4-2-5 defense talk??

There was discussion that I read of a possibility with Harrison, Woodley, Worldis, and Farrior being out that Pitt might deploy a 4-2-5 scheme. I was interested in what others thought of a front four of Heyward, Hampton, Ziggy, and Keisel up front with Timmons and Foote set as our linebackers along with troy roaming( he could actually qualify as an xtra lber since he plays in the box so well), along with Ike, Gay, Clark, and Lewis in secondary? I'm a little concerned with both Harrison and Woodley being out of this game to be honest.

 

I think this might be a good change up to match up with the Ravens given the injuries. Better chance to stop the run and/or Rice catching short passes. That secondary shouldn't have a problem keeping the receivers under control.

 

I started a thread about this very subject on the old board after the week one debacle and when the injury bug began to rear its ugly head. However most took it the wrong way thinking that any discussion about altering the defense meant scrapping the 3-4 that has been a staple of the Steeler's defense for over 20 years. Even though I said that wasn't what we were talking about but more of a few new formations that would allow for some of the best players to get on the field when at the same time. I suggested that since the defense as a whole was a veteran unit as far as starters go and even some back-ups that practicing some of the fundamentals of the fire-zone blitz would be wasted time that they could spend on working on a 4-2-5 scheme that would have put a formidable four man front in position to give Brady fits since he has more trouble with a base 4-3 than he did against the 3-4 zone. I think it is a good experiment to try. I also like putting Mundy in at safety and letting Troy roam as a MLB since he can bring down a RB and has the speed to cover if necessary as well as blitzing from the edge, middle, or anywhere he wants.

 

If Woodley and Harrison both don't go Sunday I think we will see Troy blitzing a bit more in this game. I think it would be most effective with a 4 man front eating up a lot of the blockers.

 

Tomlin even mentioned in his pressy that 4-2-5 was an option they were looking at.

This game could very well turn out to be the most interesting game in ages...

 

This would win the game for us because they are use to us playing a certain way and last week showed everyone that if we do not play predictable ball that we can beat the best of them.

 

my problem is casey hampton against the ravens. they used him to clog the middle of the line by cutting him from the backside and causing a big pile that our guys couldn't get around to fill the cut back lane that rice ran to the whole game. houston did that to us too. casey became they're best blocker. woodley was also sucked in to far and they ran underneath him. couple that with casey clogging up the pursuit down the line and it was a masterful plan they used against us. i think we will be ready for the challenge this time.

 

They caught us by surprise with their little rule loophole, which should not exist and should be fixed before the year's end (but probably won't be at all). Casey's adjusted and has done better against chop blocks since then. Anyway, not playing him sure isn't the answer. I think we should just tear a couple of their ACLs and see if they stop. It's too bad players have closer allegiance to each other these days than their own teams. Seems like in the 70s if someone tried to break your knee, you'd break his back.

 

The only way Ravens beat us is if Ben turns the ball over too many times. Ravens offense is not as good as they were even 2 years ago. They have more weapons, but have been very inconsistent.

..that being said I wouldn't change a thing on defense. Let the young guys play...don't put players out of position.

 

the reason he is doing better at it is he hasen't been playing. when he was back we were not playing against cut back runners. it's not that casey has done better it's the style of rb he's been healthy for since the ravens and the texans. this really limited our down the line pursuit. they may need to do some different angling of him to try to overcome some of this. rice is hard to find behind they're big guys anyway, they were just collapesing down on our line and creating the pileup with him. guys may have to stay at home more to combat this.

 

the reason he is doing better at it is he hasen't been playing. when he was back we were not playing against cut back runners. it's not that casey has done better it's the style of rb he's been healthy for since the ravens and the texans. this really limited our down the line pursuit. they may need to do some different angling of him to try to overcome some of this. rice is hard to find behind they're big guys anyway, they were just collapesing down on our line and creating the pileup with him. guys may have to stay at home more to combat this. [/quote:1norbahc]

Guys it wont be a problem. Ray Rice will be swallowed up.. Don't forget the let down in week 1 and the embarrassment which was suffered by the entire organization and fan base. The Steelers are not even remotely similar to week one team.

Tomlin has said repeatedly and I for one believe in "the standard" and this team realizes and has been taught when one man goes down the other is to fill that gap.

The chop blocking legal or not wont be a factor in this game. Casey is back and ready to reak havoc.. It's redemption time in the Steeler city

LETS GET IT ON

Bman