Will Butler be the scapegoat

I think Tomlin knows something has to change, I think he will throw someone under the bus and that someone is Butler! In my opinion Butler is not a good DC, and I wouldn't care if they fire him! Something needs to change!! With 42 sec left! a Steelers defense should win that game!!!.

 

Nobody is getting fired during the season. Butler will be safe in the off season as well. It will take 3 years for the Front Office to make another DC change. They don't fire coaches after their first season in the position.

 

The last D coordinator that I can remember that was outright fired by the Steelers was Tim Lewis back in 2004 and that was after the season. I would be surprised by a mid-season change.

 

Will he be? No. Should he be? Maybe. What better way to send a strong message to the defense that nobody's job is safe if they don't get their act together than by firing the DC? Many would argue that this would be counterproductive and maybe it would. But there are times in every profession, business, politics, sports, whatever that somebody has to be the scapegoat. Somebody has to be held accountable for underperformance. I'm not talking about a knee-jerk reaction every time something goes wrong, but the Steelers D is bordering on abysmal at this point. Two weeks, two record-breaking long TDs. Making rookie QBs look like seasoned All-Pros. No pressure at all on the QB. No turnovers being generated. And I haven't even gotten to discipline and lack of football intelligence yet.

Maybe something dramatic has to be done. It worked for the Ravens the year they went to the Super Bowl when they fired their OC about mid way through the season and replaced him with Jim Caldwell. Maybe it could work here. Not saying I want this to happen because Butler seems like a good enough guy, but the players don't seem to be buying what he's selling at this point.

 

Something should be done but it won't. Another year of Ben being here wasted.

 

The Bills fired their OC a few weeks back. Ever since their offence has been much improved. Sometimes it's a move that needs to happen. It probably won't happen though

 

Don't forget the Ravens fired their OC this year too.

 

Did they? I thought the Bills were the only AFC team to fire their OC this season.

 

Norv Turner quit his job with the Vikings, guess he knew something.

 

They e never been a trendy org, but yeah coordinators getting the axe is the new hype

 

Rex fired his OC after they scored 31 but kept his brother on the team as DC who gave up 37 in the same game.

Nepotism at it's finest.

 

He promised his dad that he'd take care of the big ogre.

 

Here's the deal with the term "scapegoat" though. IF Butler is the "scapegoat" it actually means someone else is actually to blame. Therefore, if someone else is actually to blame, then I wouldn't necessarily get rid of Butler based on the fact that I don't know what Butler is or is not allowed to do. Therefore, I can't say what is or is not his fault. I will say this though, it's hard for me to believe that a guy who studied under Lebeau, who is known for generating unreal pressure, would just like to drop back and play coverage all the time. Just sayin' for what it's worth. I genuinely believe that Tomlin's whole defensive philosophy can be summed up in one statement which is "don't give up the big play". I think Lebeau's can be summed up in a single word which is "pressure". He has literally even said so himself. So I wouldn't be surprised if our defensive identity in the last few years is more of a reflection of Tomlin than anyone else. I mean do you really think Dick just woke up one day and said "you know I think it would be better to play more coverage and not constantly wreak havoc in the backfield"?

 

I will say this defense today from the sideline was repeatedly confused. I don't know if it showed up on tv, but repeatedly guys didn't know who was going in and who out. And on that last play, we were so late getting guys there we never had a chance.

 

What did the Bills offence do before the firing? What have they done since? What has Tyrod and Shady done since compared to before?

 

Don't give up the big play, huh? 95 yards last week. A Ravens team record. 83 yards today. A Cowboys rookie team record. Bend don't break isn't working too well.

 

It's been more like bend until you break here lately.

 

Why even bend?

 

They lost to the Rats 13-7 in the opener of a typical hard nose football game. Since the firing they have done really well on Offense but I thought it was odd that he fired his OC after
After putting up 31 in the second game of the season but kept his brother after giving up more.

 

Yeah we've definitely gave up some big ones. I'm just saying that Tomlin is on record as saying that. Even today when they went in at halftime he was telling Erin Andrews about it. There are definitely a lot more than we have given up this year. The Pryor one. The Tebow one. I remember Adrian Peterson having a big one against us in London when we played the Vikes. We definitely have an issue in the secondary and there's no doubt about it. Dez also scored a 50yd td today as well. Add to that the fact that we can't generate any consistent and sustained pressure with our front and it's just even more of a recipe for disaster. I know people are irritated that Harrison wasn't out there for the finale today but what I think is even more infuriating is that we're setting bemoaning the fact that a guy who is pushing 40 wasn't out there instead of a FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICK WHO IS STILL ON HIS FIRST CONTRACT! Think about that man.

 

Well according to what I heard, it had more to do with the players giving up on the OC, leaving Rex little choice. Pat Kirwan publicly blasted a lot of Bills players for what happened. I'm just saying, sometimes these things are necessary

 

Dick Lebeau was fired