Should have let Keith Butler take over for LeBeau

I agree, I don't care what the box score says, DL attacked that game all wrong. Coaches have bad games, I don't know why that is hard to accept. And anyone who follows my posts knows I don't normally go around pointing fingers at the coaches. That was a bad game plan though.[/quote:20kvvzbf]

Please elaborate.
How was it a bad game plan?

In a nutshell, he GP'ed to stop the running game and the Tebow option and dared Tebow to beat him with his arm...and he did.

More specifically, when Tebow blew his original GP to hell and back by busting 3 long passes, Lebeau adjusted to stop that and as a result it opened up the Tebow option and Denver run game which ate Pittsburgh alive and set them up for the PA pass in OT.

How about crediting Tebow and the Broncos for playing an outstanding game? How about crediting Tebow for constantly being one step ahead of Lebeau and making DL adjust to Tebow and not the other way around?[/quote:20kvvzbf]

I've been on Tebows bandwagon all season long so no reason for me to give him credit again. As for DL's game plan, he got cute, there was no reason to stack the box and dare Tebow to beat him with the pass. Also, I never go back and watch tape so someone else may need to chime in here, but it seemed that he was leaving the middle of the field open all night. Maybe DL should have given Tebow more credit and that was his downfall.[/quote:20kvvzbf]

But thats the book on Tebow. He's not a very good passer and what makes him dangerous is his ability to run the ball, run the option. Take away the strength and make him do what he supposedly cant do. Its a logical GP and one that I bet ANY DC in the NFL wouldve employed. How would you have felt if they played a two deep safety defense all day and been eaten alive by the run game and the option? I'd bet 95% of the posters here would be calling for his job. "Why would you respect the pass and the expense of the run defense when Tebow hasn't shown that he can consistently throw the ball well?" wouldve been the general consensus around here. Just look at what happened after they relaxed the run defense and took away the pass. The Broncos averaged almost 5 ypc the rest of the game.[/quote:20kvvzbf]

This is why I believe Lebeau needs to retire. You let a rookie quarterback with a questionable arm beat you. Lebeau has forgotten more football thenTebow will learn in his lifetime and he could not make adjustments to counteract what Tebow was doing. You don't let them get BIG plays on you, you let them artriculate the ball down the field and where you have more of a chance of them (especially Tebow) making a mistake.

Then you watch New England (the worst defense in the league) bascially shut him down from the start.

I'm a big Lebeau supporter, but I believe his time has past and we need an influsion of new ideas and someone to bring back what we do best, Blitzburgh!!!

 

I can't believe this tread has gone this long and I almost feel guilty for continuing it, but I can't resist. The idea that anyone would advocate the firing a coach based on one game is insane. Never mind a Hall of Fame coach that just got done coaching his team to a number one ranking!! Now, I hear you folks out there debating the merit of our number one ranking, so let’s look at the numbers.

Steelers 2011 Defensive Stats
Yards per game -- 271.8 YPG -- 1st
Passing Yards -- 171.9 YPG -- 1st
Rushing Yards –1597 YPG – 8th
Point Against - - 227 - 1st
Average point allowed per game -- 14.2 1st
Total Scoring – 23 -- 1st (tie)
Rushing TD allowed -- 7 --- 2nd
Passing TD's Allowed – 15 – 2nd
Opposing QB rating -- 71.7 -- 1st
Sacks -- 35 – 17th (tie)
Turnovers - - 15 -- 31st
* Steelers posted 2 shutouts this season ... rest of the league had 3

Now I am not saying that this year’s defense was the second coming of the 1970's Steel Curtain, but when measured in any objective way it was a very good defense. Are there areas of concern? Sure! The defense’s decline in turnovers and sacks, being the biggest areas needing improvement. However, only a Troll or the football challenged to say that this year’s defensive of performance demonstrates that the game has past Dick LeBeau up. In fact if I were Rooney and the Tomlin came to me, saying that he wanted to fire Le Beau, because this year’s defense of performance shows that he has lost it. I first ask him if he was on any medication or was sick and if I determine that in fact he truly believed this I would seriously consider FIRING Tomlin!!!

 

I agree, I don't care what the box score says, DL attacked that game all wrong. Coaches have bad games, I don't know why that is hard to accept. And anyone who follows my posts knows I don't normally go around pointing fingers at the coaches. That was a bad game plan though.[/quote:3tfvyice]

Please elaborate.
How was it a bad game plan?

In a nutshell, he GP'ed to stop the running game and the Tebow option and dared Tebow to beat him with his arm...and he did.

More specifically, when Tebow blew his original GP to hell and back by busting 3 long passes, Lebeau adjusted to stop that and as a result it opened up the Tebow option and Denver run game which ate Pittsburgh alive and set them up for the PA pass in OT.

How about crediting Tebow and the Broncos for playing an outstanding game? How about crediting Tebow for constantly being one step ahead of Lebeau and making DL adjust to Tebow and not the other way around?[/quote:3tfvyice]

I've been on Tebows bandwagon all season long so no reason for me to give him credit again. As for DL's game plan, he got cute, there was no reason to stack the box and dare Tebow to beat him with the pass. Also, I never go back and watch tape so someone else may need to chime in here, but it seemed that he was leaving the middle of the field open all night. Maybe DL should have given Tebow more credit and that was his downfall.[/quote:3tfvyice]

But thats the book on Tebow. He's not a very good passer and what makes him dangerous is his ability to run the ball, run the option. Take away the strength and make him do what he supposedly cant do. Its a logical GP and one that I bet ANY DC in the NFL wouldve employed. How would you have felt if they played a two deep safety defense all day and been eaten alive by the run game and the option? I'd bet 95% of the posters here would be calling for his job. "Why would you respect the pass and the expense of the run defense when Tebow hasn't shown that he can consistently throw the ball well?" wouldve been the general consensus around here. Just look at what happened after they relaxed the run defense and took away the pass. The Broncos averaged almost 5 ypc the rest of the game.[/quote:3tfvyice]

This is why I believe Lebeau needs to retire. You let a rookie quarterback with a questionable arm beat you. Lebeau has forgotten more football thenTebow will learn in his lifetime and he could not make adjustments to counteract what Tebow was doing. You don't let them get BIG plays on you, you let them artriculate the ball down the field and where you have more of a chance of them (especially Tebow) making a mistake.

Then you watch New England (the worst defense in the league) bascially shut him down from the start.

I'm a big Lebeau supporter, but I believe his time has past and we need an influsion of new ideas and someone to bring back what we do best, Blitzburgh!!![/quote:3tfvyice]

This is what drives me nuts about some people. First Tebow is not a rookie. Secondly he is a highly paid professional playing with other highly paid professionals who are coached by highly paid professionals. And in a lot of instances their highly paid professionals are better than the Steelers highly paid professionals. And sometimes those guys just flat out make better plays than the Steelers. It happens.

Why is it that people think that when the Steelers lose, its their fault and never stop to think that it just might be that the other team happened to make better plays that day?

And regarding New England, maybe they learned a thing or two from the Steelers game? Or maybe they apporached it a similar way, but Tebow just couldn't make the critical throws against them that he made against Pittsburgh? Of those 3 bombs in the second quarter, if Tebow misses on just one of them, the outcome is 100% different and everyone would be on here singing the praises of Dick Lebeau and how he called a masterful game against Denver.

 

As the emperor use to say. Its time to get on with your lifes work DL.

 

I don't get this. If Tomlin was standing in a press conference going "Erm, well, er, I like Lebeau, but, well, I like Butler, and, oh jeez, I just don't know guys..." then maybe. But what exactly is Tomlin doing now? Butler has an interview with Indy. He can't do much about that. He could probably make him som ekind of offer, but we'll only know about that once it happens. In short - what do you expect Tomlin to do that he's not doing?

 

LeBeau called a good game and made adjustments. He held the Broncos to only an FG in the 2nd half, I think, and gave the offense time to win the game. Offense was falling down from the start: 1) two FGs in 1st qtr instead of at least one TD, 2) failure to cap game winning drive in which only a FG was needed.

Ike Taylor got out-played/had a bad game. Sometimes other players make plays.

The whole team lost the Broncos game.

 

First off, you never know if Butler is the only guy who could run this defense. There are a lot of ex-steelers out their coaching the 3-4. Darren Perry, Carnell Lake, Olslavsky, don't forget Rod Woodson. I know many flame Perry, but he made a lot of the calls when he played here similar to Ryan Clark today. I'm sure he knows this defense through and through.

As far as the Denver game. I think Lebeau would NOT have loaded up the run if he knew his front seven would have been in better shape. We had the #1 D in the league but from week 1 our run defense was no where near as good as years past. I do believe Lebeau was out coached in the that game, but his hand was forced a little with the players he had to work with.

If the front 7 alone could have handled the run on their own, why wouldn't you drop guys into zone to force Tebow into a bad decision throwing the ball? All the commentators said Tebow struggles with zone coverage and we showed him singel-man coverage most of the game?

I would have conceded the run to them and gambled I get 2 int's somewhere in the game.