Steelers DEFENSE

Steelers defense is very good to great. Losing 55 hurts, but I like the Williamson trade to offset it. The question is is this defense good enough to limit the damage KC is capable of, because we are all fooling ourselves thinking or hoping we won't have to play them. My short answer there is to drop 7 and rush 4 and try to limit what KC likes to do through the air. I think their defense should probably be as concerned with what Ben and the boys can do to them.

 

It wasn't just the loss of one player. The run defense had two really awful games, both without Alualu and Hilton. They also lost Gilbert, who could have helped cover for the loss of Bush, and Wormly, which hurt them up front. The run defense was a little better against the Bengals, which was masked somewhat by the fake punt and all the running plays they called when the game was out of reach. The real test comes Thanksgiving night. Hilton's return should help. Having Alualu for that entire game will also matter.

That said, they are weaker defensively without Bush. It sucks that we didn't get to see what that defense and the team could have done over the course of the full season with him healthy.

 

Joe Hayden is the 10th most targeted corner in the league, partly because he is usually covering the other team's best receiver. He has allowed 1 TD. He is a sure tackler with 30 solo tackles on the season so far. Anyone with eyes can see he is playing well.

Minkah has 1 FF, 1 FR, 2 INTs, and 2 game winning pass breakups in the past 5 games. Clearly getting back to his ball-hawking form. He was pretty invisible the first half of the year but has become the difference maker he was last year.

I'm not into emotion, I'm into results. And winning football is winning football. We have had some crappy secondaries in the past, but this group is not a deficiency and is getting better as the season rolls on. All you have to do is look at Cincy's 0-12 on 3rd down and realize the secondary is getting the job done.

 

As cliched as it sounds it’s all about turnovers. Steelers are first in turnovers forced. Mahomes has a ridiculous 25-1 Touchdown Pass ratio. If they’re able to force a turnover or two that would go a long way in deciding a potential outcome.

 

We’re undefeated. It’s fine to enjoy it.

 

Perhaps a rookie QB who has been innacurate and getting used to the speed of pro D players had something to do with it too?

 

I was thinking that sacks + negative rush attempts + negative pass completions = tackles for loss. So, based on this, I assume there were two screen plays tackled behind the LOS?

Stuff percentage probably has negative rush attempts as numerator and total rush attempts as denominator

 

You do know that teams don't intentionally target the best defenders, right? The elite db's see far fewer balls thrown their way than the serviceable ones. What happens when the starter goes down and the rookie backup takes over? He is immediately tested, and that isn't because he just happened to be lined up across from the offense's #1 wr. If Haden is being tested, he is being tested for a reason. He has shown flashes in the past couple games that weren't there previously. He is contesting passes and making quick, decisive breaks on the ball. He hasn't done that most of this season.

Minkah has some flashy stats and has been in position to make timely, splash plays. His impact is noted. But he has also made some glaring mistakes, has been out of position, missed tackles, has targeted the opposition numerous times with his helmet down, and has disappeared for stretches of games when he has been desperately needed.

When you rely on splash plays to secure victory, you aren't doing the little things right. I've said this before, more games are decided by sure tackling, being in proper position, units being on the same page, and securing the ball than have been decided by splash plays.

You quoted stats for Minkah involving 6 plays over the course of 9 games. I don't care if they were all pick 6's. That doesn't overshadow the rest of the plays that the defense was on the field. And it also doesn't make up for more than twice that many free runners with separation in our secondary every game.

 

You spoke in hypotheticals. I responded with hypotheticals. You said there was absolutely no scenario where a defense allowing the least points wasn't the #1 defense.

Did I provide such a scenario? I think so, because you backed off your assertion and said it had to be apples to apples.

 

Perhaps you should look at what Joe Burrow had actually been doing this season rather than making assumptions based upon him being a rookie. Burrow had not been inaccurate the first eight games of the season. He was completing 67 percent of his passes. That would place him in the middle of the pack in completion percentage, but ahead of Mahomes and Roethlisberger. He was over 70 percent in his previous two games and three in total this season. He had not completed below 60 percent of his passes in any game in 2020. He did this while playing for a bad team with a terrible offensive line.

Then he ran into the Steelers, who held him to 52.5 percent.

As Glory pointed out, Haden is playing better in recent weeks than he had earlier in the season. The same is true of Nelson and Fitzpatrick. Yes, the secondary is still dealing with some inexcusable breakdowns in coverage. They had another one against the Bengals on the long pass play to Higgins. That said, even with that error, they held a quarterback who had been playing extremely well to his worst passing completion percentage of the season, 213 yards and one touchdown. They did not allow a third-down conversion all day, and they needed to get away with a blatant pick by Tyler Boyd for the touchdown on fourth-and-goal. (Go back and watch the play. He threw his shoulder into a defensive back to get Higgins open.)

 

Perhaps you should STFU instead of thinking you know what my assumptions are. There you go again with your usual condescending horse sh!t, hearing only what you want to hear, and knowing only what you heard. I was referring to how he played against the steelers. And in that game, his passes were under thrown, over thrown, and behind receivers too many times. He looked indecisive and slow on his reads in that game. Is the secondary improving? Of course they are. I didn't say they weren't. But as usual, you make too many assumptions and only comprehend what you want to hear, which is a very bad trait for an English teacher.

 

After Minkah's first INT the announcers were talking about how he came over from Jacksonville in the blockbuster trade and was part of the defense that knocked Pittsburgh out of the playoffs. Um yeah, he is confused thinking of Jalen Ramsey.

 

Players make mistakes. Coaches work to help players improve and correct mistakes. People are expecting perfection when there is none to be had in imperfect players.

 

Since the last Ravens' game, the Steelers' defense has given up as many touchdowns (2) as the Ravens have losses (2)

 

D description AMAZING.

 

What you are missing is that the Steelers played a big role in forcing those bad throws. They did it with pressure and good coverage. I'm sorry you don't see that it is relevant that the Steelers handled Burrow far better than any other opponent had this season. Please learn to handle it better when another poster points out a hole in your logic.

 

I don't disagree with your point at all. What I disagree with is your delivery. There was no hole in my logic merely because you say so. Again hearing only what you want to hear. If you can't handle that, then perhaps you should heed your own unsolicited advice.

 

This comment seems to imply that the Bengals' failures on third down were attributable to Burrow's inexperience. My response pointed out that Burrow had not been inaccurate before that game and his success showed little issue with getting used to the speed of the pro game. I did, correctly, that the numbers don't back up what you wrote. The Steelers are among the top two or three teams in the league in completion percentage by opposing quarterbacks, not just when they are playing against rookies.

 

“We must strive for perfection each and every time.”

Now imagine hearing this yelled from a hard nosed old German hammering on the dashboard of the plane you are trying to learn to fly.

Thank you for bringing back that memory.

 

Yes, you are right and I am wrong. Burrow's poor performance against the steelers had nothing to do with his inexperience as a pro and was due solely to the juggernaut steelers defense he faced. I stand corrected. Thank you for pointing out my error. Now I hope this helps you to feel better about yourself.

 

Completion percentage is a misleading stat in the conversation. A jet sweep is a pass completion. The duck and mason had over 60% completions last year. Bens was 56%. Playing from behind changes game flow too. It's pretty much a fact rookie qbs have a harder time. Add good defenses to that and it changes things as well. No fans also make it a little harder on rookies from prior years then this year.

 

Steelers have the best defense hands down in 2020.

this is not to say it’s perfect, or it hasn’t gotten shredded. Just saying compared to everyone else’s defense, in today’s standards and overall statistically (1st ppg) we have the best defense.

could a future team shred us and make us look terrible? Sure.

still have the best defense right now objectively

 

I really am sorry you aren't better equipped to handle it when people bury a point you try to make in evidence and logic.

The valid approach is to compare what Burrow did against other defenses to what he did against the Steelers. Your approach is to imply that all rookies are alike. Would you like me to bury that one, too?

 

True dat. And to be clear, I never said that the steelers D wasn't good. My comment was specifically about the possibility that Burrow's inexperience as a pro contributed to his poor performance against the steelers. As in, in addition to, not instead of. I don't see it as one or the other.