Steelers Defense

Do you guys like our Defense? I don’t know what to think yet. The Defense essentially won tge Browns game. We are creating a ton of splash plays and turnovers. But …. We are giving up a lot of chunk plays and still seeing teams have sustained drives against us.

We are one of the worst defenses in yards allowed and 2nd to worst in rush defense. I know when we get Cam back that will improve. Obviously we are fantastic at putting pressure on the QB but is that enough?

We can not lose Watt again. This defense is completely built around him. I do feel like our middle linebacker play has improved from last year. Our defensive lineman are holding up but I still feel like we’re missing a blue chip player in the trenches.

I am not sold on Montravius Adam’s. He has shown quickness and the ability to penetrate gaps but is that what we’re needing him to do? I really would prefer to see Benton get about 60% of the snaps.

our biggest weakness right now I believe is the cb’s. I don’t think it is a communication issue. The CB’s are on their coverage they either aren’t making plays on the ball or they are giving way to much space to the receiver in coverage. I know Wallace had two interceptions but to me JPJ needs to start over him. Playing off the way they do doesn’t suit our pass rush pressure it allows the QB to get the ball off quickly and dink and dunk down the field.

 

Peterson is too old and slow and Wallace can’t cover. Teams will pick on these two all season long.

 

I’ll let stat geeks worry about yards, points and wins are all that matter to me

 

1-1 against two of the best defenses in the league and then a win on the road against a team that has had our number at their place. i'd say we are doing what we should be at this point. could it be better? sure but the results are positive. win ugly, win pretty, a win is a win.

 

you answered your own question about needing a blue chip player added to the trenches on defense. he's on IR currently.

 

ESPN power rankings has Browns and Ravens ahead of Steelers.

 

Two thoughts

who gives a damn? I mean seriously nfl power rankings are more useless then the old college ranking system.

are you really surprised? We got blown out by one of the best teams in the league, managed one offensive touchdown against the browns, and beat a bad raiders team. We had -7 yards in the fourth quarter and squeaked out a win because of highsmith and watt.

 

Ravens lost to the Colts with a backup QB at home. Steelers beat the Browns.

 

Yes, it is the perfect defense for today's game. With the NFL pushing to get more offense (and making rules that allow this to happen) the only way to win is to get sacks/turnovers/splash plays and hold the opposition to FG's in the red zone. Very seldomly will a team hold an opponent to few yards (usually when this happens it is due to offensive implosion as opposed to defensive domination). We are built the right way, just are missing a couple of key pieces imo. Cam being on IR hurts, and we are probably a CB short of where we want to be. Peezy Jr. becoming a good player will help here, but we need one more. Wallace is a fine CB3, but we could stand to improve there.

We are bad in yards allowed because we got obliterated week 1 and gave up two long runs this year (one to CMC and the other to Cleveland's back up). 3 weeks in, those types of things skew the numbers. If we continue to play games like the one we did against the Raiders, you will see those numbers go back towards the mean.

Well yeah, the defense is built around Watt. When you have a DPOY caliber player the defense better be built around him. We'd be crazy not to.

Adams has played very well this year IMO, and is far from a liability. He isn't a PB caliber guy or anything, but I have noticed him positively a number of times so far this year. Benton looks really good too. I am sure that as Benton's play continues to improve that he will see more run on the field.

CB's are the weakest link for sure. Peterson is just past his prime and Wallace is more of a CB 3. We need another Sutton caliber guy. If we had Peezy Jr. turn out to be a good player and can put someone next to him that is solid, I think our CB unit would be really good. Or if we had a Mike Hilton in the slot. Just need Porter to continue to develop. I'd be shocked if we don't try again in the FA pool next year at the position.

 

You and I are on the same page. I agree Adam’s has played better but to me he is kind of like another Ogunjobi. I just wish we had some bigger guts in the trenches to really hold the line of scrimmage or eat blocks so the ILB’s could flow freely to the ball.

M biggest pet peeve is how far off our CB’s our playing. To me it doesn’t fit the strength of our defense or compliment it in regards to the pass rush. It gives the WB an outlet to get rid of the ball. I guess on the flip side they are playing to prevent the big play and they can jump routes that way and create turnovers when the QB is hurried.

I am hopeful JPJ and Benton start playing more.

 

i wouldn't mind seeing more of desmond king and elijah riley on the field as well. trice going down didn't help us. i've yet to see a great deal from chandon sullivan either. at some point they have to trust the young talent.

 

Wait.. it would seem your wading into stat geek territory.

 

But if you keep seeing the pathetic yards against, point against are soon to follow, to a degree any how.

 

What are We in points allowed, and turnovers???? I believe in today's NFL that means the most on a Defense.

 

Ogunjobi is a terrific player. He just isn't a space eater. He wins 1v1's and is good at pushing the line back. I think its just how DL is played today. You wont see a lot of "space eaters" anymore. You just need guys who can win their 1v1's and draw doubles bc they are playing so well. Heyward is that kind of guy. We certainly would love to have another 12 year younger version of him hahah Benton looks to be a similar type of player to Heyward though. Maybe he can develop into that (more of the DE/DT hybrid who commands premier attention). Ogunjobi is a solid DE and Leal brings a lot to the table as a pass rusher. He might end up being a quality player too. Adams is fine enough as well. We are pretty solid at the position and fairly deep. We will definitely hit the position group again in a couple years when Heyward is done and Ogunjobi's contract is up, but until then I think were where we want to be.

Yeah, its definitely a head scratcher. We have to play Wallace that way, because that is what he is better at. Peterson moves around the lineup a bit, but we got Porter and Trice as bigger, longer, guys who can get up there tight and win at the LOS. Maybe we are trending that way, but we just don't have the right personnel at the position yet. Hard to make that change all at once.

Both will play more as the year moves on. They have both performed well with their limited reps so far. If that continues, I am sure their playing time will increase in turn.

 

Despite the yards allowed, the defense won the game against the Browns. They also gave up only seven points to the Raiders until the officials. They couldn't cover Davante Adams, which puts them right there with just about every defense in the NFL.

As someone pointed out, yes, they are missing a stud defensive lineman. His name is Cam Heyward. You even mentioned him elsewhere in the post.

I think the communication issues are hurting as much in the run defense as anything. If you can't see that Holcomb is an upgrade over what they had at inside linebacker last season, I'm not sure if you watched the last two games. Roberts has been mostly disappointing. Alexander has been decent.

 

T-2nd, turnovers
5th, % of drives ending in turnover

T-19th, points allowed
T-11th, % of drives ending in points scored

 

20th in pts allowed per game. 1st in sacks, tied for second in turnovers/3rd in turnover differential.
Do we rely on splash plays? Yup. Is it working? For now.

(beat me by a second, Thor, but I have some other numbers, so I'll leave it up).

 

Losing Hargrove hurt big time, not sure this would be a lineup but imagine cam, Benton, hargrove up front with TJ and Highsmith on the outside!! Benton was a bit like a the Snack, maybe we call him Baby Snack!! (ala Baby Lloyd).

 

Lmao

 

Where do I stand on Defense?!


Okay thus far! Missing Cameron Heyward has been a major sting but thankfully, Josh Jacobs did not have the bounce back game many thought he would. Part of that is the increased importance of gap control. The other aspect is letting young IDL like Keeanu Benton and DerMarvin Leal get more time; doubly so in Leals case. This is a big year for him and I hope he can continue to grow.


Biggest concern is still the Cornerback spot. I had posted a thread just recently about how more and more Peezy Jr is getting to the NFL. Hell, even with his limited snap count of 27 against Las Vegas, Joey Porter Jr held his own very well against both Jakobi Meyers and a HOF Player in DeVante Adams. Again, only 27 snaps total but that is still something to note for he could have been targeted more.


In short?! Let Peezy Jr cook!!

 

Secondary isn’t even close to good enough with Wallace and PP starting at corner. The loss of Cam is devastating to the DL but he could maybe come back around week 10. Watt is such an animal he can single handily wreck games and keep us in it.

 

Thank You both very much

 

Mine were via Pro Football Reference. Ours were close enough, I think.

 

Speaking of defense I am watching the replay of the Broncos debacle against Miami. I haven't seen anything this brutal since the last "Saw" movie.