Complaints Already??????

You best be straightening out your panties.

 

I'm trying to figure this out, people keep complaining how bad the Steelers pass defense has been these first 2 games, but whom and what team are we comparing them to? The Steelers according to DVOA And PFF currently rank 2nd only behind Washington in pass defense after the first 2 games. They lead the league in passes defended and completion pct against both by a good margin. Also 2nd in defensive QBR and qb rating.

You can say its a small sample size but these critics are basing their opinion on the same sample size,

The Steelers have controlled both games only becoming close because of sloppy penalties, turnovers and the offense not converting on 3rd downs. Not because of the pass defense which by all metrics have been excellent.

 

Hey steeler dane.


Just to start:

No, believe me for the most part I am in agreement with you. My back and forth chats here about the first two games this season are more positive than negative. For sure. I too am a bit perplexed as to what some folks are concerned about.

Your post:

"They (Steelers) lead the league in passes defended and completion pct against both by a good margin. Also 2nd in defensive QBR and qb rating."



Okay, I just went back and looked at who gave up the TDs in our first two games.

• Giant's Game: Haden and Nelson for the first TD. Nelson for a "garbage" TD at the end of the game. The game was already "won".
• Bronco's Game: The Secondary did not give up any TDs in the this game. It was Devin Bush and Vince Williams.

Those are the facts folks as far a scores. As far as yardage and completions, etc. I will not get into all of that.


Excellent. Thank you for the that. Good stuff! Again, overall, my posts have basically been "Pro" performance regarding the Secondary. I think what it is in some regards is that some are looking for "Perfection" here or close to it.

First of all "Perfection" is a bar set into infinity so it will never be reached. Now back here on Earth, I think it just comes down to "specific" plays in the first two game and so-called "optics" that may have some somewhat concerned.

Like I say:

"Perfection should always be the goal. Even knowing that it can never be achieved, the true competitor views it as something to always to strive for, thus never becoming complacent".

(STEELWINDS)


Again with me, I have tried to quell some folks "concerns" here. Primarily, I have stated that if all of the above was shouldered by one person then "maybe" yes there is some justified concern. And even if that was that case, it would be "pin-pointed" to one player. Again, as I have been stating, this is not the case and thus I really am not worried.

I have also been stating, lets us see how the next few games go and see if any "negative" patterns of sorts start to develop in the Secondary.

Finishing it up here, I think that I am looking at last season's Defense and thinking now with Ben back, and we finally have an Offense again, that the Defense in theory should be off the field more. So much more well-rested and thus in turn really shutting down teams, like posting shutouts and/or at maximum keeping opponents under, let's say, around ten points a game.

Remember: Always strive for "Perfectionism" this way you never become complacent (smile).


STEELWINDS The East Side Kid

 

I'm sure you can figure it out. The Steelers will never live up to some people's standards as long as Tomlin is the HC. People have agendas. Once those agendas get disproven then the goal post will be moved.

 

You can't look at last year's defense. Teams approach the Steelers differently last year because our offense wasn't a consistent threat to score. As a result, opposition coaches probably had more conservative game plans vs the Steelers high pressure defense.

Sorry but you are living with unrealistic expectations if you believe any defense is going to shut offenses down and keep offenses under 10 points consistently. Today's NFL is driven by passing and scoring.

 

Hey BURGH43STEL.


Very good point. Your quote:

"You can't look at last year's defense. Teams approach the Steelers differently last year because our offense wasn't a consistent threat to score. As a result, opposition coaches probably had more conservative game plans vs the Steelers high pressure defense".

I do agree. However, I am also looking for "consistency" and the "building off of process" here. I would like to think that with last year's Defense, in which those pieces were together for the first time, and now all are back, that we should be building off of that unit, developing even greater chemistry and in turn becoming an even more potent force. And I think we are as I have been looking up some of our statistics through the first two games.

I know that some here, myself included at times, sing the doom and gloom song. However, that is why I like do my research and like to have facts to substantiate my posts. I think some folks go off of optics and pure emotion. Again, I would admit that I have been guilty of that occasionally as well (smile). For the most part though, facts.


Now to your other piece of the post:

"Sorry but you are living with unrealistic expectations if you believe any defense is going to shut offenses down and keep offenses under 10 points consistently. Today's NFL is driven by passing and scoring".

I still think we can do the ten (sub) point thing. I really do. I was watching our highlights from the first two games. Man, this is a fast, I mean super fast Defense! In big part, I believe this because we have the right personnel on "D" AND we have an Offense that should score many points, in turn keeping keep the Defense fresh and letting them rip and run. Much more of a compatible situation than last season. Hey that is me.

In fairness to you. You are right in that "passing and scoring" stuff. I was watching bits and pieces of the Jaguars and Dolphins game the other night. Please do not even ask me why (smile). Anyway, twice, Pass Interference was called on Eric Rowe of the Dolphins against Tyler Eifert of the Jaguars. Even my fiancé' who was watching could not believe it. And trust me she is no football fan or expert of the game. I was in total disbelief. Ironically, the two plays looked exactly alike, eerie almost. I had to do a double take to make sure I was not watching a replay over and over of the first PI. Anyway, as I like to say it was just plain "Disgusting".


STEELWINDS The East Side Kid

 

Good analysis and response.

On an unrelated note, STEELWINDS owns the title for having the longest threads on the MB.

 

Go look up the last time a defense/team held teams to 10ppg.

I believe that scoring is up this year. Scoring will continue to go up as long as the rules favor offenses and teams get consistently competent QB play.

I believe the days of consistently dominating defenses are probably over. One week a defense might play well and limit a team to minimal scoring. The next week that same defense might give up 31 points. This is the NFL today.

 

Hey BURGH43STEL.

I get where you are coming from. Trust me, I really do get it with your quote:

"Scoring will continue to go up as long as the rules favor offenses and teams get consistently competent QB play."

A lot of my optimism stems from my stating that this is the most "complete" Steelers' Defense that I have seen in decades. I have taken an in-depth look at each of our starting eleven on Defense. Minus Edmunds, who definitely has the athletic tools, I just think that we have every position covered solidly. Bush, I am a little borderline with but not disappointed. He is just starting out. Year one was an acclimation season in a sense so I am looking for more "reacting" now than "thinking" from him. You know how that goes in theory; from the rookie year to year two.

Now with that said, as I pointed out to you I cannot disagree about the rules favoring the offenses and quarterbacks. As I stated to you in the prior post, what I saw in that Jaguars-Dolphins game the other day was despicable. Did you see the plays I am referring too? Either way, they only verify what you are stating about in regards to the rules and whom they favor. Definitely.

Well, as the saying goes: "One game at a time". Given that, we need to handle our business with the Texans. We should. Nonetheless, I do not take anything or any team for granted. Have a great day and stay safe, you and your loved ones.


STEELWINDS The East Side Kid

 

KNOX! KNOX! KNOX! KNOX! My pump chant (smile). Always a pleasure my friend. It has been a while. I hope all is well in your world. Yeah, I know I am long-winded at times. More often than not. I try to chop them down and then I get on a roll. I need to work on it. I get over-involved/over-zealous sometimes. Oh well. Anyway. Time to move onto the Texans and keep the good times rolling. Take care.


STEELWINDS The East Side Kid

 

I like his post. He really thinks things out way more then I do. The past few years he has enlightened me on a few things.

 

Hey steel machine.

Thank you for the compliment. I try to be thorough. Just want to be accurate in what I am posting or when trying to emphasize a point. Not that it has to be a mile long. That is just me. Hey, that was short. Hurray for me (smile). Take care, you and your loved ones.


STEELWINDS The East Side Kid

 

Warren County? McKean?

 

I think it's similar to the perception the D always gives up big plays on 3rd down, when our 3rd down defense was far from the worst the last few seasons. It's the big plays that stick in the mind though, and tend to dominate the memory.

Of course, if that one third down conversion leads to a win for the other team, there's reasons it will stay in the memory I guess... But there's still a tendency to assign things to a preconceived idea rather than looking at all the factors.

 

Don't change a thing, brother. That is who you are. Own it!

 

You know it Knox. Yeah, I won't cave into any "peer pressure".



STEELWINDS The East Side Kid

 

It’s league wide as you are noting. A sports talk guy was suggesting it was a function of no OTAs or preseason.

I think defenses will catch up.

 

Everyone is full of something, self is better than ****.

Hey....Black kettles matter!

 

Elk

 

I`m out of complaints after our recovery from last week`s performance. We are 3-0. We are right about where one could hope for or expect getting the offense going after a year without Ben. We also have hope of continued improvement on offense as we give more throws to Ebron and Claypool.

As fans, we should be satisfied as of right now. I just don`t want to see any regression or key injuries going forward.

 

My only complaint this morning is a little more running and less passing. I remember two 20+ yard deep throws on 3rd and short yesterday.

 

I think if you only throw deep when you need deep plays and only throw short when you need short completions...someone might figure that out.