Interesting Perspective

He will make a career with his style of play and the Bucs will take MLB by storm next season.

 

It's really ashame that running quarterbacks don't win super bowls.

 

Not to mention an injured Stephon Tuitt

 

At worst The Steelers have 4th best defense, and an argument could be made that its the best. Only the 49ers, Pats and Bills compare. So yes this is a championship level defense.

 

Just about any defense is championship quality, meaning a conference champion, if the offense is good enough.

Looking at the conference champions since 2008, the average defensive ranking is around 13, while the average offensive ranking is 8.5. (Rankings based on total yds)

Just looking at the last 11 years it would seem that offense is actually more important than defense in terms of getting to the SB. Not only is the average offensive ranking better for conference champions than their average defensive ranking, in addition no team with an offensive ranking worse than 22nd has gone to the SB, while 5 teams with defensive rankings lower than 22 have made it to the Super Bowl.

So yeah, the Steelers have a championship quality D. The offense, not so much, but we all knew that.

 

The Steelers defense currently rank 3rd in DVOA, 4th in yards, 5th against the pass, 10th rush per game, 4th points allowed, 2nd sacks, 1st takeaways, 3rd yards per play, 3rd rushing per att, 3rd in scoring %, 1st TO %, 3rd expected scoring and 2nd in interceptions. But for some reason Glory Days says this is not a championship level defense.

 

Green font, please. Because you can't be serioius.

 

So where do you think the Steelers defense ranks this year? And have the stats to back it up. I'm saying since the Steelers acquired Minkah Fitzpatrick they have without a doubt had the best defense in football and the stats back it up.

 

Glory days seen the Steel Curtain & the defense that Cowher built. We got to win the big one to be championship level in Pittsburgh for us old timers.

 

i've been a fan since the 70s also, there will never be another steel curtain but for all of Cowhers great defenses he only won after he got Ben meaning you need offense too. .in todays game this is definitely a championship level defense

 

Struck a nerve there, sorry about that.

We will see.

 

If you are holding a playoff spot, you are relevant. The Steelers had control of a playoff spot until Week 16 and they are still alive in Week 17.They are relevant.

The reason they are relevant is the defense. If anything, the numbers aren't fair to the defense. The numbers don't account for how difficult the piss-poor offense makes things for the defense. They don't possess the ball. They turn it over, creating easy scoring opportunities for opponents. It's not the best defense in the NFL, but it is right there near the top.

Those aren't my numbers. They are everybody's numbers. That is the point of statistics. They are objective facts. The subjectivity in my argument comes into play when I say the numbers are not fair to the defense, and they aren't. In addition to the offensive issues, the overall statistics for the season include the two games before the Fitzpatrick trade. They went from a disastrous situation at safety with Kelly starting against Brady in the opener to having one of the team's best players at free safety.

We can go round and round, but we shouldn't because the numbers and the logic are on my side.

If you want to say it's not a championship defense because they won't win a championship, that's fine, but that defense is every bit as good as those of the top contenders for a title. The Ravens have slightly better numbers, but they also have a dominant, run-oriented offense that can keep the defense off the field. The 49ers haven't been stopping teams at all lately. The Patriots and Bills are clearly better than the Steelers defensively, but really, who else is?

 

Like I've said many times, stats can lie. If you choose to watch a game of numbers, then you should try Keno. I watch the game. I watch matchups and wars in the trenches. I look at trends, strengths, and deficiencies. Stats are an insight and can give you a big picture over time. But there are far too many moving parts that can distort what the numbers say. I have never seen a number win a battle. I have never seen a stat determine the outcome of a contest.

So I won't be giving you stats to back up my opinions. This defense is incomplete. It has been successful because of the pass rush. It has failed when it lacked disruption. Minkah has given our secondary some teeth, that's for certain. But he can't fix the back end by himself. Without our pass rush getting pressure, qb's have short and mid-range options on most plays.

But since you like stats so much, do your homework and look at how the teams we've faced stack up against other defenses. Maybe you'll see that we performed better than all the other defenses, maybe you won't. I don't know.

What I do know is that we've faced some bad teams and let them score more than an elite defense should have. We have also faced good offenses and held our own. That inconsistency is not a benchmark of championship defenses. There's no stat to back that up, but students of the game know it to be true.

 

Look at what you made me do...you made me change my signature.

Before we played the Bills, we had an opportunity to establish relevancy. We failed. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

You won't be giving me statistics to back up your opinions because they don't exist. The statistics back up my opinion and they disprove yours. The defense isn't perfect and probably won't be as long as Edmunds is starting, but it is among the best in the NFL. No NFL defense is perfect. The Patriots are the best in the league this season and the Ravens shredded them. The 49ers looked like the best, but they have been lit up lately. Seriously, answer my question from earlier. What defenses in the league are better? Give me one other than the Patriots and Bills.

I like the facts in this case because they are all on my side. You don't like them because they blow your side out of the water. This isn't the defense that helped win Super Bowl XLIII or the Steel Curtain, but there are no defenses of that caliber in the NFL this season.

 

You are sticking to the wrong story. Teams controlling their own destiny for the playoffs are relevant. The Steelers did that until last Sunday. Also, you didn't do anything, unless you are one of the players or coaches and we didn't realize it.

 

Stats are data, so they can't lie. They are what they are.

How one collects, interprets, or uses those stats is a different story.

 

That doesn't tell the whole story.
The 2017 Pats were 29th in defensive yardage, but 5th in points, which is really good.

(It is mind-blowing that they could do bend-but-don't-break to that extreme, but whatever.)

 

I don't think anybody is claiming this defense to be great yet, they also aren't as bad as you're trying to make them out to be. They would look a lot better if Ben was the QB, they would spend less time on the field. Even with a inept offense, the defense has held most of their opponent's to 20 points or less after their bad start to the season.

 

No problem. You have the right to your opinion. It's no wonder your name is Glory Days. I love our history, but I am also hoping the best for the future of the best franchise in pro sports.

In 2005-06 we did win a Super Bowl as a 6 seed. We also didn't have a great OL and still won SB 43. If you look at the team defensive stats, we are high in many categories in the league. So we do have a defense good enough to win championship, and it's going to get better. I get pissed quite a bit at the Steelers, but it's been fun watching them continue to fight and still be relevant. So, I will be optimistic. Very proud keeping my flag flying at my house in Chiefs Country. I will refuse to be someone who will be pessimistic. Besides, the Steelers always have and always will make games interesting. When have we ever blown out a team in a championship game. Happy New Year.

 

I thought you and I were past this. I gave my explanation. I said it wasn't based in stats that can be interpreted different ways. And you show up again, disproving everything you don't agree on with false positives. I'm not answering your question about a better defense because that wasn't what I responded to nor am talking about. I'm also not answering your question because you bore me when you're acting like a dickhead.

Keep your stats. Shove them up your ass and **** them back out again. They stink just as much going in as coming out. Fortunately, my interpretation isn't based on your numbers, so it doesn't have your stink on it.

 

My signature is all you need to know about your flimsy relevancy position. If you're on your phone and can't see it, it's not my problem.

And what in the hell are you jabbering about regarding me not doing anything? Once again, your own desperate attempt at relevancy has you talking nonsense. Are you sure you don't want the Steelers to be relevant so that you can live vicariously through them? That's the closest you'll ever come to it, so I can see the method to your madness.

 

Hello steelersrule6, welcome to the message board. Just fyi, around here it's good practice to read the posts in a thread before commenting on them. For example, a series of no less than 12 posts prior to your response were specifically about this year's defense being of championship level. There are quite a few people arguing exactly that.

And thanks for reminding me about the most underrated trait for a cornerback, an offense that keeps him off the field. I wish I had known about that while I was coaching. I could have had All-county db's every year if I could have just coached them better to keep the offense on the field and them off. Silly me.

 

Stats dont win games, this so called champ defense let the jets beat them, it counts on the field not on paper.........

 

With any kind of competent offense the Steelers win that game. No defense is perfect, you give up only 16 points you should win.