Anyone think the secondary will get better before regular season?

My take, Burns will be a solid zone cover guy but is no where even close to being able to play man coverage. Cockrell is slow, can't tackle or even cover, he is done. Sensabaugh is a joke as well, why does this FO continue to think they can just trash heap players for the secondary and it will solve the problems. It feels like they are stuck in a time warp and the rules are still the same as they were in the 70s/80s. We have ZERO people who can cover, the coaches can't scheme because there truly isn't anyone who is good enough to cover even for a shot distance, the D-line and LBers will have to be on the QB is less than 2 seconds in order to stop someone. Well it looks as if this is Ben's last season, and it is a shame that they will have to score 40 a game to win, 35 just to keep it close keep it close. Oh, and I know, it is only preseason but 3rd string QBs shredding the first team defense doesn't bode well for the confidence level, and if what is happening isn't shedding the secondary then I'm at a loss because they look bad, no way to sugar coat anything. On a lighter note, I bet Keith Butler wishes he never took that job...LOL

 

I do, our HC is a former db coach and DC he should have realized that our secondary will need
COACHED up. He really needs to spend more time working with Carnell lake in this area and I think he will.
We will have to have Super play from our front seven EVERY GAME to get where we want to be.

 

sutton looked good and hilton looks good. davis and gay didn't look bad either.

 

We should all know that the secondary is the weak link at this point as it has been. Burns is our best corner. Sutton showed some promise if he can stay healthy. The whole Cockrell / Sensabaugh competition for the other starting spot Golden is weak. I would like to see Dangerfield. Gay has been the consummate pro but... As said the front 7 is going to have to bring the heat for this D to have success. Golson. What a disappointment. Not his fault but he is a China Doll. I feel they will keep him and hope... Time to hold on until they gel, hopefully...

 

No, but by Week 4 or so they will be.

 

Our secondary will suck but I think it will improve enough to cover guys for about 3 secs, enough for the pass rush to hit home.

Will be above average but not elite like I hoped

 

Yep, thinking a slow start on defense too. I am very grateful we have the Brownies to snack on for the first game to give us time to help fix the mess.

 

Dare I say it's plausible we stall on offense and they score enough to win? Lol

 

Looks like they already received a high ranking for 2017:

https://stillcurtain.com/2017/07/19...y-ranks-surprisingly-high-pro-football-focus/

 

Butler isn't going to show much in the preseason, he's running a vanilla defense so yeah they can get better. They need a guy like Sutton to stay healthy, the less we of Cockrell the better .

 

It should get better if healthy .More time together should allow them to play better , I mean really can they get any worse ?

 

With young players playing without a game plan isn't the same as playing with a game plan, confidence wise.......

 

You make a solid point, but talent wise I only see 1 game plan . 3-4 soft zone with the fire X blitz it's really all they can play . They will have to master that D .

 

I thought Burns played a lot better in man than in zone and was a big reason why we were trying to switch to man.

 

Nope he is a better zone player , but he is capable of playing man .The reason we are trying to switch is the Coaches watch the tape and watch QB'S shred zone only defenses. They know we must mix it up finally ,but realize we don't have the skill to do so.

Is why I have always wanted us to draft Man CB'S ,I think it is much easier to teach a man CB to play zone than a zone CB to play man. That's our problem IMO right there.

 

Quite antipodean of what many thought of him actually.


He is better suited to press man than he is at zone due in part to his ball tracking abilities.

 

Means exact opposite. Truly an amazing adjective.

 

I don't think it is just the secondary...

I know it is just preseason, but that is a baaaad Colts team, and overall Steelers look mediocre against them.

We have a lot of potential talent, but also a lot of guys who can't seem to stay healthy. I think our secondary will be okay as long as The General Mike Mitchell is out there, but it seems like his body is breaking down.

 

g

Stranger thing have happened than the Browns upsetting the Steelers. Not many but some.

 

The secondary is not the issue at all. It is the lapses in fundementals and lack of execution that are doing us in.


*Glares at Artie Burns and Ross Cockrell.



If the principles of man coverage, like playing your man, jamming the receiver well at the line of scrimmage or even playing the ball correctly while in the air then much of these issues become non issues.

 

Were Sanders and Woodson man or zone CBs?

 

I would say man. And the main reason would be they could play soft man and make the QB think zone. They didn't have to play press to play man, they knew how to read a QB and bate them into throws adding to that they had the ability to close the distance while the ball was in the air and make the QB pay for making that throw.

Could they play press oh yes did they have to oh no. That is the essence of a true CB . We have no one who is or will be that on the roster . Must get elite talent to even have a chance.We take what we view as the safe pick. Take a chance move up a spot or 2 and draft a Markus Peters type . He is of elite talent type of skills.

 

The secondary will improve when we can start drafting elite young CB's, but you have suck to do that. Can't draft 30 and expect to pick the next Patrick Peterson or Jalen Ramsey. We won't find our next franchise QB until we start sucking post Ben either.