Coach Butler

Where would you rate him out of the 32 teams as a DC?

Top 5 Elite
Rank 6-10 Solid
Rank 11-20 Fair
Rank 21-32 Poor

I personally would have him ranked in the Fair category.

The interesting stat I would like to see is to look at all teams starters lineup and see on average the round of where each player went in the draft.

My point is that I would bet that the Steelers have to be in the top 5 in the number of high draft picks in the 1st thru 4th rounds on defense.

The beat writers that are able to get close to the team seem to hint that Tomlin does not micro manage his OC and DC coaches and trusts the game plan and philosophies established by his coaches.

I never see teams try to scoop him up away from the Steelers since he became the DC.

He has done poorly against the Pats which I know as most teams do.

That Jacksonville game a couple years ago even made Bortles look good.

Thoughts? Am I agenda driven and am unfairly grading him as average?

 

I would rate him solid. His ability to dial up creative blitzes and generate mass amounts of pressure is something that I always have Iiked about him. I always wondered what he would do if he had an elite secondary. In 2019, he did have one.



This season though?! Yuck!! I understand that some of the players have to atone for this greatly. That said, if players are not being put into winnable situations, no matter how great they are, they will always be limited. I fear that this is happening to Minkah.



Some of the woes are on him. However, not all of it is. Butler has not effectively placed players like Minkah in situations to max out their abilities play by play.




That is just the tip of the proverbial Iceberg of my issues with Butler. However, make no mistake. Placing players in unwinnable situations in Pass Coverage is by far his worst attribute as a Defensive Coordinator.

 

Compared to the other 31 teams? I would put him in the top tier of the solid category. Basically LeBeau junior that has the new rules to contend with.

 

Solid

 

He can go up a grade if he finds Bush or Fitzpatrick

 

Bush might need another year. TJ being an exception, most Steeler defensive draftees need about 3 years to get rolling.

 

I will say Solid.

 

I'd vote solid. I wouldn't have said that 2 years ago. Quite honestly though, it's tough to tell what's players vs coaching.

 

Fair, He has some talented players. They still can't teach DB's
to find the ball. Lost art in all of football.

 

Last season Haden and Minkah both had 5 ints.

 

We have 6 interceptions in 4 games. Only team with a better average is Indianapolis.

 

Neither inside linebacker is playing very well right now. Butler: we rushed two people on one play. ???????

We have to quit playing this covid19 defense of staying 6' away.

 

Good post!

I would put him the fair category for the following reasons:

1. He learned creative blitzing from LeBeau so I don't give him too much credit on that.
2. He seems to be using his front seven talent wisely.
3. He seems to be using his secondary talent less wisely.
4. He (or someone) has created a pretty talented group.
   
5. He (or someone) needs to tell the D to "STOP THE STUPID PENALTIES"!!!!!!!!!
6. I question his focus on the run game while throwing the secondary to the wolves......it has worked so far but...................................

 

Have no problem with his blitzing and run defense. We still have problems with secondary sometimes non existing.

 

Meh... Remember the San Diego game that we HAD to win to get into the playoffs...And we guarded Keenan Allen with Vince Williams!

And Rivers threw to him play after play after play...( Something like 15,17 receptions ) I remember... That's incompetence and cost us the playoffs!

 

It's not an issue of int's or even wins, it's about the fact that our secondary is out of position quite frequently. And why?

 

Ture! And we saw it again yesterday when Fulgham was eating us up be we didn't turn the focus to him until almost too late. It's as if Butler/Tomlin can't adjust on the fly.

 

Still don't know how, Don't have that right personal/ Guy to cover a TE

 

Fair at best. Seems we sacrifice one aspect of the defense to bolster another. If we don't get to the QB, then our DBs get beat. 3rd downs are nearly automatic firsts for the other team regardless of yardage needed. Almost blew a huge lead and was a missed fg from falling behind in the 4th qtr. We won, yes, but against questionable competition that we should have won. I think we'll be over exposed against Jones and OBJ if we can't get their little QB running for his life. Plus, they have a good run game that can't be forgotten and have 70+ yard runs down the middle of the field either.

 

Hire Quinn as a Consultant.

edit: nahhh

Super Edit:
heck even Jonathon Vilma knew what was going wrong with the D yesterday.

 

Butler needs to keep munchkin Mayfield in the pocket.

 

Thanks all for taking the time. Seems if this was a poll...generally speaking most feel that he is doing well given what he has and has optimized each player he coaches up. I was getting to a point where it was like I had to emotionally point to him for every blemish on D so I appreciate the fanbase perspective.

 

Take the eyeball test.

 

Eyeball test is this- We are 4-0. Our run defense, outside of 1 run the entire year, is giving up less than 2.3 yds/attempt. Our pass defense is giving up middle of the road numbers (15 out of 32), a completion percentage of 59.4 (2nd to the bears) and a passer rating of 84.7 (6th).
For 4 consecutive games, we have won in victory formation, 2 of them inside the 5 yd line.
The eyeball test is this- you see what you want to see.

 

The eyeball test tells me as it has for many years now that 3rd and longs send you the vibes of impending doom more often than they should hahahahahaha