No shazier covering the seamOriginally Posted by 86WARD
No shazier covering the seam
That's the question. The simple answer is that KC with Mahomes ran a scheme that challenged the defense vertically. Previous KC outings under Alex Smith allowed the Steelers to play everything in front of them and rally to the ball to limit YAC and the damage Smith's accurate but short passing game could do. Yesterday, Mahomes and the revamped scheme (basically what Reid has been wanting to run for the past 15 years!) pushed the ball down the field and isolated the Steelers DBs so that they couldn't support each other and rally to the catch as much. Now, again, that is what I pieced together from written reports and finding small portions of the game online.
I mean neither really stopped AB. But he did have his less than usual dominant performance. Weather, rust, and injury would be my guess more than defense in either case.
As to KC's offense - they are terrifyingly good. I mean everything they do is just so well thought out and honed to take advantage of the players they have. Hunt, Hill, Kelce, and Watkins are all elite options that will challenge any defense in either individual or zone based match-ups. Conley is not as strong overall, but his athleticism is almost off the charts (https://www.mockdraftable.com/player/chris-conley) - athletically no one on the Steelers D is a match for this guy. Does this excuse the Steelers defense from playing well, nope. But it does paint a picture. I think at the end of the season that picture will say that the Steelers defense is mediocre and the Chief's offense is historically good. Like greatest show on turf or 07 Pats good. Unless Mahomes implodes.
No one is going to deny that Patrick Mahomes is talented. He will be a very good Quarterback in this league unless the Chiefs Chief it up, and knowing Andy Reid. He will. No Offense is unstoppable. Mahomes will run into a wall eventually.
But this Defense has already been shredded by Brett Hundley, Joe Flacco, DeShone Kizer, and Blake Bortles already. How much was Sunday a result of Kansas City than it was of Pittsburgh? It was both. Sunday was the culmination of a shitty Defense going up against a very good Offense. Monday Night in Tampa Bay should tell us just how awful this Defense is. Ryan Fitzpatrick is on fire.
The Steelers "Defense" will be on National TV for all to see just how horrid it is.
So basically, the defense is good, the coaching is good, they just got beat by two “better teams”. It is quite possible that the defense is as horrendous as they appear. I mean we’ve seen quite a few games recently where this has occurred...and less games where it hasn’t.
Surprised no one has brought up the injuries excuses yet.
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Having trouble getting the correct personnel on the field to run predictable schemes - what could go wrong? Alex Kozora considers the possibilities - link to full article below
Keith Butler’s Defense Is Terrifyingly Predictable
Believe me when I call Keith Butler predictable, it’s not something I use lightly or loosely. But he has been the first two weeks. And it’s a massive problem for this Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense. There’s no better example I can think of than a two play sequence from Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Two plays you probably remember well and are scratching your head of how that happened. It comes at the start of the second half, the first two snaps of the third quarter.
1. Patrick Mahomes complete to Tyreek Hill for 36 yards
2. Patrick Mahomes incomplete to Sammy Watkins (T.J. Watt covering)...
There’s two explanations for this. One against Butler, the other against the players.
1. Butler is just doing a bad job. Not realizing the matchups he’s putting guys in, not having enough answers for when teams go empty. Beyond this play, the Chiefs ran empty a ton in the 2nd half with routine success.
2. Butler doesn’t trust the players to add more to the playbook. Instead, he wants to simplify the defense, attempt to limit miscommunication, and streamline things. Adding more information just runs the risk of players not handling it well.
https://steelersdepot.com/2018/09/fi...medium=twitter
Thanks for the memories
Yeah. That's kinda what I was trying to say in the other thread where I went on and on about the TD throws. Either it is a bad process because Butler or it is bad execution because players or it is both because the coaches are uncreative and the players are dumb.
None of the options appear good. There is little point to firing anyone midseason. Because what would that change? You can't install a totally new scheme win Week 5 or something. If the same guys keep blowing assignments in a defense they have been practicing for months or years, I bet they would look really good in a defense they have been practicing for days.
All that can be done is to grit your teeth and hope it gets better because it won't substantially change until the offseason
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Truth is this; we are under-performing. Who is our cover ILB? Who is our run stuffing box safety? Haden injured and Burns has been benched for Sensabaugh. Heyward and Tuitt cannot be the only 2 pass rushers on half of our defensive snaps. We just don't have the personnel to play the way we have been accustomed to. QBs get to pick their spot. Steeler games are going to look a lot like Big12 scores. That is who we are this year.
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3 Reel Treasure Slots Champion!This defense is built to play with a lead, not built to make comebacks.
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A question I have, and maybe it's obvious and I'm just blind. But with the 'freak athletes' we have drafted why can we not scheme to get to the QB faster and more often?
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If Butler is let go who becomes the next scapegoat for Tomlin's faults?
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Or stop anyone from scoring at will : )
Hater = Realist
best guess is because we no longer run the original 3-4 scheme where the LBs are intended to get the pressure / sacks and the d - lineman are no name big body assignment guys who seek no glory ...
now we have a couple D-Lineman more concerned with getting to the QB themselves and often times ears pinned back and leaving the Linebackers to coverage and run stopping duty .. and that is why we give up more big runs than we used to IMO ....
seems the only time we send a linebacker is a " blitz" before the outside linebackers where always on the come so to speak and the inside guys mopped up in the run game and coverage .... if the inside guys came after the QB it was usually a cross blitz and an outside backer dropped in coverage..
Kenny Pickett is who I though he was .. Eagles problem now
You have to marry that skill with technique. That lumbering tackle these guys just ran around on Saturdays is at home watching NFL games.
Or you have to run an exotic scheme to get guys free rush lanes. Butler does this well with Hilton and VW but the OLB and DeS are on their own.
Keepin' it real: Mike Tomlin is one of the most dominant head coaches in NFL history and the #2 active head coach. He has literally never had a losing season. Pretty much all HC's above him are in the HoF, as are many below him. If Belichick isn't available (which he isn't), I have no idea who you could possibly replace Tomlin with that would be an upgrade. I'm pretty sure a better coach isn't sitting around twiddling his thumbs tonight.
Best,
-Slashy
"You've heard people brag about 'being in the zone'. They don't know what the Hell being in the zone is about. I played in the NFL for 15 years and I was only in the zone that one time." - "Mean" Joe Greene on the 1974 playoff victory over Oakland
Defense picks Fitzpatrick three times, gets a pick-six and the Steelers still win despite the Defense, because its still so fucking terrible.
That's how bad its gotten. Buttler's job is unfortunately safe despite this fiasco.
broken play = schoolyard ball = athletes will make plays. Not surprisingly, dupree and edmunds make those plays. That was nothing to do with defensive scheme
GOOD: At the end of the game Bertrand’s defense was in position to intercept Fitzpatrick 5 times... but, they dropped the ball. Also, Alfred found a way to use Bostic.
BAD: 12 men on the field again!?! Come on, Jeeves!!!
Not a cap guy at all, but how realistic is a run at Earl Thomas? I understand Seattle is shopping him.
That’d be a realistic trade partner (disgruntled player for disgruntled player).
It's probably the worst steelers defense ever.
You must not have seen the Steelers play in the late 90s... or in 2002... or most of the 80s.
We were at least not soft and we were not dysfunctional....The problem in the late 90s was the offense too.
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3 Reel Treasure Slots Champion!This. Trust the old guard, it CAN get worse.
Maybe not the worst defense in talent, but it's the most dysfunctional defense that I've seen.
The old and slow defense in the last few years of LeBeau (2013 and 2014) is better than the defense right now
I mean, they give 30 PPG(on pace for 480 points...) right now in 3 games and we have given more than 400 yards to the worst QB we are going to play this year and 6 TD pass to a QB without that Mahommes be incredible since every receiver was open in this game....
There was literally no skill applied to the interception by Dupree. It was practically a guy with his back to the jugs machine and he spun around and the ball was there. He looked like he was lost out there and then turned around and boom. Hey here’s a football...
I think it definitely rivals those 80s teams...
Same thing for the second interception of Fitzpatrick....It was a horrible decision/throw) by him.
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We have an above average offense right now that we not have in the 1980s.
Our offense was by far our weak link in the late 80s.
I hate this argument. Tomlin wasn't a great HC waiting around for Cowher to retire. Lots of good coaches waiting for an opportunity , they don't have to be a current head coach.
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Merry Christmas
Young HC as Sean McVay and Doug Peterson is better than Tomlin.They are very good offensive coach who have been smart enough to hire a great DC.
Tomlin is a defensive coach and our defense is a big disaster right now.
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It's a contender - currently 28th in points allowed and 29th in yards allowed
http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorysta...OINTS_GAME_AVG
But the 1988 defense got D-coordinator Tony Dungy fired and almost got Noll fired - that defense sustained its awfulness over a season
1988 defense was 28th in points allowed and 28th in yards allowed
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/pit/1988.htm
This team can rush the passer. That helps. Everything else can flow from that. If they can rush the passer, that can cover up a great deal of sins.
Here is the thing about the KC game - no one is stopping them right now. Barely slowing them down. Reid and Mahomes are running an offense the NFL has never seen before. The scheme and concepts are old friends with fiendish new twists. This happens every couple of years and KC is going to torch the first half of the schedule. Then they will catch some clever DC after his bye and he will come up with something to throw a wrench into the machine.
Last night, they gave up points but they harassed Fitzmagic into his basic problem - harass and hit him and he makes bad throws.
This secondary will always leak, but at least they aren't just sticking their fingers in the holes and hoping no new ones open up. They are being honest in their self assessment and trying to use the pass rush to cover up for weakness in the secondary.
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