Let’s talk about this defense

I watched part of the Cowboys game and the announcers were speculating that McCarthy and the whole staff might get canned....I'd take Mike Zimmer as our new DC in a heartbeat.

 

Yes agreed Eagles are certainly right up there in terms of talent and were on a nine game winning streak going in to yesterday. The Steelers just didn’t have the personnel to compete, particularly on offence.

The Eagles shut down the running game and without Pickens there was never going to be enough from the passing game

They need Watt and Pickens back asap and WR2 needs to be a priority next offseason.

 

The secondary looks like the keystone cops. Confusion is not an illusion.

 

they are not playing like the TOP PAID defense in the league. Rooney deserves a REFUND.

this too, is on Tomlin.

sit back and play patty cake, seems to be standard. This was only the 3rd NFL quarterback we have faced this year (Burrow and Lamar, the other 2) - with a REAL NFL OLINE.

 

I think what happen in this game the Eagles OC knew that the Steelers were going to try to shut down Barkley so they came out throwing right away on 1st and 2nd down. The Steelers OC knew that the Eagles were going to try to shut down the Steelers running game because our main receiver was out and we just keep running on 1st and 2nd down with 2 yard Harris running. Just so predicable again. Open it up.

 

It seems as if big plays from the defense come more from individual effort than from scheme. And I'm sorry, but JPJ has looked like crap the last few games. I don't think he's capable of playing one on one effectively without being "handsy". At this point in the season, just let him play. You want to teach him something now? Teach him how to tackle, because he stinks at it. So does Jackson. The only two guys that know what they're doing in that secondary when it comes to tackling are Fitz and Elliott.

 

Yes, and i think the Steelers may have been surprised at how easily Hurts carved them up.

It’s a very hard offence to slow down.

 

And what offense was they supposed to run the Eagles have the #1 pass defense, and none of the receivers were getting open.

 

And they already beat Lamar and Burrow, you should post less .

 

TIGHT ENDS

RAVENS have won w/o WR's for YEARS

 

BWAHHHAHHHAAAAA

LAMAR ASS WHOOPIN coming, stay tuned.....

this D is not great. They are PAID to be GREAT

 

Preaching to the choir. I have been saying this for the last two years. We can’t stop the run without overcommitting to it which then hurts us against the pass. I want us to be able to stop both equally well at the same time. I know its a hard ask but other teams can do it.
A couple issues I see.

1. We have gap penetrating DT’s. Cam can do both contain and gap penetrate. The other DT’s aren’t big enough to take on double teams and contain. This is an issue because it allows the offensive lineman to get to the second level to block are linebackers. I really would like to see us get one bigger DT to be pocket pusher instead of a gap penetrator someone who can be the bodyguard for our MLB’s to allow them to flow to the ball freely. We have small athletic linebackers they aren’t built to take on blockers.

2. Donte Jackson is not who we think he is. Sure he has gotten alot of interceptions this year but I would take significantly less interceptions for a CB that consistently blankets the WR and forces alot of incompletions. Somebody that can play press man coverage and zone not just zone. He plays so far off in zone that when we do blitz his wr is always the quick outlet for the QB to convert to. Its so frustrating to watch. My fear is Tomlin is so friggin enamored with turnovers we are going to overpay for this guy in the offseason. Its gonna be Larry Ogunjobi 2.0 Overpay to retain an outside free agent who is middling but not great.

3. We don’t use our middle linebackers aggressively enough. Too often they are standing flat footed in the middle of the field. I would like to see more blitzes both pass and run blitzes. I would like to see us be alot more creative in our blitzes. The Chiefs do way more with way less on defense when it comes to blitzes etc.

4. Please, please get a legit DC in here to add some spice to the Defense and take advantage of all of the talent we have. The only team more talented than us from a personnel standpoint in the league is Philly. There isn’t another more talented team in the league than us. There is so much more juice to squeeze with this defense in my mind.

Upgrade wise we need to go shopping for a young DT and CB #2 next year to complete this defense.

 

PATTY CAKE PATTY CAKE
BAKERS MAN

it is Mike's specialty

(one of the) worst first Q offense in football.

just horrible, week after week.

 

Donte is FAR from our problems.....

coaching is LOUSY, but that is on Tomlin. He does not want anyone here beside him to 'show him up'

 

I agree they should've thrown more to the TEs, but I don't think they were going to win this game anyway.

 

Donte struggles in coverage and gets injured almost every game, the only good thing he has gotten some interceptions.

 

The time of possession was not entirely on the offense. The defense couldn't get a stop. They let the Eagles' offense take control of the game. Yes, the offense sucked in the first quarter and made a killer mistake in the third, but it was the Eagles' offense that dictated time of possession.

 

Jackson has had a few decent games, but he is thoroughly overmatched by top receivers and the Eagles have two of them. I keep repeating it, but passing on Mitchell in the first round this year was a huge mistake, one that may cost them a deep playoff run this season and will continue to limit the defense in the long run.

 

Donte is a problem. With that said I agree with you that Tomlin doesn’t want anyone here to challenge him. I don’t think it is about showing him up, he just wants control. The problem is we need more innovation with our blitzes and we can be much better with our coverage schemes. A big part of it is we still don’t have the horses at CB. I don’t think they are deploying Minkah correctly this year either. I’m still holding out hope for that big 350 lb DT that can push the pocket and protect our LB’s. I think it would make a world of difference. Heyward is the only DT we have that can push the pocket and mating leverage against double teams. We need two guys like that. Benton is more of a gap penetrator.

 

This franchise never seems to put enough value on cornerbacks no matter how many times it comes back to bite them in the ass. I had a feeling that it was going to be particularly glaring against the Eagles. I am surprised there are still people here who argue that Fautanu over Mitchell was the right call. It's not about hindsight with the injury. They passed on the best corner in the draft, a guy they were lucky fell to them, because they wanted to trust the position to a below-average guy like Jackson.

 

They should take that film and throw it in the river with 3 cinder blocks tied to it. There is nothing on it that will be helpful.

 

People tend to forget that Kellen Moore once had the Dallas Cowboys consistently ranked Top 5 for multiple seasons. People also tend to forget that Vic Fangio orchestrated one of the NFLs Greatest Ever Defenses in the 2015 Denver Broncos "No Fly Zone". People must have forgotten about the 2021-2024 NFL Drafts in which Howie Roseman has done a HOF level job in terms of Roster Building. There is also this guy called "Saquon Barkley" that Philly signed in the Offseason. Did I also forget to mention that Philly has two Number 1 WRs in both DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown?!


The Eagles were in the Super Bowl not too long ago. Talent was never the teams issue; Coaching was. Nick Sirianni didn't have a good 2023 for he lost two great Coordinators in both Shane Steichen and Johnathan Gannon. 2024 is a much different story for both Moore and Fangio are both proven commodities. Add in a HOF Caliber player in Saquon Barkley and it is very evident that the Eagles were going to be a Super Bowl Threat even before the season began. Some early season woes weren't going to derail this team for the experience and expertise of the two Coordinators were going to see to that.


Long story short?! The Steelers didn't lose to a rebuilding team. The Steelers lost to arguably, if not today, the best team in the NFC; down both T.J. Watt and George Pickens no less. What is important is this Saturday for that is when the AFC North will be decided for Pittsburgh.


Not too worried about the Defense provided T.J. Watt is a go. For that matter, this Defense hasn't been the problem this season from a talent perspective.... not entirely anyway. As it has been the case, Teryl Austin's wonderful idea" of leaving swaths of the MOF open when deploying Cover 3 is what is biting this Defense in the ass. Why did I just mention Cover 3?! Guess who was doing a great job playing SS?!... DeShon Elliot. Guess who wasn't playing yesterday?!.. DeShon Elliot. So guess what is another player to monitor as the week goes along?! DeShon Elliot.


If Elliot cannot go?! Gonna have to get creative with Minkah and have Kazee play the Deep Centerfielder role.

 

I agree totally. The DC is Tomlin .... Austin is a frt

The largest issue The org has is that Mike is trying to "over come" receiving little credit due to Lebeau running def in his early years.

IMO why Steelers ast coaches have largely been below the std. Tomlin doesn't want to be over shadowed n why he controls everything

Meyer Canada far below the standard , Mike calls the def, controls how off is run etc etc

I get a HC has the helm, rightfully, but great coaches hire quality people n allow them to do their jobs n use the collective brain power n knowledge

don't see that at all since 2010

again IMO

Flores should've never been allowed to leave the bldg

 

Flores having fun tonight with his Viking Defense.

 

I don't pretend to know how much of the defense is run by Austin and how much is Tomlin, but I agree with that last point. Assuming Flores would have taken the job, they should have kept him and let Austin go.