for real not opinion ...
https://www.steelers.com/news/steele...-staff-changes
for real not opinion ...
https://www.steelers.com/news/steele...-staff-changes
Kenny Pickett is who I though he was .. Eagles didn't value him either , now he is a Stain at the Mistake by the Lake 3 teams in 4 years more of a shooting star than a superstar
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For those i love i will sacrifice.
Si ventus non est, remiga
On Steelers Twitter.
Randy is out the door, which likely means Ben is out too. I don’t think he’ll stick around to learn a whole new offense.
Awesome news! Is Butler next out the door? If your defense loaded with All-Pros can't stop an offense with a 2nd string line when it counts, if your defense has multiple playoff collapses, then maybe your defensive coordinator is not very good...Originally Posted by Dwinsgames
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He should be, Tomlin seems to be calling all the plays.
Well...that was pretty predictable. I think that who they hire at OC will tell us all a great deal about where they plan on going at QB.
Thank God!!!
Little surprised at Bradley?
Enthroned Into The Good Old Boys Club - 2024
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Let's keep the ax swinging, Butler, Danny Smith anyone else Im forgetting?
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Butler is expected to be year to year
I think that when the defense leads the league in pressures and is high up in turnovers, you're likely to just keep things the same.
Could the defense have done better against the Browns? Sure. Is stuff that they come up with against empty sets and their lack of answer for a "run stopping nickel/dime package" annoying? Yes...but there are few (if any) defenses in the league that don't have a thing or three they just are not good at.
I argue that despite the frustrations, a year where you played high level defense with a rotating cast of Practice Squad level players at ILB, a rookie secondary pass rusher, and issues at 3rd/4th CB (I know that sounds ridiculous to consider, but that is almost a starting position nowadays on defense) buys you another go-round.
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Why? He was brought in to fix things in the secondary and it is abundantly clear that Austin does what Bradley was intended to do but only better.
Well the DBs were playing well and the fact that I totally forgot they brought Teryl Austin in...lol.
It apparently buys you another go-round in Pittsburgh, but it shouldn't. Personally, I would have shown Butler the door with Haley after the 2017 defensive debacle against the Jags. We've been discussing the root causes of the disappointing last 10 years in the 10 years thread, and I think defensive let-downs rank high up there. When was the last time the defense had a good showing in a playoff game? 2016 Divisional Round against the Chiefs?
I'm all for the Fichtner and Sarrett canning. Surprised about Bradley. The secondary (aside from missed tackles) was a pretty solid group this year. If Fichtner leaving means Ben shuts it down as well, I think that's for the best.
Ben sticking around for another year just delays the inevitable. The SB window has slammed shut. The sooner the PIT brass accepts that fact, the sooner the rebuild / reload phase can take place.
Tomlin has proven to be a good coach when he has excellent coordinators around him. If they're substandard, the team and game plan is substandard. If they're dynamic, the team can be fantastic. I really wanna see what Canada can do when he's fully implementing his offense and system and isn't hamstrung by an OC that only can remember 5 or 6 plays out of the playbook.
Maybe? I don't really remember. I still don't think the 2020 defense was one of the top 3 reasons the Steelers lost to the WFT, Bills, or Browns.
Further, lets assume that Tomlin is calling more of the plays or designing more of the defense than has been commonly reported. So between Butler and Austin, their jobs are to just back-stop Tomlin. He's almost certainly not going to change out guys he has "shorthand" communication with. Also, who are you going to get to come in and coordinate a defense in name only?
Whether or not we agree with it, the "move" or lack of a move makes total sense from a big overview point of view.
I think it was one of the main reasons for the Browns playoff loss. The defense allowed too many 70+ yard TD marches. The one before halftime and the one after the 4th and 1 punt were both killers. The D somehow managed no sacks and no turnovers despite facing a Browns line full of back-ups. Also, it would have been nice to see the Defensive hold the Browns to a FG in one of the short-yardage situations. All things considered, I think the Steelers D had a bad game Sunday.
You give ANY NFL team 5 extra possessions or whatever it was and they are going to break through, much less one of the most potent rushing teams in the league. While we can talk specific elements of scheme all day long, there were player execution and talent issues on display Sunday that really doomed the Steelers no matter what.
The first is that once Highsmith went down, the Browns just did whatever they wanted over Cassius Marsh's side. There was a reason Marsh was basically floating around the league ready to be signed at a moments notice. He is a marginal pass rusher and a mediocre (at best) run defender.
The second is that ILB was a serious problem. VW was clearly still limited by either COVID or other injuries. Spillane was not exactly looking spry either. Williamson was fine -- but that is what he is "fine", not an impact player.
Third, message board favorite Mike Hilton, had a horrible game. He was not his typical self in run support and Jarvis Landry ate him alive in pass coverage. Honestly, everyone freaked out about Spillane in coverage on Landry -- well Hilton wasn't much better. Sutton was far better in coverage on Landry.
We could then counter-argue that a defensive system that only "works" when superior talent is littering the field is a not a good system. However, which defense is getting by with just average NFL players?
Randy will have a bunch of teams vying for his expertise as an OC.
Sarcasm emoji not necessary here.
So when does the Danny Smith news drop? Saving that for Friday?
No real surprises here. Expected Fichtner and Sarrett to be replaced.
Dont really need 2 DB coaches and Teryl Austin is the better of the 2.
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Dolphins requested interview of Matt Canada for OC
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This had to happen.
I really do not know much about Matt Canada and his credentials, but if he worked with Mason Rudolph this past year then perhaps he is really worthwhile to keep around. It was only one game, but Mason looked like a much better QB with his footwork, movement in the pocket, awareness, and going through reads more quickly and making decisive throws.
ding dong, randy fitch is gone!
I'd be more sympathetic to the injury argument if the Browns weren't similarly limited on offense. Yes, Marsh was terrible and Spillane didn't look 100%. But is that enough to excuse such a performance when you still have Watt, Heyward, and Tuitt? I don't think so. This wasn't the Chiefs, or even the Bills. This was the Browns, playing with an offensive line of back-ups (one of whom just joined that day, which should even out the Marsh issue a little bit). I think the Steelers' on-field defensive talent was still good enough that they should have had a better performance.
The Offense set them up in tough spots early, but the D didn't rise to the occasion. The Defense only faced three extra possessions that mattered- the Pouncey snap led directly to a TD and doesn't count against the Defense, and the late game INT was during desperation time when the game was essentially over barring a miracle. Of the three possessions the Defense faced, they got one stop at mid-field and allowed two TDs. Even holding one of those to a FG drive would have helped. Besides, except for the 3rd quarter, D didn't do that great with long fields either, allowing three long TD drives and one long FG drive while creating no turnovers. Although I am sympathetic to the argument that the O was more at fault for the loss, the D certainly deserves its share of the blame too.
I think that's a great point. A defense that only works when there's a big talent advantage and falls apart when a starter is injured is not an optimal defensive system, IMO. Besides, I think this defense was somewhat overrated even before the injuries and not as good as its mid-2019 peak. Remember that Jeff Driskel gave this defense all it could handle and the Carson Wentz - Travis Fulgham connection gashed it all before Bush was injured. And the Steelers made Cowboys 4th stringer Gilbert look like a good starter despite having a healthy Dupree.
I would prefer that Butler be replaced by a real DC who calls the plays. Butler seems to have only received the job in the first place as a reward for not leaving when LeBeau stayed on longer than expected, and he keeps it now despite not doing all of the things a DC is normally expected to do. I think this Defense could benefit from some fresh ideas.
I think it was noted that Canada was not in consideration for OC by the Steelers. DesertSteel had a reference.
Some guys on the street with experience are recently fired head coaches:
- Doug Pederson
-Anthony Lynn
-Doug Marrone
Some other guys talked about for jobs are :
-Ken Dorsey- Buffalo QB coach
-Ken Waldron- Rams passing game coordinator
- Pep Hamilton- Chargers QB coach
-Mike Kafka- Chiefs pass game coordinator (although Philly was to interview him for HC job)
-Mike LaFleur- San Fran pass game coordinator
On Smith -- special teams improved this year, and was at times even a positive contributor. I can understand why he wasn't let go this year specifically. Fichtner could be their way to showing Ben that the door is open to leave, but more likely just timing. His contract was up and that's when the Steelers do it.
I don't get the DB coach non-renewal, but it could be other things than performance of the DB's?? OL coach is a rough gig right now, with the line aging in dog-years like it is. I would love to see some old fashioned nasty road grader types, but so long as we have Ben, we are going to need pass-defense first guys, and for whatever reason, that seems to mean finesse. I would expect that the new OC will start to put his stamp on the team going forward, but it will take a few years to get all the pieces in place. A line that can consistently get a push would be high on my list of asks.
What current NFL defense works without a massive talent advantage? Again, this is not mounting some massive defense of Butler or anything, but this is a constant debate that the defense isn't this or that. However, the things most fans appear to want is some cross of the 86 Bears and the 00 Ravens. Ain't no one doing that anymore. The NFL has changed things to so favor offense that it is ridiculous. But lets leave that aside for now.
The biggest thing about the defensive coaching is what seems to be slowly leaking out about how it functions. Butler is basically the linebackers coach with input on game planning. Austin appears to be the secondary coach with an additional focus on preparing players to create turnovers. Dunbar seems responsible for the D line and some elements of the pass rush approach for the OLBs. Tomlin appears to be playing a far larger role in game planning and game-day calling than has been previously been publicly reported.
Taking all that into account...you appear to have a highly split and delegated set of defensive responsibilities. Until Tomlin does not want to function as a secondary DC...this isn't going to be a high profile position that attracts big coaching talent.
Thank God. And Sarrett is gone too. Double good riddance.
The Defense was the reason why 2019 was even remotely competitive. That’s why Butler earned another year.
For years and years now we have been waiting for the Offense to get its shit together with a franchise QB, and it never did. The experiment has to stop here.
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The old saying is, stop the run first and make a team have to pass. Listening to coaches today though they say it is the opposite. Stop the pass first to make teams try to run. I have heard this on several shows and/or podcasts over this past season. In one of the conversations they talked about the Buffalo game and how the Bill's defense lined up DBs in press man to knock the Steelers' WRs off their routes and slowing down any quick release and throws from Ben. The Steelers had success running a 'throw short/run long' style offense against teams that didn't play press well, but struggled to win when teams could press. The conversation turned to how some OCs scheme for matchups and how others system scheme. I think RF was more in the system mindset as an OC and while the system he ran helped win 12 games it was also easily out-coached by the better DCs in the league.
I don't know what the future makeup of this offense will be. Many holes left to fill right now. But I do think a change at OC and the rebuild of the offense as a whole, has come together in perfect timing. A new OC coming in with the younger talent on this roster is kind of exciting and hopeful for a quick turn around with better days ahead. Yes, I am always the optimist but who wants to be the pessimist anyway?
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