The Bigger Issue

Everyone loves to complain about the Offensive Line, Canada and Mitch. To me the bigger issue is our defense. We have the most expensive defense in the league. We are supposedly loaded with Defensive Guru’s in the coaching department. Yet we are seeing the same problems as last year. This will not change until Tomlin either adapts or fundamentally changes from a one gap penetrating defense to a two gap contain defense. We don’t have the linebackers for a one gap penetrating defense because that style of defense allows the guards to get out on the linebacker and we don’t have true thumper that can get off of their blocks. We need bigger two gap down lineman that can contain offensive lineman and allow the linebackers to flow freely to the ball. Or at lease be able to transition back and forth between two gap and one gap. We are sold out to the one gap right now and it kills us against run teams.

We overestimated our the quality of our corner backs and Edmonds is who we thought he was. Until we actually invest in grade talent in the back end to help Minkah we are going to continue to get burned. Finally I believe we are asking to much of Cam. At his age he needs to be subbed out more to remain fresh. You are starting to see it catch up to him. Watt covered a lot of warts on this defense which are starting to show. It is just frustrating to watch because it appears the coaches don’t have answers and we kept hearing all off season how great this defense was gong to be. I understand the defense is tired and the offense is helping out with time of possession but the defense isn’t getting a lot of three and outs either, thus hurting themselves.

 

Not sure I agree. Though we have lost to 2 crappy teams, the defense has kept it close, and if not for turnovers and boneheaded offensive (in both senses of the word) plays, the D has limited the opponents' production. Sure, stopping the run up the middle is a weakness, and we could use better cornerbacks, but I don't think the defense is the "bigger issue", and certainly not if Watt is healthy.

 

WHY did i read this as The Bigger Tissue.

Damn you Glenn!!!!!!!

 

Browns 3-4 on 4th down conversion, that’s unacceptable.

 

I agree the D is a big issue, but this is coming from a Guy that wanted a DT, and, or CB in the 1st, and would only draft D most drafts.....So that's not saying much...
Although....with better Qb play it would keep our Defense a lot fresher. I believe they have played the most snaps of any Defense in the league ( don't quote me on that)

 

Even more unacceptable the Steelers 1-9 on third down

 

defense has played 231 snaps through 3 games plus any special teams snaps. So basically they’ve played an average of 4 games worth of snaps in 3 weeks. Usually 12 offensive possessions per game consisting of 60 snaps +-

 

MLBs and 34 are huge issues on D, but I don’t think those issues are bigger than the issues on offense.

 

Yes....that is never a good thing.
Just Me, but unless they are seeing something in practice with Pickett that's really bad....I believe they must change Qbs. The Wrs appear to not like, or respect Him(Trubisky), and that can't lead anywhere good.

 

I didn't pay that close of attention but, did Trubisky ever plant before he threw? Always seemed to be throwing awkwardly.

 

Now, that's all I see too!

 

I honestly don’t remember. They rolled him out a lot more and that seemed to suit him. Just don’t remember if he was throwing off the back foot again or not. Im sure he did to some degree. You’re not going to fix a mechanical issue with one day of practice

 

The steel curtain and blitzburgh this D is not, but I wouldn't say they are a "bigger" issue. The other teams try as well and our D has done a good job in all games to keep us in it.

I never expect shutouts and assume most weeks the other team will score 17+ points. The major issue I saw this past game was the inability to get off the field on 3rd and 4th downs. That said we were still in the game and the offense has been identical to last season without some of the late game drives Ben provided.

 

The defense was terrible last night. They did almost nothing to keep that game close. The Browns stopped themselves with careless mistakes on at least four drives or they might have put up 40-plus points. Their first drive ended with a bad throw by Brissett even though he was under no pressure and had a receiver wide open. Cooper ended two drives with dropped passes and wiped out a long gain on another by stepping out of bounds during his route.

Watt's absence is a huge part of that. The Browns ran the ball well as the game went on, but it was the passing game that go them going. The Steelers just couldn't get enough pressure on Brissett. More importantly, the adjustments they are making to cover for Watt are weakening other parts of the defense. Heyward is lining up outside more often. They really aren't getting anything from any outside linebacker other than Highsmith. Reed has been a big disappointment.

 

He did step into some throws, but he also threw many off his back foot.

 

Our O is poop, Canada is poop.

If we L to Jets and O is poop again, they have to make a move, fire Canada, promote up and get Pickett in there.

This has been frustrating to watch.

Thought O offense would be better with more mobile QB but poop.

Now I gotta go poop.

Go Steelers!!!

 

He actually did a few times, but it's just not in him.
He has terrible mechanics, but I believe His decision making is His actual worst thing, but not by much....I was never a fan.....So....some of what I say maybe biased, but when is the last time You remember seeing a Qb miss targets by such a big margin, or area???? Some times the balls are so freaking uncatchable the D doesn't even have a chance, and forget the sidelines throws....they automatically go out of bounds 92% of the times.
Now You see why He has never had a pick 6. LoL

 

Yeah, I've been begging for them to use high draft picks on guys in the trenches but we just keep ignoring it. Even worse, some the guys we're taking instead of lineman, like Bush and Edmunds, have been terrible. I like Najee but don't believe in 1st round RBs unless the OL is already really good. We better hope Pickett is legit or we'll have turned a 5 year stretch of 1st round picks into only Minkah. They already need a DT, ILB, CB, SS and OL for 2023. They just refused to tear this down properly a couple years ago and now we're limping around doing a 2 year rebuild over 5 years, including keeping a moron like Canada around.

 

I was excited for mitch prior to them drafting pickett. I thought mitch would be better than mason. Now I'm not so sure and think we'd have identical results with either. Kenny is the wildcard as we don't know. He looked good in preseason, but theres a big jump to that translating to regular season.

 

I'm not so sure , any of the Qbs on the team would not be better than Trubisky, and Honestly for anyone 2 say any different would be a lie.....without us actually seeing it this Year, but I'm sure they will say so.....just like they said ....for sure Trubisky would be way better than what We had in a washed up Ben. Now I agree Ben was washed, but Trubisky (sad , but true ) is not any better than a washed Ben.....Therefore....We must change the Qb, and I want Pickett, but right Now I will take anyone just to get Trubisky out of there.

 

defense was frustrating, but not sure I'm as concerned. They've only given up 20 pts a game..... and 7 of those last week were on a short field from the muffed punt.

Our offense needs to muster more than 20 points a game.... with the talent we have at RB & WR, there's no excuse to NOT be putting up 24-31pts a week...... and giving the defense a little time to rest instead of 3 & out, can really be HUGE.

Yes, I agree they didn't close out some drives fast enough, but I'm not overly concerned with the D. Our weakness is running defense, but the league isn't filled with a ton of top tier rushers.

 

I don't understand this take. The defense was terrible last night, and it wasn't just the run defense. It was actually the passing game that got the Browns going. Brissett, a backup quarterback, carved the Steelers up. The pass rush was a non-factor most of the night. The coverage was terrible, especially by Witherspoon and Edmunds. Starting late in the first quarter, the Browns moved the ball at will. Cleveland's offense stopped itself three times and still put up 23 points. I'm including the late third-down throw by Brissett with no pressure and an open receiver early in the first quarter and two drive-ending drops by Cooper.

Edmunds is terrible. Witherspoon hadn't played all that well in the first two games, and he was absolutely horrid last night. Both replacements for Watt, Jones and Reed, have sucked. Watt is out at least two more weeks and he is likely to be less than his usual self when he returns.

They looked like a hell of a defense in the opener, but without the DPOY helping them to cover for all those flaws, they are not good. They were the unit that sucked last night, not the offense.

 

No, his footwork is terrible. Even when he has time he throws off his back foot. He never plants his feet and steps into the throw.

 

The true answer depends on which side of the fence you stand.
He looks a lot like Tebow to me.

 

CB's are not covering close enough, this is a problem. Pitch and catch.