DL. its been nice, but its time to go

The most points the Steelers ever gave up in a season was 421 points in '88. Both Tony Dungy and Joe Greene were on that staff but the D was bad anyway, especially when the O gave them a short field. I do think Lebeau's scheme is obsolete but I'm not sure how much better another coach would be with this group. A couple more drafts and they could be good though.

 

Our defense scheme isn't as potent as it was in the mid-90s. It feels a little stale.

Anyone remember in the Lloyd Greene era when the whole front 7 would be walking around pre snap you didn't know what was going on, or corners would run up to press coverage right before the ball was snapped? The front 7 would also all come up to the line right in a row in similar stances and only 4 would rush, but you didn't know which 4 would rush, sometimes a NT or A DE would drop into pass coverage. Nickel corners would come in on blitzes. There used to be so many facets to this defense.

Now the rush comes from strictly the olb's, the tired cross blitz, or if Troy does something funky...

Our olb's and fire x cross blitz cant get to the qb fast enough in today's quick pass league.

 

As has bee pointed out elsewhere, getting rid of Lebeau is one thing, replacing him with someone better is another, particularly given the talent we have. I'd rather keep his knowledge for as long as he is willing to stay, rather than blowing everything up. The D is good enough and would be better if the offense could get a lead and keep the point coming. Not dominating like it has been, but good enough.

 

I would be willing to bet that the majority of people who are saying that the defensive scheme sucks, don't even know what the scheme is.

Schemes don't matter if you can't pressure the QB, and you can't pressure the QB if none of your defensive linemen require more than one person to block, and even then on one-on-one, the offensive linemen hold your guys back with ease.

It has been obvious for a while that our defensive line did not find replacements for Keisel, Hampton, or Aaron Smith.

 

Then get Tuitt out there and lets make some plays.

 

So you figure by the time LeBeau is 80 years old, we'll be ready to roll?

 

When your players are in position to make a tackle you have put them in a position to succeed. If they fail to make the tackle that's on the player.

 

Coach LeBeau has said the scheme is the same on several occasions. Hanging on to washed up vets to carryout the scheme got this Defense where it is. Now a mixture of old and young. Confusion.

Lets look at some of the players:
Steve McClendon: He is not the right fit at Nose. Gashed up the middle and pushed around. Should be a DE.
Cam Thomas: Another signing I questioned. Resigned The Beard. Thank goodness. Tuitt should get more reps.
Jason Wourlds: Who? I was all for getting rid of Marshmallow Woodley, but this guy is non existent so far. Good move not to sign him long term.
Mike Mitchell: I was again all for getting rid of Tweets Clark. Mitchell's early injury set him back. Hopefully he can catch up.
Ike "Toast" Taylor: Enough said.
Cortez Allen: I like the player but he is no Keenan Lewis. Sorry. His signing is a we can't let another CB get away. Don't know if he is a number one.
Troy: A liability in coverage. Still has that wild spirit and love the guy. But might be singing his swan song this year.
Timmons: An outstanding player but seems to be non existent at times. Not good for the vet on this unit.
JJ: I like his spirit. He is all over the field. But as far as one of our main pass rushers he just isn't strong enough to take on the beast in front of him.

I would like to see Coach LeBeau ride off after this year. Need fresh perspective, fresh ideas.

I'm hoping the D turns it around. With the Offense struggling this team is in trouble. Oh, and for those who want Ben gone, or say he can't carry the team yea, let him go. Mindless.

 

It's time for some fresh idea, when was the last time we saw a creative blitz get to the QB unblocked? The defense isn't good enough it's stale and predictable, it's time for Grandpa LeBeau to retire.

 

He has a contract thru 2016 he's not going anywhere.

 

I heard a player being quoted on ESPN Radio once. Been racking my brain and can't remember who. I'll see if I can find it.

EDIT: This is one of the articles that references the predictable nature of LeBeau's defense and I tend to agree. I also heard this discussed on ESPN Radio once. This was back in 2012 and I tend to agree. Maybe it has become too predictable and DL is unable or unwilling to change things up. The fact that we get zero pressure, zero turnovers and allow big play after big play seems to indicate that.

http://communityvoices.sites.post-g...ks-blog/34426-lebeaus-defense-too-predictable

 

After the Steelers lost to the Raiders and Titans players afterwards commented on the defense after their game winning drives. Matt Hasselbeck of the Titans and Carson Palmer with the Raiders I think were two of them.

 

Thank you. The article talks about Palmer and I had forgotten about Hasselback. Brady never seems to have much trouble with our defensive scheme either and I realize that he's made a lot of defenses look bad. Flacco seems to have us figured out too. Even Ryan Clark admitted we were getting predictable. Whatever the case, the evidence seems to point out that DL has been decoded.

 

Blast, do you ever give any consideration to the fact that a coach can lose his effectiveness over time and/or that a coach may not have the capacity to go head to head against more talented and creative coaches and be successful?

 

I was calling for Lebeau's retirement a few years ago. I still believe he should retire based on everything everyone has said on this board.

I don't believe he has the talent to run his scheme. I also think coaches and players have figured it out. Just like the 46 defense. You could not run that defense on a full time basis this day and age. It's time for a new scheme.

 

Like the Cleveland game?

 

I was going to post something earlier on this thread, but I think this Jack raises a good point here, and I guess my issue is really not whether Lebeau goes or not, or how effective he is now, but what happens after.

So what I was going to post was: who's up, if Lebeau goes?

Butler? I'd hazard a guess that we'd see more of the same.

Some new guy? Would that involve new players, time to learn the system, etc. etc. with no guarantee that we'd be world beaters at the end of it.

Now, that's not a reason to keep on with Lebeau, of course. But I do see potential in this D. They're just way too inconsistent right now. Can they get better under Lebeau's scheme? Undoubtedly. Will that be good enough to get us to a superbowl, or even the play-offs? In other words, is Lebeau himself off the pace? I have to say, I have no idea.

 

I've seen a lot of experienced coaches get fired! I think DL still can get the job done. We are only two games into the season.

 

I think that's what some were saying last yr........def didn't get much better after the first two games. Just sayin.

 

I fully believe that the Steelers loyalty to DL won't outweigh what's best for the team. If DL isn't cutting it, he'll be let go!