Darius Slay Blasts Steelers Defensive Scheme: ‘Backwards Over There’

I've often seen on X that those who do the film rooms during the week after the Steelers' games, and all the other teams, say that the Steelers are too often beaten before the play even starts... The first game against the Bengals is a perfect example; Flacco knew where to throw every time before the snap... But credit to the Steelers for doing things differently in the second matchup; they had no choice!...I guess those who do film room every week are lazy too!

 

Slay was a very good player in 2024 with the super bowl champions eagles.....Slay become unplayable the year after,what has changed?

The eagles wanted him back too when the steelers put him on waivers but the Bills was before the eagles on the waivers list

 

Again....you make a claim. And you post a random screenshot with no explanation.

Sharp usually knows what he is talking about....but he also likes to be snarky just to get views. So....again....I will ask....what was the predictable thing the Steelers were doing on defense? I mean it is so obvious and just everyone is doing detailed analysis of it....why do the thousands of posts here and other Steelers fans sites never contain that information?

 

I don't have everything but I have the brutal game against the bengals on TNF

https://jonledyard.substack.com/p/watch-film-room-video-breakdown-of-1dd



The one against the packers



The one vs bears

 

I mean you clearly think you know. So what is it?

 

Awesome. I can not watch the videos currently. But why not post these instead of snarky Twitter nonsense?

 

I skimmed through the Bengals one....and Ledyard talks most extensively about Wilson playing the defense wrong and blowing assignments than some basic schematic failing. Her also talked extensively about players making mental mistakes and not recognizing what the Bengals were showing them.

Clearly that is an issue that could and should be addressed by the coaching staff. But it is not what you are saying it is. Because Ledyard in the bits I was able to work through is not identifying how the scheme was too basic or the design of the defense was flawed. He was talking in detail about how individual players blew their assignment and/or the coverage players overall failed to recognize fairly basic stuff.

Again...there are coaching issues that can be identified. I have never argued that. It just isn't the stuff that you and others think it is.

It is the same with the Packers video. The video's creator talks the majority of the time not of the Steelers being caught in the wrong alignment...but in guys just blowing assignments and losing leverage. And the dreaded "communication issues". Weird how once Slay and Ramsey stopped playing CB....that cleared up. Wild.

None of these videos show the same thing being predicted and beaten. It shows specific players failing at their assignments and bad execution. So if you want to point to coaching issues....at least point to the right ones.

 

I think that is an apt characterization of Tomlin's POV/philosophy?

Is there a defensive coaching POV that counts on your edge defender not keeping contain on a running play? Is there one that schemes around your CB covering the wrong guy?

Again....there are many coaching issues that can be identified over the years with the Steelers, just like any NFL team, but I am not aware of any football approach that says..."well on this play we are going to lose about 4 or 5 matchups but that's okay....that is just how we want it."

 

Ok. Assume that's true.

Why can no one provide the evidence?

43 tried but I watched as much as I could of the videos he posted and they all talked about blown assignments and guys playing the defense wrong NOT the offense predicting the outcome stuff.

Like there's plenty in the videos to take the Steelers coaching staff to task over. It just isn't what y'all are claiming it is.

By no means am I trying to argue the 2025 team was without fault. And some of the stuff being recently posted has brought me around on the message going stale. Clearly the team struggled to teach the defense to multiple guys the last two seasons.

I also want to point out something I've believed for a LONG time. Tomlin and staff struggled to teach the dumb guys.

 

That basically proves my point.

Most of the internet "analysis" of football is nonsense by people that don't know what they're talking about. Then it gets repeated often enough that it becomes canonical.

It is like how Steelers fans believe a LB on a WR is a specific Tomlin/Steelers failing not a tactical decision that gets made around the league every week. Either this past season or the one before, the Packers lost a crucial game to the Besrs in part because a LB gave up a TD in coverage. The local talk was why are the Pack the only team that does this and the coaches are too set in their ways and all the same noise that surrounds each Steelers loss.

Either there's only like 4 things that lose NFL games or most of us don't know what we're talking about.

 

Slay was washed in 2025 and he knew it that's why he didn't join a playoff contender like the Bills.

 

Well that is all I need to be convinced

 

• To lose repeatedly, and in the same manner, points to systemic problems, not team seasonal issues.
• Teams watch tape every week but the playoffs are a whole other level of planning and scheming.
• Repetitive? I'll have to go back and search but I recall the Steelers had one of the lowest defensive subpackage rates in the league last season.
• Steelers own player admits it: “Steelers defense did have an unhealthy attachment to base personnel. 5 man pressure was a strength that lived long enough to become a weakness,” Williams wrote on X Saturday."
  Former Steelers LB Reveals Major Flaw with Defense Under Tomlin

btw, I'm not a Tomlin-hater. I thought he was a good coach. To consistently beat 60+% of the league is impressive. But it became increasingly clear that change was needed. Tomlin even felt it, hence his decision.

 

Well that was then and the defense was under Tomlin's command. Now things have changed.


I generally agree with what Slay said.

 

He didn't join the Bills because he wanted to play for the Eagles, but the Bills were ahead of the Eagles in waivers.

 

Lies, damned lies, and statistics

 

I am not accusing anyone of being a hater nor am I attempting to be a advocate for anyone.

I am attempting to advocate for critical thinking - which there just doesn't seem to be a lot of on this subject.

I recall the Steelers playing more sub-package than base in many many many seasons. I do not have any data to back that up. I do remember the debate among fans on other Steelers message boards that they played too much sub-package defense. Now it is that they do not play enough.

There is an interesting thing to talk about with base versus sub. Around the league the trend in defense seems to be going to playing both safeties deep, some combination of zone and man coverage, and getting pressure with 4 or 5. Unless your Flores. Then it is man and everyone blitzing!

The Steelers seemed to be going with one deep safety and a ton of man coverage. I think the man coverage was to free up another pass rusher....but I am not smart enough to know.

Overall, there is a situation where the Steelers defense was exploitable where you could isolate their nickel and/or dime defenders in coverage or pick on one of the ILBs. Maybe I am remembering it wrong, but that is what the Texans did in the most recent playoff game.

What I have not seen is whether or not the structure of the defensive scheme exposed those players by asking them to do something unreasonable that is out of step with what is asked of similar players across other NFL defenses OR if the players manning those positions for the 2025 Steelers were just not able to perform things that other nickel defenders were commonly doing.

And I think that is a big difference. But instead of examining that...."analysts" just say "LOL! Defense no good! Coach Gooder!" without any discussion of what that should be. Likely because they do not know anything. Like I can pick the defender that is not sticking in coverage from my couch during the tv broadcast. Just doing it in slow-motion with the ALL22 isn't that impressive. Telling me WHY it is happening....now that would be useful.

 

I know this doesn't add anything to the conversation and I can't believe it hasn't been said already.

Fnck Darius Slay!!

 

And Arthur Moats said that wasn't true after Butler lied in that radio interview .