Top Paid Defense in the LEAGUE

Where is Heinz with his We are doomed post. I get the feeling that everywhere on this team there seems to be a position to improve - on both sides of the ball. We're in this rut again when the offense scores enough points, but the defense gives up more. Next time, the defense will do fairly well but the offense can't do jack. Worst case, neither does well like BUF and PHI. And its too early to start drinking. JMO>

 

Well, our best DB right now had to come from another team.

How did we get where we are and who let this happen? Is it that we haven't been this bad for so long and it's just our turn? Did losing Ben create a domino effect and bad things bubbled up to the surface? JMO>

 

suckville - that is correct.

a huge ass embarrassment is coming on Nat'l TV this Monday night. it will wipe the glisten off Tomlin hopefully for all to see. it all sucks. Blame Rooney first....

 

and forgive me for missing this - but why is Jack now relegated to a platoon player? Is he hurt? Do our bonehead coaches actually think he is 3rd best interior LB on the team? was watching the Redskins the other night, Bostic is still crushing people. We suck - had NO IDEA what to do w him several years ago....

 

Bostic could always come up with big hits, but he was out of position way too often. Bostic never could figure out how to play in a 3-4.

Jack wasn't good early in the game Sunday. They hit a big pass on him because he got way out of position. That said, I do not understand playing Spillane so much. Sure, he always knows his assignment, but he was horrible. He took a facemask penalty because he over pursued on a play early, then missed an easy tackle on one of Perrine's touchdowns.

 

I have been saying it all year. This defense is more disappointing than the offense. It starts with the coaching. We need a bonafide Defensive Coordinator. Rooney has to put his foot down with Tomlin and say you are the head coach you are not the Defensive Coordinator you will no longer be calling defensive plays. They have to get back to gap contain. Without more bulk in the middle we are leaving our MLB’s exposed and susceptible to being blocked by the guards. In todays NFL there are very few MLB’s that can do it all as Tomlin expects from his MLB’s. Finally actually invest in the back end. But that is only part of it. It is nearly impossible to defend the pass now a days as the officiating is so lopsided towards the offense unless you're the Patriots and they allow the defensive backs to grab and hold. Traditionally if the db even touches the wr beyond 5 yards now a days they are getting a PI. I understand why the Steelers want to invest everything in the pass rush but when they take that all in approach we are dead in the water when our pass rush doesn’t produce. We need to hire a pass game defensive coordinator to actually figure out how to defend the pass. we have been trying for years to figure it out with Tomlin defenses and we have struggled. Tomlin sole focus from a an X’s and O’s perspective should be to figure out appropriate half time adjustments and how to manage them so we can be a more competitive team both on offense and defense in the future. He is absolutely getting out coached in this area time and time again.

 

Rooney does not care, it is obvious.

 

Another thing with the way the NFL is today. WIth Play Action and RPO, etc. it has essentially made the MLB position of old obsolete. Most MLB’s today are slightly larger box safeties who by design prioritize coverage over the run. With that being said we ask our defensive lineman to penetrate the gap. So as a result we are trying to get hybrid MLB’s that are big enough to support the run and shed blocks yet also fast enough or twitchy enough to cover the pass. Not only are we now asking them to cover RB’s and TE’s but I often see us asking them to cover WR’s on crossing patterns. So what we effectively have our MLB’s that are average at best at all of the above and not really dominant at anything. In my mind the whole defensive philosophy of Tomlins need blown up. We need bigger interior Defensive lineman with their priority being gap contain and stopping the run and tying up blockers.Then we can truly dedicate the MLB’s to being pass first priority and get smaller quicker ones that can actually cover well underneath.I also would have two free safeties. Edmunds is similar to our MLB’s in that he is ok in multiple areas but not really great in any area. He is a liability in coverage. Finally go get some dang Cornerbacks that can lock down a wr on the outside and shutdown the boundaries and actually come up and support the run on the outside.

 

Those types are hard to find at that size.

 

K. Lewis should have been kept. He did pretty well here .

 

That one drove me nuts.

 

How about low drafting in the 20's and overpaying a QB for the last 6-8 years.

 

Ray Lewis comes to mind who I would want.

 

Sorry I am going to have to disagree, I have seen us and other teams try these hybrid lb's they get abused by 300 lb OL. They don't work.

 

108 million def. cannot stop a team, even when our pathetic off. scores 30 points---------------- why?

 

come on man. EVERY NFL team in the world wants that. We have (reasonable) talent. our coaching and scheme sucks, year in and year out. We had the BEST TALENT in the league for 2-3 years on offense and still sucked. It's Tomlin. We will have 4 picks in the top ~50 next year. We will find a way to screw that up, I am sure.

 

The guys being paid the big bucks are good but the drop off for the rest is down to average or below avg.

The coaching seems non existent when you see guys making errors in communication its week 10 isn t it .

Watching one decent not great but decent WR shred us and not giving a db some help, they just tried different guys one on one until they realized they all suck .

 

Forgot about Keenan Lewis was a solid player, homegrown. And they let him go

 

Austin calls the defensive plays.

 

He didn't do much after he left, he dealt with some injuries with the Saints.

 

Maulet had a nice PBU against the Saints, but he's not good in coverage like you said.

 

that was a ROYAL screw up, for sure. I recall the debate back then, salary cap this and that, but we blew it. he blossomed late and that was part of the problem....

 

No he does not.

 

So our 235lb don’t get abused? My whole point is you get some bigger Defensive lineman that play gap contain and tie up two offensive lineman instead of gap penetration and then you protect the second level players. Also maybe getting a MLB that is taller than 5’ 11” that can actually see the play better and penetrate the gaps would be nice. I would have loved that Leo Chenal in the last draft but the Steelers didn’t like him because he was strictly a thumper. So what I am saying is if you want a coverage player at the second level then go all in and commit to it because going half way with what we have in place now gets you half way results. Right now we have linebackers that can't cover or shed blocks and fill the gap. Bush lacks the instincts and quite frankly I feel they are asking way too much of that position in this defense. I would love a 245 MLB that can do it all but they are next to impossible to find. The Dallas Cowboys have one but they rush the passer with him more than they drop him into coverage. It tells you how important it is for teams to get to the passer. It is nearly impossible to cover anybody in todays league especially for an extended period of time. The Play Action and the RPO literally freezes the MLB’s and it really opens it up for draw plays, QB runs and quick crossing patterns or slants. If you put a big nose tackle in their that requires constant double teaming along with Cam Heyward and literally shut down run lanes and subsequently also collapse the pocket then you completely free up the MLB’s to focus on the pass almost 75% of the time as their first read. Take a look at J.L Skinner the huge Safety from Boise. I would draft him as a high second if he lasts that long and put him as our second MLB on obvious passing downs. The scenario is to sign the MLB Roquon Smith from Baltimore in the offseason if he actually becomes available. Baltimore may not be able to afford him with Lamar’s pending contract.

 

I think they have been rotation Jack Bush and Spillane to keep them fresh

Add with the offense doing a lot of 3 and out and they also rotated OLB and DL