Steelers begin prepping for opposing 4-3 defenses

[stillers4me]

Steelers begin prepping for opposing 4-3 defenses

By Mark Kaboly (mkaboly@dailynewsemail.com), TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, August 12, 2010



Bruce Arians promised the Steelers will run the ball better this year. To do that, his offense is doing things they have never done before in training camp.
Because the Steelers struggled getting a running game going against 4-3 defensive fronts a year ago and have 10 games against teams that use four down linemen and three linebackers this year, they are preparing themselves now.
The offense spent a good portion of Wednesday morning's practice running team drills against a 4-3 front to get the players used to the look.
Not only was it the first time this camp they have done such a thing, it was the first time they have ever worked on it during practice.
"In years past, we wouldn't even practice it," Arians said. "We would just go play them. It is a real disadvantage to the offensive line."..............

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_694536.html

:dizzy: No wonder our O-line looked like shit. In light of this news, I'm thinking they did pretty damn good.

[stillers4me]

the Steelers open the season with three consecutive games against 4-3 teams — Atlanta, Tennessee and Tampa Bay.
"We usually throw the ball pretty well in those situations, but it is something we feel that we have to address," Arians said.








The 4-3 defense for our first 3 games.........without Ben. Something tells me this this practice strategy is no accident.

[tony hipchest]

To do that, his offense is doing things they have never done before in training camp.

why am i not the least bit suprised. they didnt bother practicing converting a 3rd and 1 with the run game either (confirmed).

someone please remind me whose job it is to COORDINATE the offense again...

bruce arians is a fucking thick skulled dipshit. you think he woulda learned something IMMEDIATELY after our last game vs the eagles when bens ass was pounded into the turf. :doh2:

[tony hipchest]

interesting point made on the ravens game broadcast.

ex NFL head coaches on ravens offensive staff- al saunders, jim zorn and cam cameron. i bet they actually scout their opponents and have the practice squad run their schemes, and formations.

[Mach1]

it was the first time they have ever worked on it during practice.

:doh::doh::doh:

[Steeldude]

Not only was it the first time this camp they have done such a thing, it was the first time they have ever worked on it during practice


In years past, we wouldn't even practice it," Arians said. "We would just go play them. It is a real disadvantage to the offensive line."..............

that's just pathetic. just as many fans have said, the offense isn't prepared. who is to blame? tomlin and arians.

[steeldevil]

Wow.... What the hell do they do the week before playing a 4-3 D? Practice against a 3-4? Thats just stupid... I was not even a hater of Arians until now.

[tony hipchest]

so only 5 people have an opinion on this bombshell of a shocking revelation? thats crazy.

im dying to hear what some of the die hard arians supporters and apologists think of this.

i would think they would atleast make an attempt to defend it and blame tomlin. :noidea:

all is well though. i smell an honest effort towards improvement and firing that stiff larry z was a giant leap in the right direction.

[Hindes204]

so only 5 people have an opinion on this bombshell of a shocking revelation? thats crazy.

im dying to hear what some of the die hard arians supporters and apologists think of this.

i would think they would atleast make an attempt to defend it and blame tomlin. :noidea:

all is well though. i smell an honest effort towards improvement and firing that stiff larry z was a giant leap in the right direction.


well...............ummmmmmm..................you see...............oh screw it, I cant defend this. Ive tried to support Arians in the past and give him chance after chance, but this shit pisses me off. It makes him sound like a fuckin amateur

[MasterOfPuppets]

so only 5 people have an opinion on this bombshell of a shocking revelation? thats crazy.

im dying to hear what some of the die hard arians supporters and apologists think of this.

i would think they would atleast make an attempt to defend it and blame tomlin. :noidea:

all is well though. i smell an honest effort towards improvement and firing that stiff larry z was a giant leap in the right direction.

i had a theory last year, that the running game and piss poor blocking on the 3rd and shorts might be at least partially caused by lack of preparation. mendenhall confirmed that earlier this year when he said there's been a lot more emphasis on the running game.

[Steeldude]

it's just flat out amazing that an OC would not prepare his offense to go against 4-3 defenses. ok, i'll admit this is nowhere near as moronic as the steelers letting kordell be the starting QB, but this is still very bad.

it makes me wonder if they prepare for any particular defense. remember when the eagles, as well as other teams, were flooding the steelers backfield? i guess now we know it's because arians didn't prepare for anyone rushing the steelers' QB. perhaps next year he will cover blitzing...lol.

[kmsteelerwr15]

I'm at a loss of words...I mean how stupid can you be?

[Mach1]

it's just flat out amazing that an OC would not prepare his offense to go against 4-3 defenses. ok, i'll admit this is nowhere near as moronic as the steelers letting kordell be the starting QB, but this is still very bad.

it makes me wonder if they prepare for any particular defense. remember when the eagles, as well as other teams, were flooding the steelers backfield? i guess now we know it's because arians didn't prepare for anyone rushing the steelers' QB. perhaps next year he will cover blitzing...lol.

It's just as much if not more Tomlins fault. I mean my hell the head coach should have his team ready for just about anything. Not preparing for the opposing teams defense is inexcusable no matter who you are.

[Wallace108]

so only 5 people have an opinion on this bombshell of a shocking revelation? thats crazy.

If this thread had been named "Arians is a friggin' idiot," I probably would have read it sooner!!!!

For the first time on a message board, I'm at a complete loss of words. :frusty:

[O'Malley]

I have to agree with Mach1 on this. Tomlin is at just as much fault as Bruce. I have not heard about this until now either. But it makes sense now why we sucked against 4-3's last year. Combine that with the zone blocking scemes and that adds up to a bad running game. Still does not make any sense to me.

[SteelerSal]

You can watch the games in the past and see how unprepared our offense was....nothing new to us armchair coaches. Arian's and Tomlin are just letting what we already knew out in the public which REALLY makes them look stupid and undeserving to be called professional coaches. IMO

[Chidi29]

If this means Arians is an idiot, doesn't this make Tomlin as big of an idiot? Tomlin is overseeing everything; we're not even sure if Arians is in charge of creating the scout teams.

[tony hipchest]

If this thread had been named "Arians is a friggin' idiot," I probably would have read it sooner!!!!

For the first time on a message board, I'm at a complete loss of words. :frusty:

there you go. fixed. :thumbsup:

blaming tomlin only goes so far because everybody knows he is ultimately responsible and he doesnt shy away from that. infact he embraces it.

arians words are damning. there are ONY 2 ways you can go with them. either arians is admitting the idea ofd actually practicing against the 4-3 never crossed his mind, OR he is shifting all blame onto tomlin and the other coaches, completely throwing them under the bus and assuming no responsibility himself. this would be a complete lack of accountability, and something you definitely dont do to your boss publicly.

the ONLY thing tomlin is guilty of is trusting him to get his job done and solidly prepare his unit. he is guilty of giving his coordinators enough rope to hang themselves.

cowher used to micromanage his coordinators big time. tomlin is the complete opposite.

what has allowed arians to show his ineptitude has also allowed dick lebeau to thrive and blossom.

does arians really expect the steelers 3-4 defense to halt their learning and practice just so he can run his? "hey harrison, you watch from the sidelines today, i need to see some 4-3." :doh:

[X-Terminator]

While all of you are busy throwing Arians under the bus, I'd like for you to answer a couple of questions for me:

Where does it say in the story that not practicing running against 4-man fronts has only been going on since Arians has been the OC? Such an open-ended statement like "in past years we wouldn't even practice it" could mean that they also didn't do it during the "previous administration," could it not? Why MUST it automatically mean that Arians and ONLY Arians did not practice against it? I would also like for someone to confirm to me with sources that Cowher and his coordinators routinely practiced running against 4-man fronts during TC. Just saying "well, I saw him do it once or twice" is NOT proof.

[Mach1]

While all of you are busy throwing Arians under the bus, I'd like for you to answer a couple of questions for me:

Where does it say in the story that not practicing running against 4-man fronts has only been going on since Arians has been the OC? Such an open-ended statement like "in past years we wouldn't even practice it" could mean that they also didn't do it during the "previous administration," could it not? Why MUST it automatically mean that Arians and ONLY Arians did not practice against it? I would also like for someone to confirm to me with sources that Cowher and his coordinators routinely practiced running against 4-man fronts during TC. Just saying "well, I saw him do it once or twice" is NOT proof.


"In years past, we wouldn't even practice it," Arians said.

Umm...Straight from the horses mouth. :noidea:

[SteelerSal]

Umm...Straight from the horses mouth. :noidea:

Your allowed to type "JackASS" 9nstead of horse. :)

[cold-hard-steel]

It's no big secret that our offense has been predictable.Arians threads has been around,as long as he has.The o-line is another story in itself. Unless they have eyes in the back of their heads,how are you gonna protect for Ben? I have always paid my tribute to the o-line,But the predictability of the play calling has always been my beef.
I won't get tangled up in this thread too much,but some better play calling would seem to be in order.

[tony hipchest]

While all of you are busy throwing Arians under the bus, I'd like for you to answer a couple of questions for me:

Where does it say in the story that not practicing running against 4-man fronts has only been going on since Arians has been the OC? Such an open-ended statement like "in past years we wouldn't even practice it" could mean that they also didn't do it during the "previous administration," could it not? Why MUST it automatically mean that Arians and ONLY Arians did not practice against it? I would also like for someone to confirm to me with sources that Cowher and his coordinators routinely practiced running against 4-man fronts during TC. Just saying "well, I saw him do it once or twice" is NOT proof.

bu..bu..bu..cowher??? are you serious? you of anyone should know the "bu bu bu bush" excuse, doesnt, has never, and never will fly here.

this is arians apologist excuse in its finest. are you REALLY suggesting it is okay for bruce arians, the OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR to NOT practice against 4-3 defenses just because cowhere may or may not have in the past?

if youre gonna bring this weak argument into the equation, the honus is on you to find confirmed sources to say that he DIDNT. what i can confirm is cowher fired a bunch of offensive coordinators for not doing their job.

i can just hear arians now, whining to tomlin... "awww coach.... but why do we gotta practice our math? we never used to hafta when cowher was our teacher".

bottom line XT- arians comments in this thread = grand mal fail. there aint no getting around it, there isnt no denying it, and there most certainly arent any excused despite what bill cowher did 5 years ago.

cowher did practice against 4-3 defenses, im almost certain of it, because only someone as boneheadded as arians would do otherwise. its up to YOU to prove different.

[X-Terminator]

Umm...Straight from the horses mouth. :noidea:

Not an answer to my question. I want to know if this has ONLY been going on under Arians before I join the "Arians is an idiot" club. Excuse me if I'm not as quick to do that.


bu..bu..bu..cowher??? are you serious? you of anyone should know the "bu bu bu bush" excuse, doesnt, has never, and never will fly here.

this is arians apologist excuse in its finest. are you REALLY suggesting it is okay for bruce arians, the OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR to NOT practice against 4-3 defenses just because cowhere may or may not have in the past?

if youre gonna bring this weak argument into the equation, the honus is on you to find confirmed sources to say that he DIDNT. what i can confirm is cowher fired a bunch of offensive coordinators for not doing their job.

i can just hear arians now, whining to tomlin... "awww coach.... but why do we gotta practice our math? we never used to hafta when cowher was our teacher".

bottom line XT- arians comments in this thread = grand mal fail. there aint no getting around it, there isnt no denying it, and there most certainly arent any excused despite what bill cowher did 5 years ago.

cowher did practice against 4-3 defenses, im almost certain of it, because only someone as boneheadded as arians would do otherwise. its up to YOU to prove different.

No, it's NOT up to me to prove different. How the hell is the ONUS on me to prove that this has only been going on under Arians when YOU ALL IMMEDIATELY JUMPED ON HIM FOR IT? I also never fucking said it was OK for him not to do it, so don't put words in my mouth.

I don't give a flying fandoozle if you think it's just apologist speak. If you can't prove that this has only been going on under Arians, then to me, this is just another reason for you and the rest of the haters to bash the guy.

[tony hipchest]

if you contend it, therefore the ONUS is on you to prove it. it is the backbone of YOUR stance in this debate.

my contention is bruce arians is an idiot for not practicing against 4-3 defenses the week they play 4-3 teams.

do you need proof? see the OP. :coffee:

in the meantime, ditch the cowher deflection and diversion.

he is so last decade.

[X-Terminator]

if you contend it, therefore the ONUS is on you to prove it. it is the backbone of YOUR stance in this debate.

my contention is bruce arians is an idiot for not practicing against 4-3 defenses the week they play 4-3 teams.

do you need proof? see the OP. :coffee:

in the meantime, ditch the cowher deflection and diversion.

he is so last decade.

The OP only proves Arians did not do it. It does NOT prove that he is the only one who has not done it. Until you show me proof that it's a deviation from what others have done here, then I will not come over to your side and demand Arians' head on a spit.

Looks like we're at an impasse. :coffee:

[tony hipchest]

arians apologists are more than welcome to continue to apologize for him and make excuses, just like i am more than welcome to be absolutely pissed at a coach who is incapable of COORDINATING his OFFENSE by practicing against a 4-3 defense the week they play a 4-3 team.

what the fuck were they watching in film study? barney and friends or larry zeileins porn? maybe georgia golf community housing videos. :doh:

what a fucking embarrassment to our proud franchise. either way, mike tomlin needs to tell him to shut the fuck up and refrain from talking to reporters if he has any hope of remaining in pgh beyone mid-season.

im sure art II is proud of arians and this latest relevation.

sheesh....

[X-Terminator]

Who the fuck said you couldn't get pissed at Arians? It sure as fucking hell wasn't me! You can get pissed at him all you want. You can curse him all you want. That doesn't mean that I HAVE TO!

[cold-hard-steel]

I am not an Arians apollogetic type of guy. i am a change up the play calling type of guy. We have got to show more looks on offense,and thats the bottom line. Granted,preseason may not be the time to break it out,but it needs to be addressed.Everyone and their mother has been blaming the o-line.I think it is time to put that myth to rest.

[tony hipchest]

Who the fuck said you couldn't get pissed at Arians? It sure as fucking hell wasn't me! You can get pissed at him all you want. You can curse him all you want. That doesn't mean that I HAVE TO!doesnt mean you have to put on a farce an apologize for him either. :noidea:

youre the one who came into this thread all pissed at this boards members (and all fans in general) with guns a blazin demanding proof that cowher didnt do the same. nobody is telling you what to do. you told US to go find YOU proof (as if we are your dogs). its good to have the thought police here to bitch at us though.

WTF does cowher even have to do with arians lack of preparing HIS unit?

again, arians doesnt prepare for 4-3 defenses. im glad you can take it in stride. as this thread proves, others simply cant. it is inexcusable. :doh:

[X-Terminator]

doesnt mean you have to put on a farce an apologize for him either. :noidea:

youre the one who came into this thread all pissed at this boards members (and all fans in general) with guns a blazin demanding proof that cowher didnt do the same. nobody is telling you what to do. you told US to go find YOU proof (as if we are your dogs). its good to have the thought police here to bitch at us though.

WTF does cowher even have to do with arians lack of preparing HIS unit?

again, arians doesnt prepare for 4-3 defenses. im glad you can take it in stride. as this thread proves, others simply cant. it is inexcusable. :doh:

I didn't demand a damn thing. I wasn't pissed at anyone. I asked for someone to basically go back and show if this is something that has been going on for years and NOT just with BA. I don't know what world you live in, but they are not the same thing.

I didn't tell you what to think. I didn't tell you what to post. I didn't say "you can't talk about BA here." I did NONE of that. I simply asked for some more information before I go and throw BA under the bus. Apparently, that is NOT allowed when it comes to BA, at least not here. If you want to call that an "apology," then go right ahead. I really don't give a shit.

[Steeldude]

in this case, what difference does it make what the OCs did before arians arrived? arians is the OC now. if past OCs didn't practice against 4-3 or 3-4 defenses, then they are fools too.

tomlin is also to blame.

[X-Terminator]

tomlin is also to blame.

The one thing I will agree with Tony on is that the only thing Tomlin is guilty of is trusting his coaches to do their jobs. It looks as if that has changed this season, and it seems he is becoming a little bit more "hands-on," especially with the offense. That's what happens when your boss tells you to get something fixed.

[BuddhaBus]

If this thread had been named "Arians is a friggin' idiot," I probably would have read it sooner!!!!

For the first time on a message board, I'm at a complete loss of words. :frusty:

Same here! I cannot believe this shit at all. "Hey guys! Whaddya say we just wing this whole short yardage and 4-3 defense thing? It can't be that crucial, can it?" :doh2: :doh2: :doh2: :doh2:

The bottom line is, WHOEVER'S fault it is that this was not happening should be publicly flogged with a bullwhip. It seems stupid to me that, after numerous failures in games at handling the 4-3, THEY CONTINUED NOT PRACTICING AGAINST IT! I could see them not practicing it that much if they were having success against it, but to fail time and time again and NOT think for a second "Maybe we should look into giving our O-line some looks at this in practice to sharpen their skills?" seems unfathomable to me.

Looking back at what was (or was not) done in past administrations holds no water in the present and does not absolve them from scrutiny now. The fact remains that they weren't doing it when they were struggling against it and that is absurd. At least they are doing something about it this season, and that's something we can ALL be happy about. :grouphug:

[urgle burgle]

what i find as amazing...is not that arians is a non-changing idiot, and that he may or may not be the person who did not realize it would be a good idea to practice against 4-3 defenses....is that all are culpable. it has become well known that our o-line has had problems against this type of d. one game, two games, three its an obvious issue. when things get out of wack as a team(which they ares supposed to be), it is up to all involved to figure out the problem. when other attempts to fix have not worked, you go back to the beginning and go to the fundamentals. like fixing a SINGARS radio(sorry Army ananlogy here, bear with me). you have checked all other possibilities, mike, antenna, linking frequencies to other radios, com checks with multiple sources, etc. the one thing you havent checked is the most simplest, easiest, less time consuming, and less work intense....check the connections. make sure everything is properly hooked up and clean. so to end this analogy...who didnt decide to look and check the simplest things first. are we even practing against 4-3 defenses? amazing. so i dont care if its arians fault, tomlins fault, lebeuaus fault, cohwers fault, steely mcbeams fault, or the naked homless guy swimming in the monongahlia.......fix it.

[solardave]

To do that, his offense is doing things they have never done before in training camp.

why am i not the least bit suprised. they didnt bother practicing converting a 3rd and 1 with the run game either (confirmed).

someone please remind me whose job it is to COORDINATE the offense again...

bruce arians is a fucking thick skulled dipshit. you think he woulda learned something IMMEDIATELY after our last game vs the eagles when bens ass was pounded into the turf. :doh2:

Don't minch words Tony,say what you really think:heh: You're right by the way. He is a dipshit but maybe he has seen the light.

[ricardisimo]

This explains an awful lot, most notably the numbers 50, 49, 47 and 49. How simple could this have been to fix? Prioritize the OL a bit more in the draft and practice against your opponents' schemes. Voila!

[MasterOfPuppets]

This explains an awful lot, most notably the numbers 50, 49, 47 and 49. How simple could this have been to fix? Prioritize the OL a bit more in the draft and practice against your opponents' schemes. Voila!

you can't be bothered with minor details when ya got a 100 mill dolla qb....http://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-cmon.gif

[Indo]

I'm neither an Arians Hater nor an Arians Apologist. I don't know how long this has been going on; but, as has been said, it really doesn't matter. It MUST be fixed.

What boggles my mind the most is this:

Most of us have played this game at some level. We all understand that there is a "Game Plan"--that's what you plan for and practice during the week before the game (or, in this case, what you should practice but didn't). Now game-time comes around. It's a complex, ever-changing, dynamic game that absolutely requires adjustments to the game plan. When the Defense is on the field, the O-line all sits together and discusses why the Fuck the fucking Eagles keep dropping Ben for a loss. You would think that at least one of them would say, "My guy keeps doing this or that and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing to stop it". Then somebody, perhaps the OC, would say (either out loud or to himself), "This seems to be a repeating pattern---our guys aren't sure who to block. Our blocking scheme is flawed. Perhaps there is some way to give them some sort of advantage instead of trying to fly by the seat of their pants during the game".

"By Jove, I've got it!" I'll actually make them practice this shit before the game actually starts! EUREKA!"

It ain't Rocket Science. Having the Team prepared to the Best of One's Ability seems to be the way to go.
"It's a game of inches..."

I don't know who is responsible. But Art II needs to bring down the Wrath and shake it up.
Coach these players.
Or get the fuck out.


/end rant