My observations from the Baltimore belly up

Teryl had plenty of help from those other two defensive masterminds.

 

The only issue is, Austin has the title. He is da man.
I don't disagree at all.

 

I enjoy your threads

 

Watching Mr. Irrelevant playing right now for the 49ers. Wish we had him.

 

Who is his head coach and the players around him

 

The D was playing soooooooo soft even on that last drive where the planet knows the Ravens are just going to run. Pretty freaking stupid.

 

I'll be honest, it was refreshing to see an ILB making big plays on the field in Pittsburgh.

Too bad it was for the other team.

 

He saw them running the ball three times when there was next to no chance the rookie quarterback would attempt a pass. I put that squarely on the defense, not the decision to kick off.

 

My Friend. You can actually give up 1000 yards rushing if You only keep them to 16 points.....If... Your Qb doesn't throw 3 ints, and one is a direct 6 point swing.....,and We lost by what???

 

where have i heard this before?

 

1st down 6 yards the end

 

LoL

 

oh
don't make me bring up lyrics from henry rollins bro

 

The defense has to share some of the blame. They allowed a practice squad QB to move the team into FG position. They couldn't get off the field at the end of the game when the offense could have gotten a shot. They created one turnover they didn't recover. Virtually zero splash plays. They gave up 215 yards rushing at a 5.1 yard per carry clip. Yeah, they only surrendered 16 points, but that was no masterpiece by any stretch.

 

You need to be able to coach a QB

 

The D gave up a 7:55 minute drive to the Ravens’ version of emergency QB in the 4th quarter, and then another drive where Ravens ran the clock out by getting a first down running 3 times. This all happened in a home game.

doesn’t matter what the offense did in the previous 3 quarters, and even if Steelers had won the game, that is still pure garbage defense.

oh I forgot, the Ravens’ RB who averaged 8 YPC just came off an injury and was visibly hobbling on the runs.

 

There is that.

 

Draft:

Round 1: NT
Round 2: DT
Round 3: NT
Round 4: DT
Round 5: NT
Round 6: DT
Round 7: NT
Round 8: DT

 

Need OL

 

One observation not mentioned yet is Harris throwing Mitch under the bus in his post game interview. That's never ok for a player to do that. Especially considering Harris hasn't been anything special this year. Between that and Johnson and Mitch getting into it at half time many weeks back, I just don't like what's happening in that dressing room. Tomlin needs to be less of a buddy and more of a boss at times. Harris hasn't done nearly enough in this league that he gets to trash a teammate.

I also still can't believe how bad we were at stopping the run considering we had 5 LB'ers out on the field for a lot of the game. The coaching staff was focused on stopping the run and they still ran all over us.

We have invested heavily in this defence. Not too sure what they're going to do at this point. They haven't shown any ability to draft DB's either.

 

This was a tough one. Only positive I can think of is the defense only giving up 16 points and the Steelers had a tiny chance of winning this game. The D gave up 200+ on the ground and wasn't able to get any takeaways. Ravens really didn't have to throw often and when they did, they usually found a WR just chilling open in our zone. This just felt like a game that if the Steelers scored 24, the Ravens would've scored 26. And truthfully, I really don't think the Steelers would've won if Kenny played the entire game. Won't reiterate what everyone else has said here. Overall, just a brutal game.

 

I was at this game. The whole thing - crowd, players, Renegade… was lackluster. This team has NO sense of urgency or passion. Losing Kenny was the final dagger. Also, TJ is CLEARLY not 100%. He got a sack but was wincing when he got it.

 

Just finished watching the replay - I had missed most of the 4th as I left at end of the 3rd out of frustration.

How do you point out a failure by coaching? (Defense)
You look at the overall play, how the defenders are aligned and how they move to their assignments.
You also look to see how the plan is to take away the offense's strengths.
Bad tackling is position coaching, it is also unit coaching, you don't put a bad tackler in the starting lineup unless you have to and even then you look to back him up.

Teryl Austin has the role of Defensive Coordinator.
In 2021, the Steelers finished last against the run. Currently they are not last, but they are not good.
Austin's specialty is DB's.
He also fielded decent defenses in Detroit.

Is it the players? I think aside from Fitzpatrick (who is forced into overachieving) and possibly Edmunds (Seems to found a role) the CB's are lost.
Time and time again the pass defense is found out of position or just plain beaten. Time and time again.
Usually that is a communication error, or a fail to address/counter the oppositions strengths in that area.

What about the run?
The front 7 is the basic box.
The DE's set the edge, or in the case (3-4) OLB's. TJ is not 100% and should not be on the field 100%, he's getting single blocks and shut down.
The ILB, the "Dogs" are ineffective. They are not generating pressure consistently. They are not disguised well and often result in busted plays.
The LB's, with the exception of TJ are slower.
I am also not particularly impressed with the coverage assignments. The zone between LB and DB is often open.

All this is frustrating because of the price tag of this defense.

This is going to take some good work and coordination between the staff and player acquisition.
They've got to upgrade LB speed - especially on the inside.
They've got to find a shutdown type corner.
I would also look at NT, I'm just not seeing the middle play doing anything special.
And they need to upgrade depth.

From the inside, is Austin voicing his needs? does he have a wish list? Does he have a plan?
What does Flores think? This guy is highly touted.

I'm not one who goes off wanting to fire everyone after a loss, Austin probably could work if he answers the bell to all the questions.
In all honesty, Canada is more my concern though I do give him credit for being slightly better.
I'm more in the evaluation mode now. As should be the team.

 

We share the same frustrations. For as much money invested in the talent and the defensive coaching staff, something is absolutely failing. If the problem is Austin, promote Flores to do the playcalling... hell have Tomlin call the plays... If the problem is the talent, then let's find other guys to put in the game. As critical as I am with Canada, and for valid reasons, he at least has the excuse of having a horrible OLine and a slew of youth at all of the skill positions. I just often wonder if the 3-4 defense has ran its course in the NFL.