The demise of the Steelers defense

Good article on how they haven't been the same since that loss to Green Bay in the Super Bowl. Not much has been done since then a lot of bad front office decisions and failed draft picks.http://trib.me/1jdZgCN

 

I read it earlier today and started to post it myself. I did think the blurb about there being 29 fellow rookies with more sacks than JJ was pretty surprising. He also said the first time he saw him in pads his thought was "where's the rest of him". I don't want to put too much pressure on a young player, but if he has as disappointing a second season as he had his first, the B word will be flying around. I hope he gets much stronger and adds a few more rush moves to his repertoire. He did at least show some flashes so I still have high hopes for him, but with all of the snaps he got this season I would have thought he'd get more than one solitary sack.

 

Yep that part stood out to me too.

 

Agree.

Articles like this are frustrating because they're not offering any answers. We're coming from a position of great strength at D, and now those players are fading away. But now that we're in more of a rebuilding phase, people seem annoyed because we haven't already rebuilt. So when was the right time to do that?

 

seems we are doing a lot more thru the draft and are relying on them to be hits and haven't seen a good trade or pickup in free agency like with KVO, farrior or clark come along in awhile. we also seemed to hit on a lot more mid and later round players in the past. smiths, keisels, porters, taylors, gay, hoke's, gildons, and the like. we always had the next LB in the pipeline to take over a starting role. the new CBA and the free agency have not been used well up until now because the guys we got back before most of this were still playing and winning. well, it's caught us and so have the contract extensions.

 

Although the article definitely cherry-picked as TTF said, the Steelers haven't done well drafting on defense or picking up FA's lately. Although I am not a big fan of the Pro Bowl, who was the last defensive draft pick to make it to the Pro Bowl? Is it Woodley? He was drafted in 2007. If so, that means the Steelers have had 6 drafts since with not one Pro Bowler.

 

Always. You should always be building. Rebuilding means that you allowed things to fall apart.

 

Aye, that was pretty much the point I was making. As well as the fact that a lot of the draft picks we had were sitting behind that core. A lot of people were calling for Worild's head on this board at the start of this season. Likewise Heyward. So I'm not down on all our picks, even if some definitely could have been better in hindsight.

Mac is also right that the contract extensions - again, made because we had that Superbowl-winning core - have led us to this situation.

 

no it's not easy , but it's your job. you can't have two fairly recent drafts that not one player is left from. not only not one draft pick but nobody else that replaced said draft pick that remotely has upside. that puts you in a large hole. it's not like we dumped all of our former starters in one year either. now we have to keep over the hill guys even longer because of the missed drafts. those guys were never to see this part of these big contract for the most part.

 

I think the main premise that since the GB Super Bowl is a little off. The defense hasn't been the same since New England threw running out thew window on them. Everything after that was window dressing. GB attacked where all the good teams attack the Steelers and there hasn't been an answer in years. Everyone knows there probably won't be an interception so they just go for it.

 

The worst thing about the article is that they said how bad MT and Corbett have been bad talent evaluators. It makes you wonder, they may be on to something.

A few friends watched JJ play in the Florida - Georgia game and said when we drafted him the he was kinda small, weak, and not NFL strength and size. It makes you wonder, what were the coaches seeing?

 

I wasn't a big fan of the JJ pick myself but right up until he ran than offensive lineman-esque 40 time, almost everyone had him as a top 5 pick. Way out of our range. I'd hate to think that many people missed on this guy. Not that it hasn't happened before. I'm not holding out much hope that he'll be what we were hoping for in a 1st round pick, but hopefully I'm wrong.

 

The second pick in the draft has been offense 5 out of the last 6 seasons. While the offense and defense are alternated in the first round every year the offense has been the Steelers' focus since Tomlin took over.

Ironically, the defense has been top 10 in total defense since 1999 but now is the reason the Steelers aren't good any more. Somehow it is all the defense's fault. The defense STILL outperformed the offense this year.

The offense has put the Steelers defense in TERRIBLE field position the last 2 seasons (I know that works both ways but people usually complain about the defense not holding). The Steelers offense was 27th in 3 and out percentage in 2013. 1 in 4 Steeler drives were 3 and outs (24.9%). That is essentially a turnover. That is something Arians' offense did better (and I am an Arians hater).

Steelers defense is not terrible... only average same as the offense. Now that the pressure is on the offense to carry the team the Steelers can't make the playoffs. Over the years the defense has added some key players through free agency (Kevin Greene, James Farrior, Kimo Von Oelhoffen, Ryan Clark) and I would like to see some of the same thing. Oh wait... there's no money because Woodley, Taylor and Polamalu have huge contracts they are no longer playing up to.

 

Had Lebeau played the Pack in the bowl the way he did the Pats the following season, we would've smashed them... Bad game planning and lucky the Pack buttered their wr's fingers before the game otherwise it would've been a super joke like this last broncos debacle!

Even without out talent, scheme still matters we were just a day late that evening.

the D we have needs some tweaking as does its scheme in my opinion. The draft nor free agency (even if we nail it on both accts) will not be enough... We need to changes some things up and that's been a general consensus for years.

the O will be good enough and will still leave the D in bad spots from time to time. But we need to change the scheme and attitude of the D

 

They saw that he had 14.5 sacks his last season at Georgia.

 

Some of us were saying the D was overrated even before that SB loss to Green Bay. Earlier in that 2010 season, the defense was torn to shreds by Brees and (of course) Brady. I think we have seen and discussed three problems for the D that have been lingering:

1. Inability to get to the QB
2. Inability to create turnovers
3. Inability to stop the short passing game...because the CBs lay 8-10 yards off the LOS

Some of this may be personnel. But by and large, it is mostly LeBeau's scheme, which is NOT fooling anyone anymore. This was proven when Kevin Greene said, "He's running the same stuff as when I was there." Yep.

IMHO, the zone blitz/3-4 scheme is not nearly effective as it once was. Several years ago, when Tomlin took over, we debated what this would mean for the direction of the defense: would he return the team to a 4-3? Some thought this was also the time to work with multiple fronts. The Seahawks do this to perfection.

 

This team does work with multiple fronts. They just don't show the 4-3 as much. Pressure is the name of the game and pundits have been saying that they are getting pressure. I don't see it and I think most of us don't.

 

I agree... The DB cushion thing is synonymous around the league but a little too much for my personal liking here but who am I?

personnel matters absolutely but so does a scheme that is worn out. Bickering fans aside, when the team that beats you points that out... You have to pay attention. When former players that are now analysts/coaches point that out... You have to attention. I think Lebeau is brilliant honestly!

I just wish he'd take a few more chances on the young pups time to time and get a little more crafty on the fly with his schemes.

 

Well put my friend! Let the FO get the players we need to execute the D we want to play!!