Steelers defense in 2013

They gave up 68 plays of 20 plus yards which was seventh worst in the league, there were 4 alone in the Vikings game. Due to lack of pass rush and bad coverage in the secondary also poor tackling. They need to show these figures to LeBeau this isn't Steeler football, he needs to do a better job of scheming with his predictable blitz packages. With the infusion of some younger players on defense from free agency and the draft, they should improve on those numbers.

 

Really? you don't perhaps think that the infusion of young talented but inexperienced players may have contributed to these numbers? Oh wait that's right everyone on the team was old and slow last year except for the ALL the young guys starting on defense.

 

maybe they shouldn't worry about scheme as much as tackling drills. Timmons and troy getting caught inside a few of those longer runs.

 

There are reasons why Lebeau preaches to his players not to give up big plays. Players give up big plays, not the coaches.

The scheme worked for many many years. It will continue to be effective as long as the players execute.

Execution is generally the issue. ie players not winning one on one when rushing the passer, poor tackling, poor coverage, and not making plays when they have the opportunity.

 

DL did respond to this and they did get better and back to the basics. We even saw Troy playing Safety again. LOL

 

Fundamentals is a lost art in today's game,
Blocking,tackling,execution pretty simple if you can master these.

 

You do remember that "Steeler football" over the past decade has been defined by LeBeau's defense.

 

the steelers defense used to have a outstanding front seven, now we have 2/3 good players (heiward timmons worilds)..here is the biggest difference

 

Eh, it's been said before no doubt, but go back and look at those 4 plays in the Vikings game. Coverage and pass rush was there. It was missed tacking and overpursuit that did it. Ditto in the Raiders games.

 

I hope if they start some rookies on D they play at a higher level than our ist round draft pick played last year: From Steeler Depot: Jarvis Jones, OLB (24 years old) Combined Total Assists Sack FF FR PD INT 40 30 10 1 0 0 4 0 Jones had especially big shoes to fill, being expected to take over for the revered James Harrison at right outside linebacker, and while he didn’t tally an inordinate number of sacks, he did gain valuable experience in his eight starts that should benefit him moving forward into next season. By the end of the year, Jones had achieved an understanding of his role in Dick LeBeau’s defense, yet his lack of strength and his dearth of pass-rushing moves caused him to disappear in games. Optimistically, Jones has the right attitude in his approach to improving, and he is honest in his self-assessment, acknowledging his areas of improvement. While having a positive attitude and a willingness to do the work is half of the battle, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will translate into increased production on the field, and there is reason for a shred of concern about his ability to be a major player on the Steelers defense. While every player is different, and mastering the Steelers defense is a challenging task, consider the following rookie season sack totals for these elite outside linebackers: DeMarcus Ware (8), Terrell Suggs (12), Clay Matthews (10), and Von Miller (11.5). Even Jason Worilds recorded two sacks in his rookie season despite not having any starts. While it is too early to condemn the selection of Jarvis Jones, he has a steep climb to live up to his first round billing in 2014 and hit a double-digit sack total or he could be on his way to being a legitimate bust.

 

Not the last 3 seasons it hasn't so LeBeau gets a pass for that bad game plan against Denver and Tebow, that was a joke Tebow throws for over 300 yds. The Steelers defense made Tebow look like Elway that day and he never started another NFL game after that. I don't blame LeBeau for missed tackles and poor tackling but even the media has criticized him in the last few years for his predictable ineffective schemes.

 

A big part of why Tebow threw for over 300 yards was because Ryan Mundy kept biting on the fake run and leaving the middle of the field open. He never played again for the Steelers.

 

Actually, literally getting Troy playing safety will help. Our ILB back up was so bad, when Larry Foote got hurt in game 1, Troy commonly lined up as an ILB and not a safety. I read it was somewhere near 40% of the plays for the season. When we would see Troy chasing a receiver down the field, announcers were saying Troy was beat. He wasn't, the safety was beat and Troy was trying to catch up from the ILB position.

 

What about Ike Taylor? Couldn't cover his man.

 

Agreed, but scheme is important too. Good coaches put their players in a position to succeed. The players still have to get the job done, but it's not like coaches can't help with that. If we can just get a pass rush, most of our problems on defence would disappear.

 

Lebeaus D plan is known across the league now... Been said and repeated for years.

Older players/younger players/scheme/lack of or rather underdeveloped talent/letting the wrong personnel go/injuries, etc... It all plays a role.

Everyone gets burned time to time both the young and old or the stud and stump. It happens.

Folks need to get the fundamentals down period. There is a lack of it, be it rule changes or demeanor changes in athletes or whatever.

its in every sport these days... Hell, look at free throw percentages in b ball from the talented bunch.

dick could give a little, and his players could give a little more and rightfully so at times.

Either way, I'm excited for the season lets go Steelers