The defense is broken, can it be fixed this season or next season?

[Coach]

The defense is broken, can it be fixed this season or next season?



The glass is half full argument. Burns and Davis will be better next year. They are only rookies. Dupree will be healthy and productive. Hargrave will be better next year. Heyward is the player we can least afford to lose on the defense and he'll be back soon. Shazier will shake the injury bug. We could have some money to spend in free agency in 2017, and Butler with another year in the system should be more familiar with that the players are capable of. You can say the same for Golden who's also a new starter.



The glass is half empty argument. We have zero pass rush, and Dupree has a lot to prove. Harrison will leave. Give him the warrior salute. Jones is likely gone next year, which means Dupree must stay injury free and pan out. Even if that happens the Steelers still need to draft an edge rusher early or pay big bucks for one in free agency. Heyward is excellent, but Tuitt has regressed a bit this season. The depth behind them is terrible.

William Gay is getting older and he's our best DB. Burns and Davis are poor tacklers, and that might not be fixable. Not one of our DB's has an interception this year. We have a weak starting nose tackle, making the team softer than it should be vs the run particularly in the nickel formation which is what we tend more than the 3-4 or the dime.

Timmons will likely be let go, he's not worth what the Steelers are paying for him and can be had in coverage.

 

[ark steel]

Glass may be more than half full?

While being at the bottom of all the "yards per" statistics, the Steelers D is 12th in points per game. Think about that. With all of the injuries and ss ****** as they are at giving up some plays, they are better than 60% of the league in ppg.

13th in 3rd Down%, 12th in 4th Down %, FIFTH in Red Zone % and tied for 9th in G2G.

They've allowed 21.4 ppg. yesterday 18 out of 24 teams scored more than that.

The great Bruce Arians allowed the 1-5 Panthers to score 30. The great Rex Ryan allowed the *'s to score 41 (the *'s did not let up while up 38-17 with 3 min left, btw, they were still throwing).

BTW, our offense, which is supposed to be the strength of the team. 12th in ppg.

 

[stillwright]

The defense is broken, can it be fixed this season or next season?



The glass is half full argument. Burns and Davis will be better next year. They are only rookies. Dupree will be healthy and productive. Hargrave will be better next year. Heyward is the player we can least afford to lose on the defense and he'll be back soon. Shazier will shake the injury bug. We could have some money to spend in free agency in 2017, and Butler with another year in the system should be more familiar with that the players are capable of. You can say the same for Golden who's also a new starter.



The glass is half empty argument. We have zero pass rush, and Dupree has a lot to prove. Harrison will leave. Give him the warrior salute. Jones is likely gone next year, which means Dupree must stay injury free and pan out. Even if that happens the Steelers still need to draft an edge rusher early or pay big bucks for one in free agency. Heyward is excellent, but Tuitt has regressed a bit this season. The depth behind them is terrible.

William Gay is getting older and he's our best DB. Burns and Davis are poor tacklers, and that might not be fixable. Not one of our DB's has an interception this year. We have a weak starting nose tackle, making the team softer than it should be vs the run particularly in the nickel formation which is what we tend more than the 3-4 or the dime.

Timmons will likely be let go, he's not worth what the Steelers are paying for him and can be had in coverage.

LOL.......You always find a way to squeeze this into a thread sooner or later. Good job. I almost missed it this time.....

 

[paperclip]

Burns and Davis are poor tacklers?

First I'm hearing of it.

 

[TDX27]

The poll said this season or next. I don't think it can be fixed this season but it can be stabilized. Next season, I do think it can be fixed into a respectable D but not a top 5 D. We have a lot of young talent now in the secondary. It would be nice to actually see Golson play so we know if he will be able to add value to the team or not. And, we need Dupree back. With a healthy D and with the young guys coming along, we still do need to bring in a free agent pass rusher. No way do I gamble on drafting one again. Our scouting team seems to suck big league in that area. So, our only choice to improve the pass rush is through free agency. Do that and we are where we need to be next year.

 

[Ike Kelly]

Interesting thread. Before the injuries....you know like Heyward, Shazier...Ben on offense, we were 4-1. With a solid core of front seven. Including a Rookie nose tackle. If this team rebounds and plays like they did the first quarter of the season what will the half/full argument be?


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[Coach]

Glass may be more than half full?

While being at the bottom of all the "yards per" statistics, the Steelers D is 12th in points per game. Think about that. With all of the injuries and ss ****** as they are at giving up some plays, they are better than 60% of the league in ppg.

13th in 3rd Down%, 12th in 4th Down %, FIFTH in Red Zone % and tied for 9th in G2G.

They've allowed 21.4 ppg. yesterday 18 out of 24 teams scored more than that.

The great Bruce Arians allowed the 1-5 Panthers to score 30. The great Rex Ryan allowed the *'s to score 41 (the *'s did not let up while up 38-17 with 3 min left, btw, they were still throwing).

BTW, our offense, which is supposed to be the strength of the team. 12th in ppg.

Has our schedule has not been tough, and we played more games at home than on the road.

When a rookie QB in Wentz and Ryan Tannehill puts up 30 points or more on the defense, you've got issues.

Brady if needed would have hit the 30 points mark too.

 

[Coach]

The poll said this season or next. I don't think it can be fixed this season but it can be stabilized. Next season, I do think it can be fixed into a respectable D but not a top 5 D. We have a lot of young talent now in the secondary. It would be nice to actually see Golson play so we know if he will be able to add value to the team or not. And, we need Dupree back. With a healthy D and with the young guys coming along, we still do need to bring in a free agent pass rusher. No way do I gamble on drafting one again. Our scouting team seems to suck big league in that area. So, our only choice to improve the pass rush is through free agency. Do that and we are where we need to be next year.

We have not won a game where the offense didn;t score 24 points or more.

I think this defense for now is broken and must be fixed. And it won't happen this season. The team will go as far as the offense takes it.

 

[antdrewjosh]

We have not won a game where the offense didn;t score 24 points or more.

I think this defense for now is broken and must be fixed. And it won't happen this season. The team will go as far as the offense takes it.

That's what we all knew before the season started

 

[ark steel]

Brady if needed would have hit the 30 points mark too.

Maybe, but that is PURE conjecture. When the *'s were up 38-17 at the 6 min mark yesterday, they were still throwing and trying to score. At 3 min it was the same. What is FACT, is that the great and wonderful Brady put up 27 against the Steelers. There is zero evidence of the *'s taking it easy on a team when they have them down. For some miraculous reason, your ilk seems to think they felt sorry for Tomlin and the Steelers so let up.

eight to ten teams a week score 27 points or more so far this year.

Even WITH those two games, 12th in ppg. I dgaf if they give up 10,000 yards a game. An injured defense with the worst coaching in the NFL and shittiest back ups is 12th in the league in ppg and you cant give them any credit.

keep throwing **** against the wall. Maybe, something will actually stick.

 

[deljzc]

Again... this isn't rocket science.

The team invested heavily in the offensive line 3-5 years ago. We hit on a very good 2nd round RB. The BEST late round draft pick in this decade (by any team) was on the offense with Antonio Brown.

All those "successes" in the draft needed 2nd contracts and we invested our salary cap there.

It is what it is.

When you combine that with minimal (or below par) contributions from the defensive draft picks we've made. When you combine it with the fact we have little to no contributions from late round defensive picks. When you combine it with a scheme that could be antiquated and in flux due to coaching changes.

It is what it is.

We aren't that good. We are not a great team. Haven't been since Tomlin took over. We are good. We have warts. We have problems. We are too dependent on things "falling our way". We aren't good enough to "make our own luck".

It is what is it.

Like 8-10 other teams in the league if we get healthy at the right time, get hot at the right time, get match ups in the playoffs at the right time... we can make a run. Lots of teams like that around the NFL. We are just one of many.

That is the legacy of Tombert. One of many. We are like a LOT of other teams around the NFL. We are not separating ourselves in any way, shape or form. We are satisfied with our lot. Be one of 10 good teams around the NFL and hope for luck in the playoffs.

It is what it is.

Might as well write the same story for the last decade. And write the same story for the next 3-4 years of the "Roethlisberger era". After that who the **** knows.

 

[ark steel]

We have not won a game where the offense didn;t score 24 points or more.

Games won we have averaged 34 ppg and given up 14.75ppg. Games lost averaged scoring 11.33 and gave up 30ppg. had the D played stellar in those games and given up 2TD and a FG, we would have still lost two.

If the D can be average, the O should be able to do enough to win. For the most part, no one disagrees that the D needs to improve. However, only allowing 21.4 ppg puts them in the top half of the league. If they can stay there and improve on getting off of the field a little bit, we should be golden.

The team will go as far as the offense takes it.

to paraphrase Andrew "Duh, everyone knew this going into the season"

 

[MTC]

Burns and Davis are poor tacklers?

First I'm hearing of it.

This^^^

I thought the DB's were gonna be an upgrade over last season. Far from it. Add in the fact Mitchell is penalty prone. Yeah....

 

[Coach]

Maybe, but that is PURE conjecture. .

Let's say Tomlin opted out of a 54-yard kick on 4th and 2 yards to go late in the game and went for it and scored a touchdown.

Are you telling me this defense would have stopped Brady from scoring again? Please. The odds of that happing are long, and Brady has a history of owing much better Steeler defenses.

This is what I meant. Teams up two scores can afford to play it safe.

Up next is the Ravens. They only scored 133 points so far. Only four NFL teams scored less.

 

[ark steel]

Let's say Tomlin opted out of a 54-yard kick on 4th and 2 yards to go late in the game and went for it and scored a touchdown.

Are you telling me this defense would have stopped Brady from scoring again? Please. The odds of that happing are long, and Brady has a history of owing much better Steeler defenses.

This is what I meant. Teams up two scores can afford to play it safe.

Up next is the Ravens. They only scored 133 points so far. Only four NFL teams scored less.

What I am telling you is that, this week Brady and crew were up, easily, on the Bills and were STILL passing and trying to score. I've never seen any evidence that the *'s hold back on any opponents, but I suppose it makes you feel better to think they did,

I don't know if they would have scored or not. Again, for the dense, it is PURE conjecture as to whether they would have or not. What we KNOW and is FACT is that they scored 27 points. You may not like it, but there it is.

 

[Coach]

What I am telling you is that, this week Brady and crew were up, easily, on the Bills and were STILL passing and trying to score. I've never seen any evidence that the *'s hold back on any opponents, but I suppose it makes you feel better to think they did,

I don't know if they would have scored or not. Again, for the dense, it is PURE conjecture as to whether they would have or not. What we KNOW and is FACT is that they scored 27 points. You may not like it, but there it is.

You won't reply to my point. Once again, if the game is close 4 points or less, and Brady has the ball on let's say vs an average defense, he's scoring more often that not. I'll stand here.

As it was up 11, there was no need to risk anything late.

When a rookie QB in Wentz and Ryan Tannehill puts up 30 points or more on the defense, you've got issues. I did not see a reply to that one.

 

[stuntmanmike]

You start a front four of tuitt, Mathews, Hargrave, heyward, at linebacker Timmons, Williams, shazier and golden, Mitchell at safety out there putting eight men in the box and hitting the other team in the mouth on ever snap, zone blitz sending five different pass rushers every play and this defense would be great improvement over the peek-a-boo defense butler and Tomlin is sending out on the field.

 

[ark steel]

You won't reply to my point. Once again, if the game is close 4 points or less, and Brady has the ball on let's say vs an average defense, he's scoring more often that not. I'll stand here.

How have I not replied?

it is PURE conjecture as to whether they would have or not

Maybe, but that is PURE conjecture.

it doesn't matter whether I agree with you or not. Either of us would be basing the result (that didn't happen) on conjecture. YOU must make the Steelers look bad by saying it is, essentially, an absolute. I disagree that it is as much an absolute as you think it is because I have seen the *'s, time and time again, run up the score even when they were in no danger of losing.

We both know what DID happen.

With those two games you note the D is STILL 12th in ppg. Why do you overlook this?

 

[ark steel]

You start a front four of tuitt, Mathews, Hargrave, heyward, at linebacker Timmons, Williams, shazier and golden, Mitchell at safety out there putting eight men in the box and hitting the other team in the mouth on ever snap, zone blitz sending five different pass rushers every play and this defense would be great improvement over the peek-a-boo defense butler and Tomlin is sending out on the field.

If you start with the expectation that, in all likelihood, you are going to give up 21 or 24 points, I think you can take more risks sending an extra pass rusher.

 

[Black & Gold Bleeder]

. Why do you overlook this?

Does not fit the agenda

 

[slashsteel]

D is short a pass rusher a cover corner and a solid SS.

Perhaps the D is solid with two out of three.

But it won't be fixed this year.

They can be better than what they are showing with some youth improvement and a return from health.

And with a potent O keeping them off the field.

I also say if you draft S early you look for a FS that can cover and move MItchell to SS.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

No, they need several years of spending first round draft picks on linebackers to fix it. Oh wait....

 

[Litos]

D is short a pass rusher a cover corner and a solid SS.

Perhaps the D is solid with two out of three.

But it won't be fixed this year.

They can be better than what they are showing with some youth improvement and a return from health.

And with a potent O keeping them off the field.

I also say if you draft S early you look for a FS that can cover and move MItchell to SS.

the idea is that Sean Davis becomes a solid starting safety, at least they invested a high pick on him and he has the physical skills to be a difference maker at the position, let's see if he grabs the mental part as he was considered a pretty smart kid out of college

 

[SteelerFan448]

The defense seems average on its good days and is pretty bad on their off days. Unless Dupree develops immediately, I don't see a pass rusher walking through that door to provide a big upgrade.

 

[Litos]

The defense seems average on its good days and is pretty bad on their off days. Unless Dupree develops immediately, I don't see a pass rusher walking through that door to provide a big upgrade.

I think that's pretty standard with so many young players starting and being part of the rotation. Let's be honest, the D was better when the Steelers were ahead because it forced the other team to become one dimensional on offense, also the Steelers O kept the D better rested. But when Ben stank up the joint, well the D didn't have much of a chance