woodley

These 2 have been pretty damn quiet this season. I thought they would both be forces to be dealt with but so far Woodley has been blocked 1 on 1 and Timmons has been fairly invisible other than the play here or there where Lebeau actually blitzes him.

Am I wrong in this assessment? What seems to be the problem with them?

Agree with Woodley. He lacks the explosiveness he showed during the play offs last year.

Totally disagree with your opinions about Timmons. he has been steady against the run, He has been a force bringing pressure on inside blitzes and off the top of my head I can recall three pass break ups. I think he has been solid.

As pointed out the opponents are exclusively utilizing a short, quick passing game to nulify all our LBs and force them to chase RBs and TEs versus pressuring the QB.

Well yeah, as I said, Timmons gets from his LB to the QB in about .2 seconds. Too bad he can't blitz every play. Haven't noticed him against the run, but not saying you are wrong in that assessment, just that I haven't noticed. I have, however, noticed him late in coverage a few times like chasing Gates when we played SD here. Guess we will see this weekend and especially against the Vikings how well he does against the run and if Troy can help stop that quick passing attack.

On another note, isn't it blatantly obvious when Ben is under pressure like he was in the 3rd against Detroit that the short quick passing game is the answer for pressure? Let their defenses continue to chase Heath and Mewelde/Mendenhall around?

[phillyesq]

Re: Timmons & Woodley

I haven't been impressed with Timmons at all this year. He has made some nice plays in coverage, but aside from that, I just haven't been impressed. I think he was more effective last year when he only saw limited snaps. I think playing every down and having to deal with the run game wears him down a bit and saps some of his explosiveness.

[NorthCoast]

Re: Timmons & Woodley

I haven't been impressed with Timmons at all this year. He has made some nice plays in coverage, but aside from that, I just haven't been impressed. I think he was more effective last year when he only saw limited snaps. I think playing every down and having to deal with the run game wears him down a bit and saps some of his explosiveness.

Right with you philly...not sure what others are seeing. He is a liability in run-defense and have seen a number of times he gets caught in the traffic and is easily blocked or takes wrong angles to the RB. But fully agree he is exceptional in the passing D.

I expect the Browns to run early and often to test the new faces on D.

[papillon]

Re: Timmons & Woodley

I haven't seen this decline in Hampton's play that everyone is talking about. His main job is to eat up blockers and stuff the running game. The Steelers are 2nd in the league (I think) in rush defense. Don't blame Hampton for failings in other areas of the defense. He's an easy scape goat, because, this is probably his last season as a Steeler.

Troy may help a bit with the short passing game, but I wouldn't expect a dominate defense to re-emerge this weekend (well, this weekend may not be a good example) or even next weekend. He can't cover every blade of grass by himself. He's going to need help from Clark and the LBs are going to have to do their jobs.

Pappy

[flippy]

Re: Timmons & Woodley

I haven't seen this decline in Hampton's play that everyone is talking about. His main job is to eat up blockers and stuff the running game. The Steelers are 2nd in the league (I think) in rush defense. Don't blame Hampton for failings in other areas of the defense. He's an easy scape goat, because, this is probably his last season as a Steeler.

Troy may help a bit with the short passing game, but I wouldn't expect a dominate defense to re-emerge this weekend (well, this weekend may not be a good example) or even next weekend. He can't cover every blade of grass by himself. He's going to need help from Clark and the LBs are going to have to do their jobs.

Pappy

Casey is getting moved. He isn't collapsing the pocket like he used to.

He peaked in the 05 SuperBowl run. He was mauling interior lines and pushing guys back with ease.

Now he's just not the same. He can be moved.

I really noticed it against the Titans. Mawae was moving Casey by himself. Casey isn't getting as much attention as he used to.

[costanza2k1]

Re: Timmons & Woodley

Well I've done my fair share of making fun of Woodley by calling him Lamar Haggans and what not. As a typical fan I'm very reactional and uneducated in my comments regarding the game and how it's played. I read a cool article from the folks at postgame hereos that shows were Woodley has been and once again I change my tune. It's well worth the read:

[url="http://www.postgameheroes.com/?p=7919"]http://www.postgameheroes.com/?p=7919[/url]

Calm down everybody, I found LaMarr Woodley. It turns out that he wasn’t MIA last week and he hasn’t lost all of his pass rushing abilities seemingly overnight. Hear me out on this one.

You didn’t see Woodley hauling down Philip Rivers on Sunday night but there is something else that you didn’t see that is probably much more important. You didn’t see Tomlinson and/or Sproles catching 2 yard dump offs and turning them into 30 yard gains. Say what you want about Vincent Jackson and Gates but Sproles and Tomlinson’s ability to catch balls in the flat and turn them into game-changing plays has probably been the biggest weapon in the Chargers passing game for the past few years.

Last year Sproles caught 6 balls for 100 yards in 2 games vs Pittsburgh. Tomlinson caught 3 balls for 45 yards. So far this season, Sproles has been a huge weapon in the passing game and has put up the following numbers:

Week 1: 5 catches for 43 yards

Week 2: 7 catches for 124 yards

Week 3: 2 catches for 14 yards

Against Pittsburgh Sproles only managed 1 catch for 16 yards.

Instead of focusing on this stat:



Perhaps we should be focusing on this one:


What does this have to do with LaMarr Woodley you ask? Well Woodley spent the better part of his Sunday night covering RBs and playing zone defense in the flats. This Steelers defense has always been about being unselfish and doing whatever the team asks you to do. A lot has been brought up over the past 3 weeks about James Harrison being asked to drop back into coverage at key moments; well it seems Woodley is being given the same duties.

First Quarter: The Chargers run 6 pass plays. Woodley drops into coverage on all 6 plays. WOW.

Second Quarter: The Chargers run 10 pass plays. Woodley drops in to coverage 3 times and rushes the passer 7 times.

Third Quarter: The Chargers run 13 pass plays. Woodley drops into coverage 7 times and rushes the passer 6 times.

Fourth Quarter: The Chargers run 12 pass plays. Woodley rushes the passer 11 times and drops into coverage one time.

That’s right people….Woodley dropped into coverage on 41% of all San Diego passing plays. For a frame of reference, Woodley rushed the QB on 72% of all passing plays vs the Ravens in last year’s playoff game. He rushed the QB on 56% of all passing plays in the playoffs last year against San Diego and he rushed the QB on 81% of all passing plays in the Super Bowl against the Cardinals.

This past Sunday, Woodley really wasn’t rushing the passer very much until the 4th QTR when the Chargers were passing the ball on every down. Woodley was often very close to getting his hands on Rivers but was missing by inches. Throughout the game we also saw examples of Woodley lining up as a MLB and rushing the passer right up the middle…taking on the Center and San Diego’s Guards. We put together a quick video to show you some of the alignments, near misses, and zone coverages.

Check out the video:

[url="http://vimeo.com/6952519"]http://vimeo.com/6952519[/url]

[BURGH86STEEL]

Re: Timmons & Woodley

I haven't seen this decline in Hampton's play that everyone is talking about. His main job is to eat up blockers and stuff the running game. The Steelers are 2nd in the league (I think) in rush defense. Don't blame Hampton for failings in other areas of the defense. He's an easy scape goat, because, this is probably his last season as a Steeler.

Troy may help a bit with the short passing game, but I wouldn't expect a dominate defense to re-emerge this weekend (well, this weekend may not be a good example) or even next weekend. He can't cover every blade of grass by himself. He's going to need help from Clark and the LBs are going to have to do their jobs.

Pappy

Casey is getting moved. He isn't collapsing the pocket like he used to.

He peaked in the 05 SuperBowl run. He was mauling interior lines and pushing guys back with ease.

Now he's just not the same. He can be moved.

I really noticed it against the Titans. Mawae was moving Casey by himself. Casey isn't getting as much attention as he used to.

Casey gets moved sometimes. He probably got moved sometimes in the past. I don't ever remember him being the type of NT that collapsed the pocket. Sure, he showed flashes here and there but collapsing the pocket was never his game.

Are you sure he peaked in 05? He was coming off a major injury from the 04 season. I am not sure that you are correct in that assessment.

How many plays would you say Mawae moved Casey? Mawae is a pretty good player so losing a few battles to him was not such a bad thing. Hampton won and loss some of those battles. Over all the Steelers run defense won the line. Outside of one run, (hell of a play by Johnson) the Titans run game was nonexistent.

How do you know Hampton is not getting as much attention as he used to? I think you will have to go over several years of game film to make that determination. I think that Hampton is still a good player. He may not be the player he use to be but he still one of the best 3-4 NT's in the league. I think he has 2 or 3 good years of playing at a high level.

[flippy]

Re: Timmons & Woodley

I haven't seen this decline in Hampton's play that everyone is talking about. His main job is to eat up blockers and stuff the running game. The Steelers are 2nd in the league (I think) in rush defense. Don't blame Hampton for failings in other areas of the defense. He's an easy scape goat, because, this is probably his last season as a Steeler.

Troy may help a bit with the short passing game, but I wouldn't expect a dominate defense to re-emerge this weekend (well, this weekend may not be a good example) or even next weekend. He can't cover every blade of grass by himself. He's going to need help from Clark and the LBs are going to have to do their jobs.

Pappy

Casey is getting moved. He isn't collapsing the pocket like he used to.

He peaked in the 05 SuperBowl run. He was mauling interior lines and pushing guys back with ease.

Now he's just not the same. He can be moved.

I really noticed it against the Titans. Mawae was moving Casey by himself. Casey isn't getting as much attention as he used to.

Casey gets moved sometimes. He probably got moved sometimes in the past. I don't ever remember him being the type of NT that collapsed the pocket. Sure, he showed flashes here and there but collapsing the pocket was never his game.

Are you sure he peaked in 05? He was coming off a major injury from the 04 season. I am not sure that you are correct in that assessment.

How many plays would you say Mawae moved Casey? Mawae is a pretty good player so losing a few battles to him was not such a bad thing. Hampton won and loss some of those battles. Over all the Steelers run defense won the line. Outside of one run, (hell of a play by Johnson) the Titans run game was nonexistent.

How do you know Hampton is not getting as much attention as he used to? I think you will have to go over several years of game film to make that determination. I think that Hampton is still a good player. He may not be the player he use to be but he still one of the best 3-4 NT's in the league. I think he has 2 or 3 good years of playing at a high level.

i've just noticed more and more plays where casey gets redirected.

i'm sure someone has time to go back and look at everything.

i can barely remember casey being moved like i've seen several times this year.

he's always been the mover and not the movee.

and i'm not seeing him get doubled/tripled as much.

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Re: Timmons & Woodley

I haven't seen this decline in Hampton's play that everyone is talking about. His main job is to eat up blockers and stuff the running game. The Steelers are 2nd in the league (I think) in rush defense. Don't blame Hampton for failings in other areas of the defense. He's an easy scape goat, because, this is probably his last season as a Steeler.

Troy may help a bit with the short passing game, but I wouldn't expect a dominate defense to re-emerge this weekend (well, this weekend may not be a good example) or even next weekend. He can't cover every blade of grass by himself. He's going to need help from Clark and the LBs are going to have to do their jobs.

Pappy

Casey is getting moved. He isn't collapsing the pocket like he used to.

He peaked in the 05 SuperBowl run. He was mauling interior lines and pushing guys back with ease.

Now he's just not the same. He can be moved.

I really noticed it against the Titans. Mawae was moving Casey by himself. Casey isn't getting as much attention as he used to.

Hoke played better than Hampton vs. the Titans.