Craic
11-06-2011, 04:23 PM
So I was playing around on a site I found, and came across breakdowns for the passing defense. Here is what I found.
We are 10th in the number of times teams try to throw on us (in total passes per game). That surprised, I thought we'd be higher. Then, I found out we were number 4 in TOP (an average of 9 seconds from being number 2). So it makes sense now. What makes that interesting, is that we are fourth teams not rushing against us. That means 1. our offense is staying on the field (TOP) and 2. when they do get on the field, they are trying to throw the ball on us, but not well.
We are 8th in number of completions per game, which is 18.3.
That means our defense is 8th in disallowing completions, at 57.79. That's not a bad thing at all. This stat is the really telling stat. Our team is stopping the pass.
But how many yards are they getting per pass? Well, we are number 2 in that category, with 9 yards per pass completion. Only Detroit is better, at 8.5.
How many first downs do we allow through the air? We are tied for third, with 9.9 per game. The interesting thing here, is that we are at the bottom of our division. That's right, Cleveland is top with 8.6, Cincinnati is next with 9.3, then Baltimore and Pittsburgh are tied with 9.9. Interestingly, we are only 14th in stopping the first down on the run. Baltimore is 12. However, the two bottom dwellers in this stat... are Cinci and Cleveland.
Now, we are 19th in opponent touchdown percentage through the air. We are also 16th in touchdowns on the ground. These two stats confused me, until I figured that it really meant that teams are trying both methods, because neither one really is effective over the other. We are tied for fifth in opponent rush touchdowns. SO that explains the skewed numbers. Teams abandon the run against us.
Our sacks percentage has rocketed upwards. We are eleventh in sack (per pass attempt, I believe).
We only 10 other teams have the ball thrown on them more than we do.
____________________
What does all this mean? I think it means that how, without going out and spending big money, once again our front office and coaches have fixed our defense.
And the biggest stat, last year the Steelers were 17th against fourth quarter scoring. Yeah, our 4th quarter defense kinda sucked last year. This year so far, we are 7th, a 10 position jump. We are also 10th in allowing total 2nd half scoring, with an average of 9 points.
Whatever Lebeau has done to our defense this year, it has worked! Notice how Troy's name isn't being called as much? I think maybe Lebeau was out coaching himself with Troy and now that Troy is playing just a little more traditional safety, we've been able to clamp down on the passing game.
We are 10th in the number of times teams try to throw on us (in total passes per game). That surprised, I thought we'd be higher. Then, I found out we were number 4 in TOP (an average of 9 seconds from being number 2). So it makes sense now. What makes that interesting, is that we are fourth teams not rushing against us. That means 1. our offense is staying on the field (TOP) and 2. when they do get on the field, they are trying to throw the ball on us, but not well.
We are 8th in number of completions per game, which is 18.3.
That means our defense is 8th in disallowing completions, at 57.79. That's not a bad thing at all. This stat is the really telling stat. Our team is stopping the pass.
But how many yards are they getting per pass? Well, we are number 2 in that category, with 9 yards per pass completion. Only Detroit is better, at 8.5.
How many first downs do we allow through the air? We are tied for third, with 9.9 per game. The interesting thing here, is that we are at the bottom of our division. That's right, Cleveland is top with 8.6, Cincinnati is next with 9.3, then Baltimore and Pittsburgh are tied with 9.9. Interestingly, we are only 14th in stopping the first down on the run. Baltimore is 12. However, the two bottom dwellers in this stat... are Cinci and Cleveland.
Now, we are 19th in opponent touchdown percentage through the air. We are also 16th in touchdowns on the ground. These two stats confused me, until I figured that it really meant that teams are trying both methods, because neither one really is effective over the other. We are tied for fifth in opponent rush touchdowns. SO that explains the skewed numbers. Teams abandon the run against us.
Our sacks percentage has rocketed upwards. We are eleventh in sack (per pass attempt, I believe).
We only 10 other teams have the ball thrown on them more than we do.
____________________
What does all this mean? I think it means that how, without going out and spending big money, once again our front office and coaches have fixed our defense.
And the biggest stat, last year the Steelers were 17th against fourth quarter scoring. Yeah, our 4th quarter defense kinda sucked last year. This year so far, we are 7th, a 10 position jump. We are also 10th in allowing total 2nd half scoring, with an average of 9 points.
Whatever Lebeau has done to our defense this year, it has worked! Notice how Troy's name isn't being called as much? I think maybe Lebeau was out coaching himself with Troy and now that Troy is playing just a little more traditional safety, we've been able to clamp down on the passing game.