zulater
12-28-2011, 08:43 AM
Kovacevic: Time for Steelers to steal
The adage that defense wins championships has been accepted in the NFL since well before Vince Lombardi puffed his first sideline cigarette.
But bring that up with anyone whose football analysis runs deeper than nodding when Boomer and Shannon bump fists, and they'll reflexively respond that the championship formula for a defense isn't just about preventing points. It's about helping to produce a few. It's about returning an interception for a touchdown more often than, oh, zero times in 15 games. It's about forcing more than five fumbles all year.
This is a game of turnovers, as Mike Tomlin loves to say, but it's a game in which the Steelers have been a stunning failure even as they somehow sit here at 11-4 with a playoff berth.
The trend won't last. Count on it.
Takeaway total for the season: 14, a league low, on 10 interceptions and four fumble recoveries.
Takeaway total in the 27-0 shutout of the pathetic St. Louis Rams on Saturday: Zero.
Takeaway total in the playoffs?
There had better be a few.
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They have pitched in eight measly points with one defensive touchdown — Troy Polamalu's fumble scoop in Indianapolis in Week 3 — plus a safety.
They also have shoved the offense's back to the wall. The Steelers have begun a drive in the opponents' territory only six times as the result of a takeaway. Their average starting position is their 26.2-yard line, ranking 27th in the league. In San Francisco two weeks ago, their average starting position of the 15-yard line was the worst in any NFL game since 2005.
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Way atop my list is that James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley have shared a field for just three full games. That's reduced the Steelers' ability to rush the quarterback and, in turn, Dick LeBeau's willingness to blitz. Heat in the backfield is the best path to turnovers, and these bookends need to get back to executing strip-sacks.
Lawrence Timmons has bounced inside and outside, which has hurt his pass coverage. But that doesn't pardon the most underachieving performance on the roster. It's well past time he steps up, without anyone having to chew him out on the sideline.
Read more: Kovacevic: Time for Steelers to steal - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_773901.html#ixzz1hqBk7vfA
The adage that defense wins championships has been accepted in the NFL since well before Vince Lombardi puffed his first sideline cigarette.
But bring that up with anyone whose football analysis runs deeper than nodding when Boomer and Shannon bump fists, and they'll reflexively respond that the championship formula for a defense isn't just about preventing points. It's about helping to produce a few. It's about returning an interception for a touchdown more often than, oh, zero times in 15 games. It's about forcing more than five fumbles all year.
This is a game of turnovers, as Mike Tomlin loves to say, but it's a game in which the Steelers have been a stunning failure even as they somehow sit here at 11-4 with a playoff berth.
The trend won't last. Count on it.
Takeaway total for the season: 14, a league low, on 10 interceptions and four fumble recoveries.
Takeaway total in the 27-0 shutout of the pathetic St. Louis Rams on Saturday: Zero.
Takeaway total in the playoffs?
There had better be a few.
.................................................. .................................................. ..........................
They have pitched in eight measly points with one defensive touchdown — Troy Polamalu's fumble scoop in Indianapolis in Week 3 — plus a safety.
They also have shoved the offense's back to the wall. The Steelers have begun a drive in the opponents' territory only six times as the result of a takeaway. Their average starting position is their 26.2-yard line, ranking 27th in the league. In San Francisco two weeks ago, their average starting position of the 15-yard line was the worst in any NFL game since 2005.
.................................................. .........
Way atop my list is that James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley have shared a field for just three full games. That's reduced the Steelers' ability to rush the quarterback and, in turn, Dick LeBeau's willingness to blitz. Heat in the backfield is the best path to turnovers, and these bookends need to get back to executing strip-sacks.
Lawrence Timmons has bounced inside and outside, which has hurt his pass coverage. But that doesn't pardon the most underachieving performance on the roster. It's well past time he steps up, without anyone having to chew him out on the sideline.
Read more: Kovacevic: Time for Steelers to steal - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_773901.html#ixzz1hqBk7vfA