On the Steelers: Signature defense a thing of the past

[stillers4me]

The Steelers have played the 3-4 base defense since 1982, longer than any team in the NFL.


They just do not play it much anymore.


“Almost obsolete,” defensive coordinator Keith Butler called it.


Don’t look for a return to the days of the four-man line like the 1970s Steel Curtain, however. What the Steelers play almost exclusively these days is one of their many pass defenses that deploy five and six defensive backs and only two true linemen.


They played those defenses 85 percent of the time against Kansas City and might do so more often Sunday against the New York Jets, who lined up with four wide receivers on offense more than any other NFL team last season............

read more @ http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2016/10/07/On-the-Steelers-Signature-defense-a-thing-of-past/stories/201610070109?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[Mojouw]

Another ho-hum no research needed article from the local newspaper. And they wonder why no one reads their crappy "stories". Article is like 3 years behind the "trend" and would have been better positioned during the off-season when it was obvious to anyone that the team was constructing a roster to be in nickel a TON.

Also, why not Google stuff and see how often other teams are in base versus "sub-packages"?

[tube517]

Bulchitte. Enough said. He should have retired along with Troy, Ike, and Keisel. Way past his prime.

[steelreserve]

It's not really about the formation anyway these days, as much as how the players are used. It's perfectly reasonable to run a "base 3-4" that turns into a 3-3-5 nickel against pass-heavy offensive looks, while maintaining basically the same principle.

The reason we haven't been using much of either is because we've lacked a defensive tackle who was effective at anything other than run-stopping - which is of limited use, so it made no sense to have a third defensive lineman in those situations. Maybe that changes some with Hargreaves? Who knows.

But whether you're in a 3-4 base, a 4-3 base, or any of the craploads of nickel formations, you are basically going to be rushing four guys most of the time, and the only difference is whether they're all linemen, three linemen and a linebacker, or two linemen and two linebackers. And how many guys are "in the box" to react to the possibility of a run, which can be changed to whatever you want no matter which formation you're in.

[Edman]

The classic Blitzburgh 3-4 is obsolete. Rules slanted for offense as well as more advanced offenses have spelled it's end.

It came at an end in XLIII, where Todd Haley (of all people) exposed it.

Troy really masked a lot of crippling weaknesses of our Defense, which is why when he was out of the lineup, the Defense became woefully average.

[NCSteeler]

Tell that to the in game announcers. I couldn't be more tired hearing about Pittsburgh's defense , when they haven't been good in 5-6 years.

[Steel Peon]

Shouldn't every team have a signature defense, based on the talent the have? This whole discussion seems redundant, considering the 3-4 is widely regarded as the defense for smart guys.