What sunk 2017?

[Edman]

Coming off a AFC Title game appearance in 2016, 2017 was a season that begun with so much promise, but ended with a thud.

What ultimately sunk a potent 13-3 season? Was it a weak Defense missing Shazier? Was it all the drama? Or was the team just wasn't that good and ran into a buzzsaw in Jacksonville that also picked sixed Ben twice earlier in the season?

Finally, Will 2018 be any different? Will Pittsburgh be able to overcome New England and a surging Jaguars team that suddenly has their number?

[BlackAndGold]

Shazier, When he went down the defense couldn't recover. Also I don't believe the team was as good as the record showed. Struggled to beat the Colts, Packers, and was in a shootout against the Ravens who's offense sucked. They were 13-3, but they were frustrating to watch.

They'll be contenders next season but the clock is ticking. The young defensive players have to take another step in improvement. The offense is ready and has been ready, but after next season one of those pieces(#26) could be gone.

[steelreserve]

Losing Shazier was the worst; sleepwalking through the first half of the Jaguars game was the ass-kicker, but I don't think we would've given up quite so many points to them with a full defense.

Same with the victory against the Patriots in the regular season; Shazier's presence in that game probably makes enough difference that we are ahead and just kneel down on that last drive, and then the official score would not contradict the actual result of the game, meaning we get a second bye week against the Titans in the playoffs.

[86WARD]

The teams defense wasn’t that good from the start. Losing Shazier was bad but wasn’t the deciding factor. The defense was getting gashed for big plays all season both on the ground and in the air multiple times per game and both with Shazier and without. Losing Haden might be as bad as losing Shazier...

On offense, the inability to make adjustments in the run game, the inability to convert on 3rd downs, shoddy play calling is what did the offense in.

[SteelerFanInStl]

The teams defense wasn’t that good from the start. Losing Shazier was bad but wasn’t the deciding factor. The defense was getting gashed for big plays all season both on the ground and in the air multiple times per game and both with Shazier and without. Losing Haden might be as bad as losing Shazier...

On offense, the inability to make adjustments in the run game, the inability to convert on 3rd downs, shoddy play calling is what did the offense in.

Pretty much agree with all of your points. The defense didn't just regress when Shazier got hurt. They were expected to take a step forward this year but they went backward, despite adding Haden.

[steelreserve]

Pretty much agree with all of your points. The defense didn't just regress when Shazier got hurt. They were expected to take a step forward this year but they went backward, despite adding Haden.

The defense wasn't great, but with Shazier it was acceptable. Once they lost him, it didn't just make them worse by the skill level between a starter and a backup, it was much worse than that. It opened up an obvious exploit that could be abused, which was exactly what happened in key games.

[Fire Goodell]

No defense. This team was like the Saints, score 30+ a game and it's still not enough because the defense is that bad

[SteelerFanInStl]

The defense wasn't great, but with Shazier it was acceptable. Once they lost him, it didn't just make them worse by the skill level between a starter and a backup, it was much worse than that. It opened up an obvious exploit that could be abused, which was exactly what happened in key games.

I don't agree. The defense was terrible against the Bears and Jags and that was early in the season. Losing Shazier just magnified the problems.

[Craic]

It wasn't any one specific thing, but a collection of several issues over time. Shazier going down was very bad, but we lost only one game in the regular season after he went down. Would he have been the key to stopping the Patriots? Maybe, but he's been on the field several times before when we've played them. Was the defense just that bad? Perhaps, but they had several very good games as well and allowed 2 TDs or less in 12-16 games. (Fieldgoals make up the differential in points). In today's NFL, that is not a bad defense. However, they seemed have some major breakdowns at crucial times (against the Pats* and Jax in the playoffs, for instance). Ben played like crap in the first half of the season or so, and his worst game was against Jax. Had he played that game like he did in the second half of the season, might have we won? Who would we have faced in the playoffs? Did the drama distract? If I remember correctly, a lot of that drama came during the eight game win streak in the middle of the season.

I think they were all factors, but the final result of the season can't be blamed on any one of them. I wouldn't go so far as to say if any single item changed, it would have changed the outcome. But I will say if two or three changed for the better, we'd have had a much different season, such as Ben having a good game against Jax and Shazier not getting hurt against the Bungles. Or, the defense not dropping the ball against a couple of teams and no drama that drew attention away from the job at hand.

[st33lersguy]

Coaching was this team's downfall in 2017 from top to bottom. With decent coaching in 2017, at bare minimum they would have coasted to the Super Bowl. You have position coaches failing to develop talent, particularly defensively. You have Todd Haley who bogged down the offense with asinine play-calling all year from the numerous bubble screens to start the week 1 browns games to the stupid playcalling on 4th and 1 against Jacksonville. Then you have Keith Butler a guy who gets out-schemed and outclassed by pretty much every above average offense and even got outclassed by shitty offenses last year culminating in the mess against Blake Bortles. As long as Butler is the coordinator getting thoroughly outschemed, this team will not make a Super Bowl. Tomlin has a lot of blame to shoulder as well. While he did get the most out of 2015 and 2016, not so much in 2017. He allowed for a toxic culture in the locker room with an incessant amount of off-the-field drama and allowed for a culture of lethargy on the field as he stood by as this team scraped by against inferior teams nearly every single week and then stupidly running his mouth about New England and allowing the team to look ahead to New England. On paper this team was the most talented team in the AFC and possibly the NFL, yet watching them on the field, they looked closer to a 10-6 whose win total was inflated by a weak schedule and a team that won it's division and a bye only by default. The team had 10 pro bowlers playing in the weakest conference in over 10 years and they still couldn't even win a playoff game. That's on the coaches.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Coaching was this team's downfall in 2017 from top to bottom.

https://media.makeameme.org/created/Yeah-Mr-Rooney.jpg

[GBMelBlount]

Supremely disappointed with the D start to finish last season.

We took a step backward that I was not expecting.

We have invested a lot of high round picks on defense that have not paid off.

[Neversatisfied]

https://media.makeameme.org/created/Yeah-Mr-Rooney.jpg

LMAO!! This is perfect....and don't forget about those TPS reports.

[GBMelBlount]

Coaching was this team's downfall in 2017 from top to bottom. With decent coaching in 2017, at bare minimum they would have coasted to the Super Bowl. You have position coaches failing to develop talent, particularly defensively. You have Todd Haley who bogged down the offense with asinine play-calling all year from the numerous bubble screens to start the week 1 browns games to the stupid playcalling on 4th and 1 against Jacksonville. Then you have Keith Butler a guy who gets out-schemed and outclassed by pretty much every above average offense and even got outclassed by shitty offenses last year culminating in the mess against Blake Bortles. As long as Butler is the coordinator getting thoroughly outschemed, this team will not make a Super Bowl. Tomlin has a lot of blame to shoulder as well. While he did get the most out of 2015 and 2016, not so much in 2017. He allowed for a toxic culture in the locker room with an incessant amount of off-the-field drama and allowed for a culture of lethargy on the field as he stood by as this team scraped by against inferior teams nearly every single week and then stupidly running his mouth about New England and allowing the team to look ahead to New England. On paper this team was the most talented team in the AFC and possibly the NFL, yet watching them on the field, they looked closer to a 10-6 whose win total was inflated by a weak schedule and a team that won it's division and a bye only by default. The team had 10 pro bowlers playing in the weakest conference in over 10 years and they still couldn't even win a playoff game. That's on the coaches.

I agree that there is room for improvement.

Main thing imo is that hopefully the coaches and management learns from mistakes and does not continually repeat them.

[Moose]

I agree with all replies. We definitely weren't a 13-3 team. A whole lot of 'lucky' wins that could have easily gone in the LOSS column. Defense was pathetic and really hard and aggravating to watch. Tomlin was out-coached many times. Tackling was nonexistent. I think it's a shame defensive coaches didn't get fired....i.e. Porter, etc.. I, personally, don't see a lot changed for up coming year. Hope I'm wrong.

[Mojouw]

Shazier stays healthy and the 2017 Steelers have a puncher's chance of taking home a Lombardi. Immediately after his injury the Ravens showed the entire league how to beat the Steelers. Isolate a RB in coverage or in the run game against the ILBs. Make the ILBs get to a spot on the edge of the field in coverage or flow to an outside gap. They won't be able to do it. Their failure to get to gaps then exposed the other known issue with the defense - terrible tackling in the secondary. Spence and Williams not getting to RBs then allowed Davis, Burns, and Mitchell to miss tackles even further downfield.

The Pats game was the Pats game. I mean Gronk was a beast. What else is new? When he is healthy and Brady has time to find him - no one stops that combo. And then the refs blew the call. I know exactly why they did and how it happened. I just can't get to "blamey" about that loss on the coaching staff or on the Steelers. I mean there was that clusterfudge at the end there, but not many teams are gonna handle that well. I honestly believe that sequence was/is one of the biggest reasons Haley was told to move on. It exposed a chain of communication that had broken down to a pretty big degree.

The playoff loss - again I think that the team put in an amazing effort and the wounded defense was simply too much for the team to overcome. Don't forget that the same supposedly punch-less Jags team that all competent playoff teams should readily beat took the Pats to the wall in the AFCG and were one amazing deflection away from going to the SB.

For me the "problem" in 2017 was really about one thing - depth. And depth is really hard to build in the salary cap era. And to Colbert and company's credit they tried. Wilcox was an attempt to get that big nickel or dime defender that the safety group has been unable to provide for several years now. Allen, Sutton, and Haden were great additions to the CB group and suddenly that went from a roster weakness to a moderate strength. Alualu really solidified the D-line rotation. They swung for the fences with Hightower and lost out. That was, for me, the critical mistake. Someone else should have been brought in after Hightower went back to NE. I have no idea who that would've been or could've been - but at least legitimate depth. I think someone totally over-valued Fort and Matakevich. Perhaps it is only in hindsight that become obvious. Teams have a league-wide history of over-valuing their guys and under-valuing journeyman FA types. It is entirely possible that there was no way to recover "in season" from a Shazier level loss. I remember other Steelers defenses that essentially collapsed due to a key injury to guys like Aaron Smith or Troy Polamalu. When you lose elite talents, you can't just plug and play another guy and you likely have to alter your entire scheme on the fly. Both are devilishly difficult.

Injuries are just so hard to predict. I mean what if K. Adams stays healthy through the entire off-season and continued to impress. He makes the 53 and gets a hat on game-days. Then when Shazier gets hurt, the team rolls the dice hard and moves Watt to the middle on an emergency basis and Adams takes over on the outside in a heavy rotation with Chickillo? I mean the potential for disaster in that scenario is stupid high and I fully understand that the real NFL isn't like Madden where you can just move guys around willy-nilly -- but since we already know how the solutions the team tried worked out -- it is worth pondering alternatives.

One final note. Many others have mentioned it here in various places. Currently the defense does not force enough turnovers. I get this sense that many are frustrated by the Steeler's inability to blow teams out. Well, you don't really blow a lot of teams out without getting extra possessions. For all the team's efforts to build a roster on defense that forces turnovers -- it just hasn't happened. They start forcing turnovers, they start winning by 2 touchdowns most weeks.

[pczach]

Shazier stays healthy and the 2017 Steelers have a puncher's chance of taking home a Lombardi. Immediately after his injury the Ravens showed the entire league how to beat the Steelers. Isolate a RB in coverage or in the run game against the ILBs. Make the ILBs get to a spot on the edge of the field in coverage or flow to an outside gap. They won't be able to do it. Their failure to get to gaps then exposed the other known issue with the defense - terrible tackling in the secondary. Spence and Williams not getting to RBs then allowed Davis, Burns, and Mitchell to miss tackles even further downfield.

The Pats game was the Pats game. I mean Gronk was a beast. What else is new? When he is healthy and Brady has time to find him - no one stops that combo. And then the refs blew the call. I know exactly why they did and how it happened. I just can't get to "blamey" about that loss on the coaching staff or on the Steelers. I mean there was that clusterfudge at the end there, but not many teams are gonna handle that well. I honestly believe that sequence was/is one of the biggest reasons Haley was told to move on. It exposed a chain of communication that had broken down to a pretty big degree.

The playoff loss - again I think that the team put in an amazing effort and the wounded defense was simply too much for the team to overcome. Don't forget that the same supposedly punch-less Jags team that all competent playoff teams should readily beat took the Pats to the wall in the AFCG and were one amazing deflection away from going to the SB.

For me the "problem" in 2017 was really about one thing - depth. And depth is really hard to build in the salary cap era. And to Colbert and company's credit they tried. Wilcox was an attempt to get that big nickel or dime defender that the safety group has been unable to provide for several years now. Allen, Sutton, and Haden were great additions to the CB group and suddenly that went from a roster weakness to a moderate strength. Alualu really solidified the D-line rotation. They swung for the fences with Hightower and lost out. That was, for me, the critical mistake. Someone else should have been brought in after Hightower went back to NE. I have no idea who that would've been or could've been - but at least legitimate depth. I think someone totally over-valued Fort and Matakevich. Perhaps it is only in hindsight that become obvious. Teams have a league-wide history of over-valuing their guys and under-valuing journeyman FA types. It is entirely possible that there was no way to recover "in season" from a Shazier level loss. I remember other Steelers defenses that essentially collapsed due to a key injury to guys like Aaron Smith or Troy Polamalu. When you lose elite talents, you can't just plug and play another guy and you likely have to alter your entire scheme on the fly. Both are devilishly difficult.

Injuries are just so hard to predict. I mean what if K. Adams stays healthy through the entire off-season and continued to impress. He makes the 53 and gets a hat on game-days. Then when Shazier gets hurt, the team rolls the dice hard and moves Watt to the middle on an emergency basis and Adams takes over on the outside in a heavy rotation with Chickillo? I mean the potential for disaster in that scenario is stupid high and I fully understand that the real NFL isn't like Madden where you can just move guys around willy-nilly -- but since we already know how the solutions the team tried worked out -- it is worth pondering alternatives.

One final note. Many others have mentioned it here in various places. Currently the defense does not force enough turnovers. I get this sense that many are frustrated by the Steeler's inability to blow teams out. Well, you don't really blow a lot of teams out without getting extra possessions. For all the team's efforts to build a roster on defense that forces turnovers -- it just hasn't happened. They start forcing turnovers, they start winning by 2 touchdowns most weeks.


Great post!

It's hard to argue with any of it.

You absolutely nailed it on the loss of Shazier and the events that followed. It's a great explanation of why....that many don't seem to understand from a pure execution and football standpoint.

The point you made about depth is spot on.

Well done.

[DesertSteel]

Shazier........

[Steeldude]

Defense and coaching.

[Born2Steel]

Ben talking retirement. Bell not making TC. MB not getting enough play his way as his girlfriend pointed out. AV standing by himself during the National Anthem. Gilbert getting suspended those 4 games. Sean Spence not being in prime football shape and not being able to readily step into Shazier's shoes. JuJu getting a game suspension for taunting. The return of endzone celebrations. Not having a legit kick returner. And James Harrison becoming a Patriot.

:sarcasm2:

[Shoes]

Blake Bortles, yup Blake Bortles!

[Steelerchad]

Shazier injury was the nail in the coffin for this team.
D wasn't great, but good enough to hang close and let the offense outscore most opponents.
When you look at the games after he got hurt, it was pathetic. The Ravens horrid offense hung 38 on us, then Jax with 45.

[Edman]

Pretty much agree with all of your points. The defense didn't just regress when Shazier got hurt. They were expected to take a step forward this year but they went backward, despite adding Haden.

I think you can blame the sophomore slumps of Artie Burns and Sean Davis for that as well. They were nowhere near as good as they were in 2016.

[Dwinsgames]

soft in the middle vs the run was the #1 downfall of this team in 2017 ....

the only thing that fixes it completely is drafting 2 players a true NT and an inside backer that upgrades the trash we trotted out there after Shazier went down ...

I know MANY hate the thought of a traditional space eating NT ( a 2 down player ) esp after spending a pick on Hargrave not so long ago but Hargrave isnt getting it done vs the run he has been pushed around a bit and it has hurt us .

Hargrave is better suited as a backup at both end spots and subpackage football ( ducks while the eggs fly ) as I know it will be an unpopular statement but it does not make it any less true

if we could get a guy Like Settle in round 2 or 3 coupled with one of the top tier ILB prospects in the 1st ... I think that goes a very long ways in solving our defensive issues and I would argue it is a bigger need than S at this point

[Mojouw]

soft in the middle vs the run was the #1 downfall of this team in 2017 ....

the only thing that fixes it completely is drafting 2 players a true NT and an inside backer that upgrades the trash we trotted out there after Shazier went down ...

I know MANY hate the thought of a traditional space eating NT ( a 2 down player ) esp after spending a pick on Hargrave not so long ago but Hargrave isnt getting it done vs the run he has been pushed around a bit and it has hurt us .

Hargrave is better suited as a backup at both end spots and subpackage football ( ducks while the eggs fly ) as I know it will be an unpopular statement but it does not make it any less true

if we could get a guy Like Settle in round 2 or 3 coupled with one of the top tier ILB prospects in the 1st ... I think that goes a very long ways in solving our defensive issues and I would argue it is a bigger need than S at this point

Gotta disagree on this one. Team ranked 9th in stopping runs up the middle. Only 0.7 yards per rush from the #1 spot. Ranked bottom third in the league stopping runs at the edges of the defense.

That says ILb and safety are far high priority fixes to me.

Maybe I’m wrong and the NT not wiping out the guard on every play is allowing the OL to clear guys out.

[Dwinsgames]

Gotta disagree on this one. Team ranked 9th in stopping runs up the middle. Only 0.7 yards per rush from the #1 spot. Ranked bottom third in the league stopping runs at the edges of the defense.

That says ILb and safety are far high priority fixes to me.

Maybe I’m wrong and the NT not wiping out the guard on every play is allowing the OL to clear guys out.


rewatch the Jags game

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

rewatch the Jags game Running backs are getting 3 or 4 yards right away because the D line isn't stopping them and that is a issue. When we had Casey Hampton and etc that would never had happen. Our D line is decent but overrated if you compare them to Steeler teams of the past.

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

This is also a product of the new defense philosophy and we have a D line that is to be pass rushers and not run stoppers. I prefer the old days when the edge lbs was the pass rushers. But you got to go with the talent you have and our outside lbs aren't all that. Watt maybe soon but other then him ?

[Mojouw]

rewatch the Jags game

I know what you’re driving at. But the 2017 Steelers gave up 0.2 yards per rush more up the middle then they did in 2008.

That being said, I like using one of the 5th round picks to get a guy like that kid out of UConn or whatever big DT you want.

[Dwinsgames]

I know what you’re driving at. But the 2017 Steelers gave up 0.2 yards per rush more up the middle then they did in 2008.

That being said, I like using one of the 5th round picks to get a guy like that kid out of UConn or whatever big DT you want.

Maybe statistically speaking on the enitre season it was rather close to 08 but I was answering " what sunk 2017" we where not sunk till the Jags playoff game and our defensive front was pushed around in that game ...

I guess the answer to why / how could be complex but the simple answer is ( from where I sit anyways ) is Hargrave is not /was not the physical presence that was needed in the middle of the line ... stopping runs from between the tackles in a 3-4 base it fall on the NT he has to clog and force would be ball carriers into the arms of others if he is not making the stop himself ... to many times he was manhandled and when the center piece of your defensive front is manhandled by the interior O-Line you are in for a long day vs the run and consequently we where , runners where entering the space he was moved out of for chunk yards and we got our tails handed to us because of it ... Bortles does not have half the day he had if not for the running games effectiveness ...

do I " WANT" to spend a high draft pick on a guy who plays 2 down football ( NO ) do i think we pretty much have to to avoid what we witnessed to end our season with a 1 and done in the playoffs ..( YES )

again just my opinion ( change my mind ) haha

[st33lersguy]

The entire defense had a bad day in general against the Jags, all over, everyone involved with the defense was to blame, not just two positions. ILB needs an upgrade, they got one upgrade, but need at least one more. Run-stuffing NT however is becoming more obsolete in this defense and the NFL in general, spending a high round pick on one is not wise and will not solve the entirety of the problems. OLBs disengaging from blocks better and stopping the outside will probably do more to help in the run defense, especially since, as already pointed out, that was the real weakness in the run game

[Mojouw]

I'll try.

Here is 2008 Run Defense stuff from Football Outsiders (using their database because it is the one I am familiar with and have free access to): https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/dl2008



Team
Adj. Line
Yards
RB
Yards
Power
Success
Power
Rank
Stuffed
Stuffed
Rank
2nd Level
Yards
2nd Level
Rank
Open Field
Yards
Open Field
Rank
Team
Rank
Sacks
Adjusted
Sack Rate


1
BAL
3.13
3.33
64%
14
24%
3
0.87
2
0.62
12
DAL
1
59
9.9%


2
CHI
3.27
3.64
64%
11
28%
1
1.03
8
0.84
22
MIN
2
45
9.0%


3
NYG
3.33
3.73
58%
6
24%
5
0.89
3
0.80
20
PIT
3
51
8.7%


4
MIN
3.51
3.46
55%
2
24%
4
1.02
7
0.54
9
PHI
4
48
8.4%


5
PHI
3.62
3.59
61%
9
22%
7
0.99
6
0.55
10
CAR
5
37
7.4%


6
TEN
3.67
3.84
64%
13
24%
2
1.03
9
0.79
18
OAK
6
32
7.3%


7

PIT
3.69
3.41
53%
1
17%
18
0.95
4
0.30
1







In 2008 the defense was really good at stopping backs once they hit the second level and in the open field.
Turning to look at where the rush yards did come from against the 2008 defense (from the site - "These runs are from the perspective of the OFFENSE, so a run listed as LEFT TACKLE is actually at the RIGHT defensive end."):




LEFT END
LEFT TACKLE
MID/GUARD
RIGHT TACKLE
RIGHT END



TEAM
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank


1
BAL
3.30
6
3.49
7
3.07
1
2.99
3
3.04
9


2
CHI
1.91
1
3.14
4
3.61
4
4.10
17
2.43
1


3
NYG
3.25
5
3.17
5
3.28
2
3.99
15
3.18
11


4
MIN
3.49
8
3.99
13
3.65
5
3.43
5
2.62
3


5
PHI
3.09
3
2.98
3
4.13
13
4.29
21
2.93
5


6
TEN
3.10
4
2.68
1
3.84
7
3.35
4
5.29
29


7

PIT
4.33
21
4.75
26
3.51
3
3.83
9
2.70
4



Over the defensive right side was the problem area and over the left side and middle was a "no go" area for RBs.

Let's look at the same data sets for 2017. https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/dl





Team
Adj. Line
Yards
RB
Yards
Power
Success
Power
Rank
Stuffed
Stuffed
Rank
2nd Level
Yards
2nd Level
Rank
Open Field
Yards
Open Field
Rank
Team
Rank
Sacks
Adjusted
Sack Rate


1
PHI
2.99
3.35
55%
6
29%
2
0.88
1
0.83
23
PIT
1
56
9.8%


2
CLE
3.27
3.35
56%
8
30%
1
1.08
11
0.60
8
JAC
2
55
9.1%


3
ARI
3.34
3.35
62%
12
23%
6
0.96
6
0.55
5
CAR
3
50
9.1%


4
DEN
3.37
3.44
45%
1
26%
4
0.90
2
0.60
9
WAS
4
42
8.0%


5
CAR
3.52
3.89
47%
2
26%
3
1.12
18
0.94
27
LARM
5
48
7.9%


6
NYJ
3.77
3.67
70%
24
22%
8
0.93
4
0.66
12
NO
6
42
7.8%


7
BAL
3.85
4.12
62%
14
21%
15
1.10
14
0.87
26
LACH
7
43
7.8%


8
HOU
3.86
3.93
70%
25
22%
7
1.11
17
0.75
17
CHI
8
42
7.6%


9
GB
3.95
3.85
56%
7
20%
21
1.09
12
0.59
7
GB
9
37
7.4%


10
MIA
3.95
4.13
50%
3
24%
5
1.26
27
0.85
25
NE
10
42
7.1%


11
DAL
3.95
4.12
86%
32
22%
12
1.25
25
0.76
20
DEN
11
33
6.9%


12

PIT
3.96
4.47
82%
31
20%
18
1.31
30
1.04
30
TEN
12
43
6.9%




Where the rush yards went against the 2017 team:




LEFT END
LEFT TACKLE
MID/GUARD
RIGHT TACKLE
RIGHT END



TEAM
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank


1
PHI
2.44
2
2.82
4
3.04
1
3.24
10
3.28
10


2
CLE
3.05
4
3.14
7
3.49
2
3.04
7
2.07
3


3
ARI
3.72
14
2.61
3
3.81
8
2.76
3
2.38
4


4
DEN
3.19
9
3.30
10
3.54
3
1.90
1
3.92
16


5
CAR
2.77
3
2.36
2
3.93
10
4.15
21
3.31
11


6
NYJ
3.62
13
3.99
16
4.11
15
2.87
5
3.19
8


7
BAL
1.07
1
4.50
25
3.80
6
4.22
23
4.36
21


8
HOU
3.08
6
3.05
5
3.80
7
3.85
18
6.04
32


9
GB
3.42
12
5.02
28
4.62
29
3.41
12
1.53
2


10
MIA
4.85
27
4.69
27
3.61
4
3.23
9
5.88
31


11
DAL
3.12
8
4.01
17
3.99
11
4.73
29
3.90
15


12

PIT
6.27
32
4.25
22
3.82
9
3.28
11
4.02
18



A bit to chew over here. The 2017 defense was not nearly as good at stopping the run as the 2008 team was. But there are some deeper look kinda stuff that can allow us to speculate as to why.

1. The ADJ LINE YARDS column is Football Outsiders attempt to account for the offensive line's portion of the "success" of the running play. So we can see that in terms of "stopping the offensive line" the two defenses are relatively close - roughly 0.3 yards per attempt. That surprised me. Would appear to indicate that the 2017 squad wasn't just getting blown off the LOS each and every rushing play.
2. Both teams "stuffed" % ranking is pretty similar. So they tackled roughly the same amount of RB's behind or at the line of scrimmage. Some is getting penetration and clearing out blockers.
3. The 2017 team was terrible at stopping Power ("Percentage of runs on third or fourth down, two yards or less to go, that achieved a first down or touchdown. Also includes runs on first-and-goal or second-and-goal from the two-yard line or closer. This is the only statistic on this page that includes quarterbacks."). So that would seem to indicate that the D-Line was getting pushed around quite a bit in short yardage scenarios.
4. The other major difference between the 2008 and 2017 run defenses was in 2nd Level yards and Open Field yards. In both categories we see an excellent tackling team in the 08 squad and a terrible tackling team in the 17 squad.
5. Finally we can see that middle and right tackle runs were roughly the same per carry for each defense. Left tackle was slightly better in 2017. But outside left and outside right were just simply awful. Again, to me, that points to DBs and LBs just not getting RBs on the ground.
I realize these are just tables of stats and are not incorporating sub-packages, player responsibilties, and individual errors/great plays -- but it is something to start with. I think it really paints a picture that while Kiesel/Hampton/Smith is a bit better than Tuitt/Hargrave/Heyward, it isn't enough to argue that is what totally sunk the 2017 run defense. Combine the above with the fact that the defense let up 2.0 yards per play overall after Shazier went down, I feel that the conclusion is fairly obvious - linebacker and DB play (or lack there of) is the main point of failure for the run defense in 2017.

So far in the off-season it would seem the team feels the same way. Bostic and Burnett are going to help with that lack of tackling. It will be interesting to see what comes out of the draft. I would fully support taking someone like PJ Hill, Poona Ford, Kendrick Norton, Frazier, or Foley Fatukasi. I think at least one of those players would be available with the 5th or 7th round picks and represent a better value infusion of talent for the DL rotation than taking someone like Settle in the top 3 rounds. All that being said -- Vea is sitting there at 1.28 or something -- just take him and figure the rest out later...

...I suspect that all these tables and #'s won't cahnge many minds because the Bears and Jags games along with the second Ravens game are just so damning in all of our memories.