Get Back To Our Roots: How Pittsburgh Can Ascend To The Stairway

Given the amount of attention that Tom Brady has been receiving (and rightfully so), here is a major component as to why the New England Patriots have been so successful in their previous two visits to the big game; defense.


The legendary moniker that "Defense Wins Championships" have never been more true as it is now for the current decade. Since 2013, teams that have finished in the top spot or in the top five for scoring defense have ended up as the champion. The winners are as follows:




2013: Seattle Seahawks


2014: New England Patriots


2015: Denver Broncos


2016: New England Patriots




Said teams did have a great quarterback. Said teams did have a good enough offense. However, said teams also had an elite caliber defense (two teams in particular on this list can easily make a case for top 10 greatest defenses ever) that helped them hoist the Lombardi.



This also indicates what I had known to be quite a trend even back in the 2012 NFL Draft: In spite of great talents like Andrew Luck, the game is getting back to being a more defensive based game. More college level athletes heading into thr league for the past three or even four years have had defensive players as the top consenus picks or the safest. For further clarification: here are some of the "top consenus picks" or "safest" from years past. They are as follows:


2013: Dion Jordan (can also use Ezekiel Ansah due to Jordans ongoing issues.)


2014: Jadeveon Clowney


2015: Dante Fowler Jr.


2016: Joey Bosa




Again, none of these players would have been in Pittsburghs grasp anyway. However, to emphasize what this thread truly is about is going back to what Bear Bryant stated about winning:


"Offense sells tickets. Defense wins championships."


I personally do not think it is a secret as to how Pittsburgh ended up with six of them and have been the model of consistency of the league for over fourty years. Yes, the offense did help greatly in Lombardi's three, four and six, but again, the defense still was the key for such sustained success.



Now that we continue to dwelve into the offseason, I will conclude this thread with the same "squeaky toy" my gums have been chewing on since the beginning of the 2015:


"A secret that defenses will assist you in winning big is not. A reality in which people believe that only fragments of a defense will shut down any quarterback is the reality at which we live in; sad but true."

 

I honestly don't understand your last sentence, but I get the gist of the post and I say, be patient. The defense was neglected for several years as the focus was retooling the O line. But I believe this D is building and still will be much improved in the next few seasons. This years draft is just what they needed and I really do think that barring any significant injuries, this team is in a really good spot and is in great position to have a shot at SBs 52 and 53.

 

Since Ben is talking retirement, I do not know how long we have the door open to the stairway to seven.

Defense is the main issue and the main issue on defense is the secondary. I doubt if our guys in the secondary can develop fast enough before Ben retires. He might call it quits after one more year IMO unless management does something big. Do we have the cap space to make a splash in the free agent market for a very good-great cornerback?

Our best bet might be Brady getting a season ending injury in the first game in September, (sigh).

 

Essentially my post is an allusion to the notion that one part of the defense can easily overcome anything without balance (i.e. elite secondary can overcome poor pass rush and vise versa).

 

Steeler defense rankings from 04 to 2014 under dick lebeau, not a bad run over all..

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.co...ck-lebeau-career-statistics-steelers-rankings

 

Maybe defense, but I feel the Steelers have been bad on offence in the redzone for a number of years now.

You can make a case for a better D, to hide the shortcomings of an inadequent scoring offense.

 

I don't think we need to "get back to" anything... I simply think we need a little more time for development of talent (Dupree, Burns, Davis, Hargrave), and hopefully the addition of an impact player through free agency (in the form of a pass rusher).

We didn't "get away" from playing high level defense, we simply had to turn over an old and capped out super bowl level defense. It takes some time to rebuild. We are near the end of that process.

We don't need to "get back", what we needed was patience.

 

Well put. The steelers are 1 pass rusher and 1 more good corner away from really threatening the pats. Dupree is good but need someone on the other side. The D line of heyward, hargrave, and tuitt could be a big boost to the pass rush when all 3 are healthy.

 

I also don't understand the last sentence and I also don't understand why we would want to simply "ascend to" the stairway. I prefer that we actually climb it. I mean why just go up to go up? Shouldn't you just go up and leave it at that? Although I do love AQL and really feel like he contributes a lot here but just couldn't help myself from some good natured ribbing. I know I get my fair share of it around here. LOL!

 

I did state we need to get back to our roots. What I meant by that is return to the upper echleon of defesnes in the league; something I believe will happen sooner or later.



I did not state that it was a forgone conclusion we are not there yet. As I am certain you have noted, I have been on record in stating that one more pass rusher is needed to finally complete the puzzle. As such, for me to state this "rebuild"; quite a quick one I might add, is taking too long, would be quite silly.




This thread was created for the purpose to remind people that, while there are great quarterbacks, there may be the need for a greater defense to win it all. This whole narrative that players like Joe Montana and Tom Brady won those titles mainlg on their own is quite comical to me.

 

By ascension, I mean that go higher into the playoffs than this year; the Super Bowl being the "gates". Should we win it next year, the "gates" will open and we will be looking at seven.

 

our defense will be elite but ben will just have retired. Watch, cause that's how life works lol.

landry be like "i got this"

5 picks later "how do you like my moosetach"


bold prediction : we miss the playoffs
bolder prediction: im wrong