defense

nice read and just what i was talking about them trying to do. 3 safeties but moving guys and confusing defenses pre snap and after the snap. even a split second of indecision and it allows the pass rush to get home.

https://steelersdepot.com/2023/06/k...is-spring-they-are-about-having-chess-pieces/

hopefully this will be in place and working in full by game one. sounds like it's off and running so far.

 

He's got 3 picks in 7 years. Is this because of the position he plays? I've not heard a lot about him so I'm not sure how good he is.

 

it's not just about him. read the whole article, it talks about what they are doing as a whole and making the offense not know where any one player may be on any given play. with our pass rush, confusing a QB for just one second could be deadly for him. it's not like he can just look at minkah and read the defense now. how much of this is grady brown having them ready is something we may not know but he has been a good coaching pickup i believe. now giving him the talent to work with and we may have what they have been trying to achieve for several years.

 

I believe they wanted to do this last year, and the injuries prevented most of it.

 

we can HOPE!!!

Love to see some CHAOS DEFENSE! talent for talent, the secondary is our #1 biggest risk this year. they must be very creative, attack the QB, do a lot of disguising. allow the new players to grow, learn.

 

I think they have been trying to do this far longer than that. They just didn't have the right players in place. Marcus allen comes to mind. Just didn't fit the role enough. Muse and Riley could also be a couple of players that rise to the top in these packages. Seems like we even have some backups able to step in where before if we had an injury it just threw a wrench in the whole operation.

 

I still say Neal is a downgrade from Edmunds.

Should be interesting to see how Edmunds vs Neal plays out in the Stats category in 2023.

Also, the Eagles drafted the "Thumper" Safety from Illinois, Sydney Brown I wanted the Steelers to take a look at. I wonder if Sydney Brown starts pushing Edmunds for playing time in 2023?

 

So I am going to be ignorant here (not that hard actually). Today on Cowherd, he and his guest were talking about Nic Fangio, the guest stated several teams were lined up with offers to get him, and many teams are moving to replicate his style. What he named was a lot of man coverage, but last second deception and movement. that's my simplicity, but is this the type of thing we are reading here????

 

Agreed. They seemed to be putting some of that in with Fitzpatrick, Edmunds, and Kazee during the preseason, then Kazee got hurt and suspended. I think they did a little of it after he returned, too.

 

The thing really is that this chaos style really depends on chemistry and being on the same page.i absolutely love the concepts that the 3 S look presents. If we the CBA from 15 years ago and a 4th Preseason game, I wouldn't be as concerned. Minkah saying they're ahead of schedule is encouraging tho. Once they get this together, it's going to be fun to watch, but it may take until the bye week, if not later, before it does. This here is the exact reason why I'm predicting 9-8 this season.

 

I think they have enough vets back there that it may indeed be easier to bring it together. Yes we may have a couple of rookies on the outside but the rest are seasoned vets that have seen most everything. Again, we also bring one of the best pass rushes in the league as well which makes coverage a little easier. I don't think it will take that long for it to work. Fast forward to a ball control offense that keeps these vets fresh and the younger part of our defense off the field longer. It all looks like it should work on paper and in theory.

 

Hopefully Neal isn't on the field on 3rd and long situations.

 

They don't have enough back there. All they got returning is Minkah Kazee and Levi Wallace and really only Minkah was a true starter on this defense and there's a great chance Wallace isn't start this year. You're essentially replacing 2 of 4 DBs in base at best, and replacing both ILBs doesn't help the pass defense either.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Brown is any good. Edmunds isn't.

The only advantage Edmunds has over Neal is durability. That's not nothing in the NFL, but when they are both on the field, Neal is at least as good if not better.

 

Kazee has been a full-time starter four of the last six seasons, including 2021.

Wallace has missed some games with injury, but last season was the first time he didn't start every game he played in.

Peterson is going to start. The question is if he moves to the slot when they have three corners on the field. Of course, they also hope Porter can make an impact as a rookie. It's not as empty back there as you make it out to be.

 

By no means am I saying it's empty. They just lack playing together as a unit. They have potential to be better than last year. It's just going to take time to function as a unit.

 

I must see them all together before I say either way.

 

Pittsburgh has been attempting three safety looks dating back to Terrell Edmunds' Rookie Season. One of the problems was that Morgan Burnett ended up getting hurt and ultimately stymied those plans all together. The second during that 2018 Campaign was a severe lack of play making from any of the Safeties; Pittsburgh giving up the most 20 yard pass plays and within the bottom five of most 40 yard pass plays given up that season. 2019 was going to be the same thing.... until Brian Flores and Minkah Fitzpatrick had a falling out. One trade on September 16, 2019 involving Minkah would assist Pittsburgh in obtaining that capability. Sean Davis was supposed to be the final piece for Tomlin and Austin to implement and roll with three Safeties but Davis' continual regression again made these plans unsuccessful from 2019 to 2020. 2021 the team seemingly just said "to hell with it" as Pittsburgh's lack of IDL depth severely limited their capability to deploy the three safety look; Devin Bush's regression along with the porous performance of the entire ILB corps no less.


2022 though many of us finally saw the breakthrough. Even though Kazee was injured for a while, the team relied heavily on the experience and versatility of Cameron Sutton to imitate a third safety for it to work. When Kazee returned, Pittsburgh could finally achieve what it had long sought to accomplish for six seasons dating back to 2018. Pittsburgh's three safety look went well overall when Kazee came back and was influential in both wins against Oakland and Tampa Bay; two teams that have a plethora of weapons to use in the middle.


Now, for 2023, Pittsburgh fields Minkah, Keanu and Damontae. However, as in the article states, Neal is going to be a lot more than just a mere SS; a hybrid role in the same vein as Terrell. My concerns are echoed by many on this thread in that Neal's pass coverage chops are a downgrade from Terrell Edmunds. While Terrell didn't net many INTs.... his final two seasons in Pittsburgh did not allow many to convert TDs against him either. The same cannot be said for Neal; much less athletic to boot as well.



Overall, I do expect the Steelers to attempt to implement more Cover 3 looks with some Cover 1 as well. That said, there are multiple methods that can be used to employ and deploy the safeties currently on the roster. The question remains can Keanu Neal be consistent enough in unfavorable situations?!



Time will tell.

 

Sean Davis... I will always wonder what would have happened if the Steelers did not draft Edmunds and left Davis at Strong Safety. His 2nd year in the league in 2017 Sean Davis playing Strong Safety led the Steelers in Tackles and Ints.

2018 The Steelers Draft Edmunds and move Sean Davis to Free Safety.

 

keep this name in mind.

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=e5a8...nMtNTMtbWFuLXJvc3Rlci1taW5pY2FtcC1uZXdz&ntb=1

even talks about how his abilities could create space for an extra DB to be kept. this alone would allow them to do things with neal and also be able to move guys around so the offense won't know who is where. keeps the 3 safety look in tact if only in name. safety, slot, blitzer. the more you can do. trice could fall into this category as well. i believe they finally have the talent and players that they have been searching for to fill what they want to do with this defense. it could be scary good.

 

https://steelersdepot.com/2023/06/i...coachs-eye-can-you-go-and-block-one-more-guy/


https://steelersdepot.com/2023/06/m...s-theyve-seen-all-that-football-has-to-offer/

it will take vets a lot less time to come together. many have played together as well. sullivan and peterson. neal and kazee. kazee and fitzpatrick. wallace and kazee and fitzpatrick. pierre is not new either.