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Bell Released

bigben said:
Fans have every right to their opinion on Bell as a man, none of this changes the fact that Bell is a different animal than any other RB we have, 2017, 2019, 2020. Conner and Jaysam have never and will never come close to the player that Leveon Bell was in 2017, or the player he is now. That is just a fact.
The hate for Bell is like people who hate on Trump. You can hate the man, but you can't say he's not best suited for the Job vs the alternatives.
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What evidence do you have exactly that Bell is anywhere near the player he was in 2017? Because there's (limited) evidence that he himself will never come close to the player he was then. Also, 2017 Bell was a Pro Bowl player/All-Pro. 2018 Conner was a Pro Bowl player. So to say he's never come close to the player Bell was in 2017 is inaccurate. Don't think we'll see that type of production from Conner again. But, I also have serious doubts as to Bell's ability to reach those heights again.
 
SteelBuckeye said:
That train is about two years late. The defense, while not at mid-season form, is performing well. Like top ten in most categories, even passing metrics, well. Leads the the league in sacks and pressures. Top 5 in run defense. I'd say their defensive philosophy so far is more like attempt to do what you feel like, we're just going to stop you.

And, If Haden, Hilton and Nelson can shore up their communication and coverage on 3rd down, we're going to be even better defensively. Minkah? Well, he's actually been personally targeted 10 times in 4 games (2.5x a game), so QBs ARE avoiding him. Nice little write up on the secondary's problems on DK's site.
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I think this defense is exactly what it was prior to and shortly after when Ben was hurt last year and that basically came right out of Tomlin's mouth. They are playing safe, keep the ball in front of you, but in the end every time the offense scores the defense takes no momentum and allows a score of their own. Tomlin is terrified of the big play. Unfortunately you have to risk the big play to take the game to the opponent. Watch the highlights of Ravens games and compare to the philosophy the Steelers have employed in the first 4 games. And frankly the Steelers have way more talent on defense than anyone in the league.
 
NO! I'm not even going to read this thread to know that some folks here want him back. Absolutely in no condition would I bring that me first player into this locker room. No way Jose!
 
The Ugly Thief said:
What are the rankings of our opponents' defenses ? They're combined record is 2-13-1.
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Giants - 8th rated defense
Broncos - 16tth rated defense
Houston - 21st rated defense
Eagles - 13th rated defense

So, they have gone against one top ten defense. Two others that are in the top half of the league. And one bottom half of the league defense.
The average rush yds/gm those defenses allow combined is 123.5 yds/gm. The Steelers have averaged 139 yd/gm. So, above average against those teams.
 
Steeltime said:
Giants - 8th rated defense
Broncos - 16tth rated defense
Houston - 21st rated defense
Eagles - 13th rated defense

So, they have gone against one top ten defense. Two others that are in the top half of the league. And one bottom half of the league defense.
The average rush yds/gm those defenses allow combined is 123.5 yds/gm. The Steelers have averaged 139 yd/gm. So, above average against those teams.
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I wouldn't say it's impressive to have a rushing game ranked #8 after playing those teams.
 
SteelerSask said:
I think this defense is exactly what it was prior to and shortly after when Ben was hurt last year and that basically came right out of Tomlin's mouth. They are playing safe, keep the ball in front of you, but in the end every time the offense scores the defense takes no momentum and allows a score of their own. Tomlin is terrified of the big play. Unfortunately you have to risk the big play to take the game to the opponent. Watch the highlights of Ravens games and compare to the philosophy the Steelers have employed in the first 4 games. And frankly the Steelers have way more talent on defense than anyone in the league.
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I would counter that a 50% blitz rate says that they are taking the game to the opponent and opening themselves up to big plays. Unfortunately, when you open yourselves up to big plays, sometimes they happen. I would further argue that the blitz rate puts the DBs in man coverage more often than some here acknowledge and that the corners have not been doing their job as well as they were last year.
 
The Ugly Thief said:
I wouldn't say it's impressive to have a rushing game ranked #8 after playing those teams.
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I would say that a top 10 rushing attack and a 4 - 0 record after playing those teams is a good start to the season. I would also say adding a 29 year old RB who has lost a step, proven to be a disgruntled player when not getting touches, verbally called out your QB's leadership abilities while a member of another team (which was also a backhanded slap at the organization as a whole) and whose motivation to even play the game has been questioned on numerous occasions is not a good idea.
 
The Ugly Thief said:
Denver - 13
NYG - 15
Phili - 17
Houston - 31

Even worse than their overall defense rankings.
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So, you're saying we beat them by exploiting their strengths (Pass defense) rather than their weaknesses (Run defense)? That's impressive
 
SteelBuckeye said:
So, you're saying we beat them by exploiting their strengths (Pass defense) rather than their weaknesses (Run defense)? That's impressive
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SteelBuckeye said:
4 - 0 record after playing those teams is a good start to the season.
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...and one more time I'll point out the combined record of our opponents : 2-13-1

I would love it if you could come back to me in three weeks and point out that we're 7-0. I don't see that happening.
 
The Ugly Thief said:
...and one more time I'll point out the combined record of our opponents : 2-13-1

I would love it if you could come back to me in three weeks and point out that we're 7-0. I don't see that happening.
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they can only play who is on the schedule. It's not the Steelers fault the teams are below the line and they are now 4-0. If they were 2-2, 1-3 or the like, I could see this being a talking point, but so far so good. Let's see what this weekend's game brings.
 
The Ugly Thief said:
...and one more time I'll point out the combined record of our opponents : 2-13-1

I would love it if you could come back to me in three weeks and point out that we're 7-0. I don't see that happening.
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And, one more time I'll point out that 4 - 0 is better than ANY of the alternatives at this time. Can you, at this point in time, tell me a better record that they can have after facing 4 teams?
 
The Ugly Thief said:
Let's talk in 3 weeks.
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Moving the goal line are we? 'Cause I thought we were having this conversation that you started now. Of course things will change in 3 weeks. The Steelers will either be 7 - 0, and that's a change. Or they will have suffered some combination of losses, which is also a change.
But, you were talking about where they stand now, and that's 4 - 0. Isn't it?
 
SteelBuckeye said:
Moving the goal line are we? 'Cause I thought we were having this conversation that you started now. Of course things will change in 3 weeks. The Steelers will either be 7 - 0, and that's a change. Or they will have suffered some combination of losses, which is also a change.
But, you were talking about where they stand now, and that's 4 - 0. Isn't it?
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Not changing anything. You're pointing out the obvious, which is that they couldn't have a better record. I'm not impressed that they're 4-0 after playing teams who are 2-13-1.

Let's talk in 3 weeks. You know who they play.
 
The Ugly Thief said:
...and one more time I'll point out the combined record of our opponents : 2-13-1

I would love it if you could come back to me in three weeks and point out that we're 7-0. I don't see that happening.
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browns have beaten nobody half way decent except I think the colts...whose only quality win is against the bears

until they beat the bills, the titans hadn't beaten anyone impressive either.

plenty of threads talking about how the team is 4-0 over weak competition and they have plenty of room to improve themselves. You can stop hammering the lame *** point here.
 
The Ugly Thief said:
Not changing anything. You're pointing out the obvious, which is that they couldn't have a better record. I'm not impressed that they're 4-0 after playing teams who are 2-13-1.

Let's talk in 3 weeks. You know who they play.
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I'm pointing out the obvious because you're on the board complaining about them being 4 - 0 as if there were a better alternative. I simply asked you to point out that alternative. You can't. Because there isn't one.
Once that was pointed out, you started talking about what might be in 3 weeks. That's a perfect example of moving the goal line.
 
SteelBuckeye said:
I would counter that a 50% blitz rate says that they are taking the game to the opponent and opening themselves up to big plays. Unfortunately, when you open yourselves up to big plays, sometimes they happen. I would further argue that the blitz rate puts the DBs in man coverage more often than some here acknowledge and that the corners have not been doing their job as well as they were last year.
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So if you send 5 and drop 6 that defines a blitz all the while playing off coverage with your what should be all pro safety out of the picture almost all the time, that is taking the game to the opponent? Cause the Steelers have people who could have pressed the **** out of the one ******* guy who was hurting them last week and just continued to play off of them keeping the play in front. and they managed to stop them to a fourth down and the Eagles tried a 57 yard field goal and the Steelers won. Like I said, watch the way the Ravens play with 8 men around the line of scrimmage threatening zero coverage and what the Steelers have done. Look at the Steelers third down defensive stats.
Now one could argue that the plan is to play safer/ softer defense against the soft opponents they faced. The next three opponents are not soft. Lets see what the Steelers do and how it works for them. If they play not to lose they will be lucky to win one.
 
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CoolieMan said:
browns have beaten nobody half way decent except I think the colts...whose only quality win is against the bears

until they beat the bills, the titans hadn't beaten anyone impressive either.

plenty of threads talking about how the team is 4-0 over weak competition and they have plenty of room to improve themselves. You can stop hammering the lame *** point here.
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Beat the Browns and the narrative will be that they are the 23 ranked defense in the NFL and we still haven't faced a "good" defense. smh
 
SteelerSask said:
So if you send 5 and drop 6 that defines a blitz all the while playing off coverage with your what should be all pro safety out of the picture almost all the time, that is taking the game to the opponent? Cause the Steelers have people who could have pressed the **** out of the one ******* guy who was hurting them last week and just continued to play off of them keeping the play in front. and they managed to stop them to a fourth down and the Eagles tried a 57 yard field goal and the Steelers won. Like I said, watch the way the Ravens play with 8 men around the line of scrimmage threatening zero coverage and the Steelers.
Now one could argue that the plan is to play safer/ softer defense against the opponents they face. The next three opponents are not soft. Lets see what the Steelers do and how it works for them. If they play not to lose they will be lucky to win one.
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Point taken. But, as I noted, whichever coverage has been called, the CBs are not doing their jobs. Can't tell if the scheme will work or not if they keep making mental errors in coverage and communication.
That said, leaving Hilton on Fulgham(?) for as long as they did was a monumental mistake.
 
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