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How Talented is Steeler Defense?

Not sure how all these players regressed when we went from 12th ranked defense in 2016 to 5th in 2017.
Particularly after losing top tackler from 2016 in Timmons. We have the makings for the best defense in
the NFL, problem currently is it's missing pieces.
 
AggieSteel said:
It is also an indictment on the coaches that removing ONE PLAYER from your defense completely handicaps it. I'm sorry but a defensive scheme and roster should be strong enough that you don't look like two entirely different teams just because your best player went out. Not saying it should have 0 impact, but you shouldn't look completely inept at any and all things having to do with defending just because one guy is absent
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Take away Ben, how good is our offense ? Shazier is every bit as important to the defense. He was good enough that when he played Williams didn’t look as bad. Our defense was top 5 this year and we led the league in sacks. We just couldn’t rebound from the loss of the qb of our “D”
 
SCSteeler4life said:
Take away Ben, how good is our offense ? Shazier is every bit as important to the defense. He was good enough that when he played Williams didn’t look as bad. Our defense was top 5 this year and we led the league in sacks. We just couldn’t rebound from the loss of the qb of our “D”
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There is no such thing as a 'QB' of a defense. QBs are unique. They are QBs. They touch the ball on every play. Every pass comes from them, and every run is influenced by the potential threat of them passing. There is no equivalent to this on a defense. Sorry, I'm not buying that.
 
How talented is the Steelers defense? Not very, and as a matter of fact, every single pick in the upcoming draft should be on that side of the ball.
 
Answer this question honestly. What good offense did the Steelers D have success against this year? Let me help you....not a single one. Hell, that backup in GB torched them at Heinz, Flacco torched them at Heinz, Brady torched them at Heinz, and sorry *** Blake Bortles torched them at Heinz. Anyone that thinks the Steelers defense is worth a **** is delusional. Sure the Shazier injury was a huge loss but anyone who watched the season closely should have known that group was going to be a major liability in the playoffs. The only silver lining in the loss to the Jags is we don't have to watch Brady hang a 50 burger on them at Gillette.
 
In Ben We Trust said:
Answer this question honestly. What good offense did the Steelers D have success against this year? Let me help you....not a single one. Hell, that backup in GB torched them at Heinz, Flacco torched them at Heinz, Brady torched them at Heinz, and sorry *** Blake Bortles torched them at Heinz. Anyone that thinks the Steelers defense is worth a **** is delusional. Sure the Shazier injury was a huge loss but anyone who watched the season closely should have known that group was going to be a major liability in the playoffs. The only silver lining in the loss to the Jags is we don't have to watch Brady hang a 50 burger on them at Gillette.
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Exactly man. This defense is BADLY schemed, period. Any defense who only has ONE starter selected past the THIRD round in the draft has plenty of raw talent. The players aren't developed and the scheme is ill suited
 
In Ben We Trust said:
Answer this question honestly. What good offense did the Steelers D have success against this year? Let me help you....not a single one. Hell, that backup in GB torched them at Heinz, Flacco torched them at Heinz, Brady torched them at Heinz, and sorry *** Blake Bortles torched them at Heinz. Anyone that thinks the Steelers defense is worth a **** is delusional. Sure the Shazier injury was a huge loss but anyone who watched the season closely should have known that group was going to be a major liability in the playoffs. The only silver lining in the loss to the Jags is we don't have to watch Brady hang a 50 burger on them at Gillette.
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Don't forget we came also close to losing to the Browns...
 
Aside from leading the league in sacks, I judge a defense by a simple measure, how many points did they give up in regulation?

18, 9, 17, 9, 17, 13, 14, 15, 17, 17, 17, 28, 20***, 38, 24, 6, 24, and 38 in the playoff game.

*** this is the game Shazier got hurt.

Players are human, having a teammate paralyzed doing the same job you do has to have a mental effect....it has to.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
CharlesDavenport said:
Lets not start remembering Shazier as a Lawrence Taylor or Troy Polamalu. Most of the suckiness on D would have carried on with Ryan in there.
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Damn we were 13-3 and top 5 in every major defensive category. Y’all talk we sucked all year. The defense carried us for awhile. Once we lost Shazier we were never the same.
 
In Ben We Trust said:
Answer this question honestly. What good offense did the Steelers D have success against this year? Let me help you....not a single one. Hell, that backup in GB torched them at Heinz, Flacco torched them at Heinz, Brady torched them at Heinz, and sorry *** Blake Bortles torched them at Heinz. Anyone that thinks the Steelers defense is worth a **** is delusional. Sure the Shazier injury was a huge loss but anyone who watched the season closely should have known that group was going to be a major liability in the playoffs. The only silver lining in the loss to the Jags is we don't have to watch Brady hang a 50 burger on them at Gillette.
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Good thing games or decided by point and not times a defense is torched. I’ll say it once again we had a top 5 “D” all year. Our record showed that.
 
We give up a multitude of 3rd down conversions, we cannot cover anyone and we cannot tackle, other than that we are okay
 
rellimie said:
Aside from leading the league in sacks, I judge a defense by a simple measure, how many points did they give up in regulation?

18, 9, 17, 9, 17, 13, 14, 15, 17, 17, 17, 28, 20***, 38, 24, 6, 24, and 38 in the playoff game.

*** this is the game Shazier got hurt.

Players are human, having a teammate paralyzed doing the same job you do has to have a mental effect....it has to.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Seems it shocked them during the Bengals game.
I tend to believe that sat on a lot of the players minds
 
Look at it this way. This defense basically needs to add three players:

- A new safety to replace Mitchell (to pair w Davis).
- A new inside backer in the Shazier mold (to pair w Williams)
- A new NT (to pair w Cam & Tuitt).

Overall, I'd say we're not in that bad a shape. As others have written, losing Shazier took the heart and soul out of this D. He covered a lot of ground and called all the plays. Things started falling apart after that.

If Colbert & Co can plug a few holes in FA and the draft, and if indeed they think Butler is the man for the job, I wouldn't be shocked to see this defense steadily improve heading into next season. So to answer the question, I think this defense has enough talent, and plenty of young talent, certainly more than most teams.
 
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The defense as a flock is very talented. The unfortunate thing is they’re not being used properly. They need to step outside and bring in a new defensive coordinator and send Joey Porter packing as well.
Jack Del Rio, Rex Ryan even bringing back Dom Capers should be considered. This defense has yet to see its potential
 
SteveA said:
We give up a multitude of 3rd down conversions, we cannot cover anyone and we cannot tackle, other than that we are okay
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18, 9, 17, 9, 17, 13, 14, 15, 17, 17, 17, 28, 20***. Points allowed until injury.

For a team that can’t do any of the above, They sure weren’t giving up many points.
 
SCSteeler4life said:
18, 9, 17, 9, 17, 13, 14, 15, 17, 17, 17, 28, 20***. Points allowed until injury.

For a team that can’t do any of the above, They sure weren’t giving up many points.
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Actually. it's 18,9,23,9,30,13,14,15,17,17,28, this against Browns, Vikings (minus Bradford), Bears, Ravens, Jags, Chiefs, Bengals, Lions, Colts (minus Luck), Titans, and Packers (minus Rogers). Face it, we had an EASY schedule this year and the perfect set up for a deep season run but **** the bed because Tomlin and Co. looked past the Jags even after getting their *** kicked by them earlier in the year.
 
anyone think Dupree could be 43 end he has the size and speed, wonder if a scheme change might help the unit, We add a range 3 down LB and add morth depth on the DL we can try at times a unit of
De Tuitt
DT Hargrave
DT Heyward
De Dupree
OLB Watt
MLB Williams
OLB Shazier and when you go to a 3-4 you can have Shazier and a rook or Vince rotate
 
Steeler Pride said:
Actually. it's 18,9,23,9,30,13,14,15,17,17,28, this against Browns, Vikings (minus Bradford), Bears, Ravens, Jags, Chiefs, Bengals, Lions, Colts (minus Luck), Titans, and Packers (minus Rogers). Face it, we had an EASY schedule this year and the perfect set up for a deep season run but **** the bed because Tomlin and Co. looked past the Jags even after getting their *** kicked by them earlier in the year.
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You mean the same Vikings that are 1 game away from the SB ? And the playoff Titans and the playoff Chiefs. Quit making excuses we play the schedule we are given. 2 of those are in the final 4 teams remaining. And we played 3 of the final 4.
 
Steeler Pride said:
Actually. it's 18,9,23,9,30,13,14,15,17,17,28, this against Browns, Vikings (minus Bradford), Bears, Ravens, Jags, Chiefs, Bengals, Lions, Colts (minus Luck), Titans, and Packers (minus Rogers). Face it, we had an EASY schedule this year and the perfect set up for a deep season run but **** the bed because Tomlin and Co. looked past the Jags even after getting their *** kicked by them earlier in the year.
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Perhaps the points were adjusted for those not surrendered by the defense?
 
Hopefully Ryan Shazier makes a full recovery so he can have a normal life. Let's be real, he won't play football again. It's not like players with his athleticism and skill set fall out of the sky. They need a real NT who can plug the middle, they need a run stuffing MLB, and they need to get some playmakers in the back of the defense. The offense is set for at least a couple more years. Address the defense and they'll be a legit contender to win the SB. If they don't there's no chance. I know this, whatever Butler was doing Sunday, his job should be in question. It was an embarrassment.
 
FAB802 said:
Hopefully Ryan Shazier makes a full recovery so he can have a normal life. Let's be real, he won't play football again. It's not like players with his athleticism and skill set fall out of the sky. They need a real NT who can plug the middle, they need a run stuffing MLB, and they need to get some playmakers in the back of the defense. The offense is set for at least a couple more years. Address the defense and they'll be a legit contender to win the SB. If they don't there's no chance. I know this, whatever Butler was doing Sunday, his job should be in question. It was an embarrassment.
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I fear they won't do a damn thing to address the defense.
 
Lunar said:
I fear they won't do a damn thing to address the defense.
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The defense is a total, complete embarrassment, I never want to hear one more word about these stiffs again, ever, they are complete garbage

I told you Ben would need 40+ points to be even competitive in the playoffs, just not to BLAKE ******* BORTLES!
 
It's hard to say how much is bad drafting and how much is bad coaching. The players who left didn't light it up anywhere else.
DL: Heyward good, Tuitt decent.
LB: Shazier and Watt are good enough naturally to overcome bad coaching. Williams is decent. Timmdong didn't amount to much after he left. Otherwise a long string of failures, latest being Jarvis Dupree and now Shazier is done.
FS and SS: Jack **** since Troy was done.
CB: Haven't drafted anyone good in a decade. Willie Gay is collecting Social Security and still by far our best DB.
 
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