Lambert, Lloyd and company have to be ashamed of this current soft group!

Did you ever get mad while reading an article ? I did while reading this one. It's so full of crap I thought I was in an outhouse!

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...rs-producing-fewer-sacks/stories/201601010088

Quote from article:
The results have been mixed. While the Steelers pass rush as evidenced in sacks has increased from a 25-year low of 33 in 2014 to 41 today with one game left, their outside linebackers have not been big contributors to that stat.

Those outside linebackers who play the top pass-rush positions in their 3-4 defense and its sub-packages have 14 sacks, led by 37-year-old James Harrison with five. That accounts for 34.1 percent of their sack total. Last year, outside linebackers had 19 of the 33 sacks, or 57.6 percent.

Comment: James Harrison, our 37 year old wonder who we actually cut 3 years ago because he was no longer good enough, is the leading sacker out of our highly touted and drafted LB group! Un-freaking-believable! Fact: Our OLB group IS NOT creating the kind of pressure on the QB needed to force quarterbacks into mistakes. Against Mallett, we never entered the same zip code as him last week and we have 5 NUMBER ONE DRAFT PICKS IN THE FRONT SEVEN!!! Our lone sack was from Brandon Boykin.

Quote from article:
Yet so far, they have not benefited from their investments, at least not in the form of quarterback sacks.

“In terms of how many times these guys rush and how many times they don’t rush, I really don’t worry about that,” said defensive coordinator Keith Butler. “I’m more concerned with trying to put pressure on the quarterback and trying to make the quarterback make mistakes and I’m not real concerned about who we do it with.”

Comment: Uh, Coach Butler, sir, in the words of a highly esteemed former HC of the Pittsburgh Steelers; "RUSH THE QUARTERBACK!!!!!!!!!!" You say you're concerned about "trying to make the quarterback make mistakes" but guess what, quarterbacks aren't making mistakes against our soft defense, they're having career days against us! We continue to make scrubs like a Ryan Mallett and rookies like AJ McCarron feel nice and snug in their little pockets. They dang sure aren't worried about our secondary so if we're not putting any pressure on them from our front 7, especially our OLBs then WE GOT NOTHIN'!

Quote from article:
“Everybody loves sacks,” Jones said. “I wish I had 15 sacks. Sometimes you just have to play within the scheme of the defense. I think we play a lot of coverage, our outside linebackers.”

“We do a lot of stuff, man,” Jones said. “We have a lot of schemes, we have a lot of different packages.”

Comment: Yes, Jarvis, sacks are like Raymond! EVERYBODY LOVES THEM! You know why everybody loves them? BECAUSE THEY HELP PRODUCE WINS FOR THE TEAM! They get inside the quarterback's head and force him into mistakes! How about instead of making excuses as to why you're not getting sacks, you start beating your guy and getting to the quarterback instead of GETTING YOUR BUTT KICKED IN VIRTUALLY EVERY SINGLE MANO Y MANO SITUATION YOU FIND YOURSELF IN! You're about this close to becoming one of the most disappointing busts in Steeler history and you want to persist in telling us why you can't get sacks. Shut up and RUSH THE QUARTERBACK!!!

From the article:
Does all this mean that the days of the Steelers outside linebackers as their predominant quarterback sack men are done?

“I hope we haven’t seen the end of those days, know what I mean?” Butler said. “I think we blitzed a lot in previous years. The versatility of the 34 defense and the way we’ve done it in the years I’ve been here, we’ve used those guys in pass coverage too, not just rushing all the time.”

Comment:
What??!! You HOPE we haven't seen the end of those days???? You HOPE?!!! It's in your hands, coach! Maybe Jarvis is onto something when he talks about all of the different schemes and packages you run. Maybe you need to simplify things and replay the video clip of Cowher pulling Lloyd to the side and telling him to "RUSH THE QUARTERBACK!!!". I know you've got all of these cute little packages where you have d-linemen and OLBs dropping into coverage but I've got a news flash for you, IT AIN'T WORKING!!! Our pass coverage is consistently getting beaten like a drum. Third down conversions are automatic! We're not generating ANY PASS RUSH WHATSOEVER FROM OUR PLETHORA OF HIGHLY TOUTED FIRST ROUNDERS! What gives? Sorry, Jarvis, but sacking the quarterback is where it starts and ends with the PITTSBURGH STEELERS!

And in case you need a little added motivation, I'll just leave this here.

 

I'm sure the only thing that pisses them off is the $ these guys make compared to what they made.

 

sometimes i wonder if they lose on purpose .. it's the only explanation that make sennse

 

more proof we are moving towards a true 4-3
did I get that right??

 

You're being facetious but a 4-3 with Dupree and Heyward as the edge rushers makes sense.

I've beaten this topic to death and researched our OLBs past and present and I can tell you that Harrison dropped back in coverage slightly more than Woodley and that Worilds actually rushed slightly more than either of those 2.

I don't know how much Jones drops back on passing downs but I know Harrison and Woodley dropped back 56-60% of the time.

Bottom line is that the Steelers do not have the edge rushers for a 3-4. Another 1st round pick to fix that?

Steelers have coverage LBs like Shazier and Spence and Timmons who are well suited to a 4-3. Steelers could definitely pull off a 4-3.

And the hordes of Steelers fans who say "Blah blah scheme doesn't mean anything it's personnel blah blah" aren't realizing that Heyward solves the problem of no blindside pressure immediately upon switching to a 4-3.

Heuward is a 10+ sack guy every year in a 4-3.

 

Dupree was doing well early but has hit a wall. If Jones is back next year fire Tomlin and Colbert. 9M cap hit for nothing same as Worilds.

And fire Porter and Butler too.

Fire everyone!

 

I sure miss Greg Lloyd's attitude on the field. We are missing a guy with that fire on defense now days. Unfortunately the sissy NFL has just about killed off that game.

 

We've had a rich history of linebackers with nasty dispositions and high motors over the years, Lambert, Lloyd, Green, Gildon, Kirkland, Porter and Harrison. Really the only one we have now is Harrison and he's in the twilight of his career. I still have a lot of hope for Shazier but his play has been inconsistent. Dupree had us all excited early and once he gets used to a 16 game schedule he'll be okay I think. I'm real close to giving up on Jones and putting him in the bust category. He loves to talk about why he's not getting sacks but hasn't shown anybody that he's capable of generating a consistent pass rush and let's face it guys, that is the reason the Steelers drafted him.

 

That's another thing that's missing with this defense. Leadership. i.e.: lambert, porter, lloyd, and even farrior.

Jack Attack, how much more do you need to see of JJ. Didn't we all say last year that we will give him one more year. We may only have one more game left this year, and he still plays like a mid rounder.

 

Video makes me want Jarvis gone now. Get spence outta here too. Lets get some jokers in here that wanna be nasty af

 

I really wasn't
when i read that the dline made more sacks i immediately went to posting because after reading so many of you guys' post here
it seemed to me that was the way
i thought that was an indication of 4-3 when the linemen get the rush


edit
you are right too
i am quite sarcastic mostly some times to a point

 

He certainly hasn't earned his first round draft pick status.

 

Let me weigh in and pose some questions:

1. Are LBs on ANY team getting sacks? seems to me that DEs are getting the sacks these days. The reason, perhaps, is the development of the passing game. Most QBs simply don't hold on to the ball and are now taught (and allowed) to huck the ball out of bounds if in trouble.

2. Is the 3-4 dead?

3. The horse collar block has become the #1 way to slow down OLBs. Is that a factor too?

4. Do you think Lambert and Lloyd could even play in today's NFL with these rules?

 

Haha. Keep the 3-4 and start Heyward at ROLB I say! Move McLendon to RE and start McCullers at NT.

Done. Hahaha.

 

Watching that video only depresses me more...it's been too long since our D has intimidated the opponent.

 

I agree, the quick passing game made Lebeau's 3-4 difficult to run. I think Heyward and Tuitt will be the most important guys up front in the future. I think our OLB's still need to be dangerous though if we are going be a contender and so far they aren't ... and Lambert and Lloyd could play in any era.

One added thought. I have a tough time with Shazier... I think if this was the early 90's Vince Williams would easily start over him. Shazier is struggling.

 

The second half in Denver was one time. A very rare time, admittedly.

In part it's down to talent, in part it's down to new DC, in part it's down to rule changes, and in part it's down to a bad secondary.

 

Of the top 20 sack leaders this year, I count 5 LBers. The highest is Von Miller, who's 9th.

If they did, I doubt they'd be making too much money with all the fines...

 

Maybe JJ will gave a breakout game today and have 4 sacks.

If not (and I seriously doubt he will) there will be a lot of sentences posted on this MB during the off season with "Jarvis Jones" and "bust" in them.

 

The non-sissy NFL was resulting in Steeler greats going insane and killing themselves. I'll take a sissy NFL over one that results in former players blowing their brains out, or driving head on into oncoming traffic.

 

We were a LB'er factory under Noll and Cowher. It didn't matter who we put at the position, they thrived. They were mean, hit hard and lead the defence. Now? We draft LB'ers high constantly and can't find one to even be good, let alone great. I understand that Tomlin isn't the guy doing the drafting, but Colbert was doing the drafting under Cowhers watch and our LB'ers always panned out. Not just our high picks, but Cowher could stick a a monkey at LB and he'd pan out. Tomlin can't get any production from that position whatsoever.

The Steelers have always had a proud defence. Then Tomlin comes to town and we can't sniff a QB. Our defence is a joke around the league. Backup QB's make us look pathetic. We are pathetic. This defence is a joke and so is our head coach. He's embarrassing this once proud franchise. The Pittsburgh Steelers are about defence. I'm all for having a high flying offence like we do, but we are a defensive team and always have been. Tomlin has single-handedly destroyed that

 

Poor talent evals in the first round of the draft has landed a poor group of backers on the field, meanwhile the secondary has just flat fell apart to the point they are the leagues laughing stock, and still Tomlin moves on without accountability....

 

What exactly is first round draft status worth and what does it translate too in terms of actual play on the football field? Apparently being a sixth round over achiever who gets a big second contract still draws fan disapproval if you aren't doing something to please everyone so how can anyone possibly live up to some arbitrary standard setup media outlets to sell draft books and give Vegas something to base early betting odds on.

 

Thanks for looking that up.

So what do we conclude? Is this a Steelers issue or an NFL as a whole issue?

On a separate but sort of related note, has anyone been paying attention to the college bowl games the past few days? Defense doesn't exist anymore.

 

Jarvis and Bud seem like nice guys... maybe too nice.