DC Patrick Graham understands The Standard

Agree. And a defense can

• allow a drive, then force a turnover.
• force a 3-and-out.
• force a punt.
• force a turnover on downs.

Which one is better? They all result in getting the ball back for the offense and no points for the other team. You can be great at forcing turnovers without being a great defense overall. Yards given up was a glaring problem we had on defense, magnified by the fact that our offense was pretty terrible at time of possession.

 

We had twice the talent???
Didn't we all draft in the same draft, or did the Raiders draft from different drafts??

 

Some people are changing the narrative. The narrative was said that the Raiders had a better Defense than us. Yet they gave up more points, had less sacks, had less turnovers, and where rank below us in the red zone. So again someone tell me how they were better.

 

Steelers drafted better, had better players on defense, acquired proven free agents.... but didn't get much ROI.

 

The raiders have been one of the worst team in the league almost every year since 2003...So many GM,head coach.They are awful but this is a bit under the radar because of the current Jets,Browns and Lions in the 2000s

 

No , no ,no don't try changing that.
What You said is that the Raiders had a better D than the Steelers.
I don't give 2 f**KS who the coaches are, you are only bringing up Tomlin because You are looking for support from someone.
You just said that points are more important than yards, hell a child knows this. Well if the Raiders gave up more points on D, then how the hell were they better, and that's not counting the sacks, the turnover, and the other stuff??? Just admit it. Geez is your ego that bloated?. Don't make this about anything but what You said, and that was the Raiders had a better D.

 

So let's not move the goal post..What D was better?

We had more sack.
We had more turnovers.
We gave up less points.
Did the Raiders have a better D yes , or no??

 

Steelers spend more money on the defensive side of the ball than any other team... and it's not very close. To say they are not getting good ROI... is an understatement.

 

IMO, it's a little hard to put a definitive answer to that. Football is complementary and it works in reverse too. A bad offense can make a defense look worse because they're always on the field. A great offense can help mask for an avg. defense.

It's best to just compare the individual stats and leave it at that.

But the Furnace is right when he says that the NFL ranks defenses primarily by yards given up. You can have a good defense where the offense is frequently putting them in terrible situations and you end up giving up more points than you otherwise would.

 

Don't change the subject. This is how I always know when people are wrong. They try changing the subject.
We had more sacks.
We had more turnovers.
We gave up less points.
So we're the Raiders D better than the Steelers, yes , or no???
This is grade school stuff Herr fellas.

 

Again... for the money Steelers FO spends on Defense, they are getting ripped off!

Doesn't matter if they are better than Raiders. I've watched top 5 D's play in 2025.... Rams, Broncos, Patriots, Eagles and Seahawks. Steelers D is nowhere near those... and those D's are much cheaper on the cap!

 

A huge reason why the raiders gave up more points that the steelers last season was the starting field position

The average for the raiders on defense was at the 33 yards line,30th in the NFL

The average for the steelers defense was at the 28 yards line,second best in the NFL

This is a huge difference...Yes the steelers offense were bad but the raiders were even worst.They had 3 first down in one game last season!...And their offense were last in PPG and yards per game.Their starting field position was also awful in 2024.In 2023 the raiders had the best starting field position on defense in the NFL and they finish 9th

Also the raiders had only one great player on defense.I believe our defense can be much better this year with a different DC

 

LoL.
Do You know what ranking all D in the top 7 had that made the playoffs???
Turnovers. All of them.
I don't care who you are, or how anyone tries spinning it.
If you give up more points, if you have less turnovers, if You have less sacks, you are not the better D.
I've never one in my entire life playing , or watching any sports seen a team win by yards. It's always by points.

 

The steelers offense were bad for so many years now but if one thing the offense was good,it was at protecting the ball....They are in the top 10 every years with the fewest turnovers and they were in the top 5 in 3 of those years.The defense were also great in turnovers but like the offense they were often bad in almost every other category

 

The 2021 rams were also only +2 in turnover that year....The 2022 chiefs,2023 chiefs and 2025 seahawks were all in the negative for the turnovers differencial but they all won the super bowl...Why?...Look at the yards!..Almost all in the top 10 on both side of the ball for those teams!

 

So there D was worse.
Stop trying to spin a tale.
You could do this for the any team. Like the Browns for instance. It doesn't change the fact that some of you can't admit that the Steelers had a better D than the Raiders. It's very easy to see, because you guys are grasping at straws, and excuses.
Well the moon was full during most of their games, and they don't draft as well, and they don't have as good a GM, and they eat different meals.
Be men, and admit that You can't give up more points, have less sacks have less turnovers, and be a better D. It's impossible.
I mean the bull**** some of You are try to say is ridiculous.
So next year if the Rams have a better D than us it doesn't count because the have a better GM, better HC, better players??? That's what some of you are try to say. LoL
Just be men, and say No , the Raiders didn't have a better D

 

What does that have to do with last year. You can never stay on track. Hey guess what one time I got a leech on my testicle, what does that have to do with last year??

 

This is not just about making the playoffs,this is about winning in January.Super bowl champions don't live or die with the turnovers...They are able to dominate their opponents without a huge number of turnovers from the other teams.If they have a huge number of turnovers,the games will not be close,just see the 2024 eagles in the playoffs

 

See . LoL. The more You and others change the subject, the more I know . LoL.
So the Raiders didn't have a better D.
No tell us about how the Jets beat the the Colts in SB 3, and try tying that in with how somehow the Raiders had a better D than the Steelers. LoL.
What a goof

 

Yes, good in protecting the ball. Not good in doing anything with it. The 2025 Steelers ranked 29th in time of possession and 15th in scoring.

Not to harp on Tomlin but that was his offensive MO. Protect the ball with conservative, not-to-lose offense.