Secondary, Prevent D

by steelerwheeler on Oct 9, 2009 10:26 AM EDT

The Steelers are scoring early and the D is taking care of business early giving the team nice leads. Then the fourth quarter comes along and the D cannot get off the field. What is wrong? Obviously Troy Polamulo is missing. I think It's worse than that. We're not getting much push from anyone on the D-line other than Harrison, our back-ups in the secondary are not very good, and our oldest, slow footed LB who plays every down is gassed and slower than ever in the 4th quarter. The Nickel and Dime need fixing.

Possible Solutions:

1. Clone Polamulo.

2. Bench Farrior in obvious passing situations. I like Farrior and I think he can still play in the NFL. He's a solid Def QB and has ability to play both run and pass. He cannot be on the filed every down and there are far better options when the opponent has to pass. Mundy, K.Lewis, or even p.s Donovan Woods all have the size, speed and ability to play that middle LB position vs. the pass.

3. Not sure of the exact nickel/dime rotations with Carter starting. I think it's some combo of Ratliff and Townsend. If they can't get the job done then it's time to let Mundy, Burnette and Lewis try. The young blood can at least learn from mistakes and hopefully get better by January. Townsend/Carter/Farrior are only gonna get older, slower and more tired by then... I think they we're all thinking about the early-bird special during the 4th quarter of the Cincy game, and it was way past bedtime vs. SD.

4. More rest up front. Andre Frazier and/or Arnold Harrison need some PT to both rest Woodley and give him that fear of losing his job, maybe he should lose it. Ziggy Hood needs to play a lot more downs to get better and to rest Smith and Kiesel more. Hood should also be in for Woodley in dime packages. Has Kirshke gotten within 10 feet of the ball this season?

Anyway, that's my 2 cents, which is about how much the Steelers nickel and dime are worth right now. Thoughts??

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Comments

I hate the prevent defense!

As for Farrior, and this has nothing to do with your post, so I apologize…… I was watching a replay of some Miami- Jets game from 2000 and low and behold who is running around tackling everything in sight! James Farrior! I had forgotten all about his Jets days! He has been with us so long and such a part of our defense it is hard to remember him in green.

Okay, back to the post, and what I hope happens in the future when we get a lead……. run the ball! We did a good enough job of it against the Chargers, and with the exception of an onsides kick (which we were not ready for?) Mendenhall might have had a better day. They ran the ball well, and when you do that in the 4th quarter you keep the D off the field. Ben’s first year we totally deflated the ball in the 4th by running it at will and owning the clock. The best defense is a great running attack!

Other than that, watching the SD game made me puke! I would rather send 8 men on a blitz and hope the offense doesn’’t hit a big play behind the DBs than watch them get picked apart like they did.

by imike29 on Oct 9, 2009 10:59 AM EDT reply actions

The prevent defense.....

prevents you from winning

by daburgh73 on Oct 9, 2009 12:08 PM EDT reply actions

Okay, brace yourself homers

The problem, not totally, but bigger than people will admit, is LeBeau.
Yes, he is young looking, yes he is a good golfer, yes he is sexy, yada, yada……….

Now, if you look at his body of work so far:
1. Question: We are up 28-0. Crushing San Diego physically, time moving on. Tell me why on this green earth, we have linebackers other than Harrison or Woodley even in the game? WHY? They are PASSING every down. We should have had 7 db’s playing. You can even blitz Townsend. STUPID>

2. We have Cinci dead to rights 4th and 10. If they get 9.5 yards, we still win the game.
What DON’T you want to do if you are the Steelers? Give Carson Palmer all day back there to make a perfect short throw. You pressure him with a blitz and make him make a perfect throw under durress. No, we send 4 and he sits back there with enought time to throw a cocktail party before throwing. STUPID>

3. We have linebackers continually chasing Antonio Gates who is the best TE in football. They can’t cover him. So does that bother LeBeau? Nope, cover em all afternoon with backers. STUPID>

I have far more examples but am too tired to think about it and am hopeful that Dick has one last 3/4 season of brainpower left in him. PRESSURE WINS IT, SITTING BACK LOSES IT.

by steeelfann on Oct 9, 2009 2:38 PM EDT reply actions

I don’t even know where to start, jesus.

You sure Ike isn’t reacquainting himself with his fingers, he certainly doesn’t use them for catching. - Brian (DaBolts) on "Face Me Ike"

by steelguy99 on Oct 9, 2009 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions

It's like those houses on "clean house"

You think, dang after it got that jacked up you don’t want to have to address it.

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill

by PixburghArn on Oct 9, 2009 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Mr. Madison, what you have just said, is the most insanely idiotic thing I have ever heard. At no point, in your rambling incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul.

But seriously, I’m not exactly sure where you came across your immense library of football knowledge, but you’re way off on a lot of what you just wrote. Blitzing on every down does not win you football games, believe it or not.

Secondly, Antonio Gates is listed as 6-4 and 260 lbs. Besides the fact that those measurements make him an absolute beast, how well do think some thin-little DB is going to cover and actually tackle him? The Chargers have a good offense, for the most part. They have a lot of talent. THAT is why they score so very quickly.

by smashtheguitar on Oct 9, 2009 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

The post misses the point

We’re clearly not playing a true prevent defense, the “quarter” package, with 7 DBs and only 4 down linemen/LBs. The problem is not the defense that’s being called, but the plays. The pressure on opposing QBs has been atrocious late in the games.

And steeelfann, I can’t agree less with most of what you’re saying. The problem is not the packages (and honestly, we don’t have 7 db’s right now that I would feel comfortable seeing on the field together). The problem is not sending 4. That is a bread-and-butter pressure defense for the Steelers. We rarely send 5 these days, because our 4 are mostly enough.

The problem is execution. Where’s the pressure from Woodley. Why isn’t our best coverage LB (ostensibly Timmons) able to cover Gates? Who would you rather we have on him? No one in the secondary is tall enough or strong enough. Would you prefer we take Ike off of their ACTUAL #1 WR? If you would prefer that then I don’t know where your head is at.

Criticize Coach LeBeau here at your own peril.

Guns don't kill people. Lamar Woodley kills people. (mattyc_77 on twitter)

by BostonWahoo on Oct 9, 2009 2:42 PM EDT reply actions

Adjustments

That is the point. It is not WHY CAN"T TImmons cover Gates. TImmons CAN’T COVER Gates. It isn’t WHY ISN"T Woodley getting pressure, it is WOODLEY ISN’T getting pressure. A true prevent flooded with 7 db’s would slow down San Diego enough to ensure victory. Farrior, TImmons should not be in there when it is 28-0 in 3rd quarter. For what? They are in pass coverage 95% of time, save a rare blitz. Makes no sense to have slower players in game when up 4 TD’s. None.

By the way, when we send 4 on a rush, our pressure is sketchy at best and that includes last year. Go watch film and you tell me how many sacks we have got this year and last year sending 4. Harrison is now the only one who can get pressure. 4 is not enough.

LeBeau is a good coach, but he has not been coaching well. Sorry.

by steeelfann on Oct 9, 2009 2:50 PM EDT reply actions

Why don't you apply?

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill

by PixburghArn on Oct 9, 2009 3:02 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Ahhh, a little tension amongst the citizens of the Nation

Which I think is cool by the way. Honestly, when it comes to the 4th and 10 against Cincy, I’m with steeelfann on this one. I think LeBeau blew it on that play. The strategy should have been a big blitz to force a quick throw.

As for the other points, I’m not persuaded. I’d rather have Timmons on the field than Ryan Mundy, Joe Burnett or Keenan Lewis. And while I would have dialed up more blitzes that LeBeau has so far, the tackling in the fourth quarter of the last two games has been far worse than the design of the defense. Benson’s TD run, the 4th and 10 conversion, the Gates catch and run for a TD and the Chambers TD all came about as a result of sloppy, lazy, horrible tackling.

Going back to the original post, I’m on board with more rotation on the front seven. Even Troy has said the defense isn’t designed to be on the field for long stretches. And if we’re going to clone Troy, we could use a couple on offense and about a dozen for special teams. Just sayin’.

by pghnorthside on Oct 9, 2009 3:54 PM EDT reply actions

Which I think is cool by the way. Honestly, when it comes to the 4th and 10 against Cincy, I’m with steeelfann on this one. I think LeBeau blew it on that play. The strategy should have been a big blitz to force a quick throw.

As opposed to having our most seasoned LB in perfect position to make a tackle and end the game? It’s not the scheme, it’s the execution.

You sure Ike isn’t reacquainting himself with his fingers, he certainly doesn’t use them for catching. - Brian (DaBolts) on "Face Me Ike"

by steelguy99 on Oct 9, 2009 3:57 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Keeping it real

Hey my fellow Steeler fans. As most of you I’ve been a little concerned about our defense so far. As already been stated we are not getting much of a pass rush in terms of sacks. But I hate so say. I’m really concerned about a hole in our defense that is waiting to burst even when Troy gets back. And that is the play of William Gay. Yes. See you guys are hot at me. But Im telling you he’s playing kind of soft. He leaves ways too much cushion. I"m telling you he’s going to get exposed. Keep it real! Just look at some of the bullets he’s dodged in previous games. I have love for him but I see it coming. Any thoughts? Go Steelers!

by C-Mac on Oct 9, 2009 6:36 PM EDT reply actions

Gay

His coverage has not been great – it’s somewhat hard to tell the way games are televised. What is more apparent to me is his generally poor tackling. He tends to dive at the lower legs and often bounces off.

by dermonti09 on Oct 9, 2009 9:16 PM EDT reply actions

How would the Steeler’s D cope if an opponent decides that it is futile to try running and goes hurry up offense right from the get go.

by dermonti09 on Oct 9, 2009 9:19 PM EDT reply actions

Rush the QB

Lots of defensive problems suddenly go away when you start knocking the opposing QBs on their butts. My view is that Ratliff should already be on waivers, but you have a point about Ziggy getting more playing time. They’ve got to get more pressure from somewhere.

by Billy52 on Oct 9, 2009 11:13 PM EDT reply actions

I think we'll see more pressure tomorrow

Esp. if Dante starts for them. They’ll try to dink and dump their way up the field and the individual match ups are just too overwhelming in our favor to not go on all-out attack

"Now that I'm here, I don't want to just be here, I want to be here for a long time." Hines Ward, 1998 4th round draft pick.

by kick him in the head on Oct 11, 2009 1:18 AM EDT reply actions