With LeVeon Bell, Antonio Brown gone, will ‘D’ again be Steelers identity?

[polamalubeast]

For each of the past five seasons, the Steelers have had a better ranking in total offense than in total defense. How rare is that for a franchise far more identified for its defense? The Steelers’ ‘D’ ranked higher than its offense 58 of the previous 74 seasons, according to pro-football-reference.com.

But is the defense ready to reclaim its role? The gap seems to be beginning to close.

The Steelers ranked sixth in yards allowed last season (the offense, fourth), and by far the biggest additions to the roster were on defense: free-agent signings Mark Barron and Steven Nelson and No. 10 overall draft pick Devin Bush.

The offense lost two All-Pro talents in Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell.

Can the defense make a leap to one of the league’s best?

“Yeah,” outside linebacker Bud Dupree said, “because of the additions … We’ve kind of all meshed together.”

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https://triblive.com/sports/the-bell...ises-identity/

It does not matter if we win because of the offense or defense .... We just want to win!

To win, both units must contribute, especially in the big moments when we need ...

[Edman]

The Steelers won their Super Bowls when their Defense was good. Never when their Offense was good. They won a Super Bowl with the "Worst Offensive Line In the League" in 2008. Even when the Offense sputtered, the Steelers Defense gave them a chance to win.

Defense was never able to step up beyond the realm of "above average" in the B's Era. It was plainly average otherwise. And the Offense even with the B's was never that elite, and certainly not good enough to overcome the Defense. The B's at full strength lost a shootout with Blake Bortles.

The Defense has to step up to the realm of good/great. Above Average doesn't cut it.

[polamalubeast]

The Steelers won Super Bowls when their Defense was good. Not when their Offense was good.

Defense was never able to step up beyond the realm of "above average" in the B's Era. It was plainly average otherwise. And the Offense even with the B's was never elite, and certainly not good enough to overcome the Defense. The B's at full strength lost a shootout with Blake Bortles.

For the Steelers to have a chance, The Defense has to step up to the realm of good/great. Otherwise, they are just spinning their wheels.

Our defense had always been our strength in our 6 super bowl, but our offense had also done its part, especially when it mattered and it was time to be great!

It takes a team effort!

[Edman]

Our defense had always been our strength in our 6 super bowl, but our offense had also done its part, especially when it mattered and it was time to be great!

It takes a team effort!

A team can overcome a not very good Offense. But all it needs to do is find a groove, like the 1974 and 2008 teams did. A good Defense can give you a chance. It can flip the field and turn momentum on its head. A team can never overcome a bad Defense.

A Good Defense made Division Champions out of Lamarr Jackson and the Ravens last season. Jackson may stink as a passer, but it didn't matter.

It takes a team effort definitely, but without a Defense, the Steelers have next to no chance. 2017 made that all too painfully clear.

[polamalubeast]

A team can overcome a not very good Offense. But all it needs to do is find a groove, like the 1974 and 2008 teams did. A good Defense can give you a chance. It can flip the field and turn momentum on its head. A team can never overcome a bad Defense.

A Good Defense made Division Champions out of Lamarr Jackson and the Ravens last season. Jackson may stink as a passer, but it didn't matter.

It takes a team effort definitely, but without a Defense, the Steelers have next to no chance. 2017 made that all too painfully clear.

Yeah, I'd rather see a great defense than a great offense ... In the NFL, last year's Chiefs were close to being the first team ever to win a Super Bowl with an awful defense all season long, including the playoffs ..... I have already seen bad defenses go to the super bowl (2008 Cardinals, 2016 Falcons) or even win the super bowl (2006 colts, 2011 Giants) but his defenses were very good at the right time .... When the Chiefs had lost the coin toss for the overtime, it was game over!

But we have to give credit to our offense in 2008 to be good at the right time ... They had a lot of game winning drive in the second half of the season ... The 92 yard winning drive in Baltimore in week 15 was awesome against an amazing defense with 2 players already in HOF (Ray Lewis, Ed reed) and another future HOF (Terrel Suggs)

I was confident of winning when the steelers were down by 3 points with 2 minutes left in the game with the ball in the hands of Ben no matter how big was the moment .... Would we be confident if our defense under Keith Butler would be on the field , up by 3 points in a big game with 2 minutes left in the game? .. I do not think so! ... So it's the difference between a unit that we can trust in crucial moment and another unit that we can not trust in clutch situation.

[SteelersNorth]

Yeah, I'd rather see a great defense than a great offense ... In the NFL, last year's Chiefs were close to being the first team ever to win a Super Bowl with an awesome defense all season long, including the playoffs ..... I have already seen bad defenses go to the super bowl (2008 Cardinals, 2016 Falcons) or even win the super bowl (2006 colts, 2011 Giants) but his defenses were very good at the right time .... When the Chiefs had lost the coin toss for the overtime, it was game over!

But we have to give credit to our offense in 2008 to be good at the right time ... They had a lot of game winning drive in the second half of the season ... The 92 yard winning drive in Baltimore in week 15 was awesome against an amazing defense with 2 players already in HOF (Ray Lewis, Ed reed) and another future HOF (Terrel Suggs)

I was confident of winning when the steelers were down by 3 points with 2 minutes left in the game with the ball in the hands of Ben no matter how big was the moment .... Would we be confident if our defense under Keith Butler would be on the field , up by 3 points in a big game with 2 minutes left in the game? .. I do not think so! ... So it's the difference between a unit that we can trust in crucial moment and another unit that we can not trust in clutch situation.

Neither of those 92 yard drives are historic in the realm of the Steelers without #7. He's been the difference for 16 years and still doesn't get the respect for it.
It's mind boggling.

[Edman]

Neither of those 92 yard drives are historic in the realm of the Steelers without #7. He's been the difference for 16 years and still doesn't get the respect for it.
It's mind boggling.

Ben has his chance to get respect this season. Let’s see if he takes advantage of it.

[fansince'76]

Neither of those 92 yard drives are historic in the realm of the Steelers without #7. He's been the difference for 16 years and still doesn't get the respect for it.
It's mind boggling.

Bradshaw never really got any either until a decade or two of Mark Malone/Bubby Brister/Kordell Stewart/Mike Tomczak went by.

[Fire Goodell]

Running game and defense. We drafted Snell to be a good 1-2 with Conner, and I honestly think our defense is going to be pretty good this year. The arrow was pointing up last year, and the additions of Barron, Nelson, and Bush should be all positives. Not to mention Edmunds should be better in his 2nd year. I'm also hoping Ola can push for some play time.

The offensive identity should probably be a lot more hard-nosed. We went from flashy finesse-type players in AB / Bell to smashmouth runners in Conner/Snell, and physical receivers like Juju and McDonald. I'm liking it, it hopefully will be a return to the mid 2000s style of Steeler ball

[polamalubeast]

Bradshaw never really got any either until a decade or two of Mark Malone/Bubby Brister/Kordell Stewart/Mike Tomczak went by.

The worst thing is that Terry Bradshaw would not have had the respect if the steelers would have taken Dan Marino in 1983, since several fans would have thought that it is normal to always have a HOF QB in the team

[st33lersguy]

This defense isn't good enough to be claimed the identity of a team