Comparing the 2010 and 2011 Steelers, Part II: Defense

by Rebecca Rollett on Jan 6, 2012 6:05 PM EST

Here's my attempt to figure out this year's defense. (To see my thoughts on the offense click here.) While they ended up in a familiar locale (#1 in overall defense) they didn't get there in quite the traditional Steeler way.

Because the Steelers have historically fielded such good run defense, the feeling early in the season was that the 2011 defense was not particularly good, as it was clear that this defense was going to give up significant yardage to elite backs. In the end, they gave up half again as many rushing yards and a full yard/attempt more than the amazing 2010 unit. Although they gave up two more rushing touchdowns than they did in 2010, that only moved them down to the #2 spot in the league, by far their best number in the 2011 rushing stats.

As the season went on people started to notice that, unlike previous years, the defense was quite stout against the pass. In fact, they were at or near the top of the league. However, this stat was viewed with considerable suspicion. "After all," asked the doubters, "they haven't played particularly good quarterbacks, and why bother to pass when you can run against a team?" What wasn't really being noticed, however, was that while teams might be putting up some good running numbers, they weren't putting up many points, which is what matters in the end.

The game against New England was viewed as a litmus test to determine whether the pass defense was truly improved. If the Steelers secondary, which boasted one good corner (Taylor) and a bunch of cast-offs and rookies in the other spots, could keep Tom Brady in check, maybe the naysayers would start to believe.

We all know how that came out. William Gay, one of the top competitors for Most Despised Steeler on fansites, Keenan Lewis, long declared to be a bust, and a rookie or two helped hand Tom Brady one of his few defeats at the hands of the Steelers. Suddenly all eyes were on Carnell Lake, the new secondary coach, who apparently had spun a heap of straw into (Black and) Gold.

By the end of the season the Steelers' defense had climbed out of the deep hole it inhabited after Week 1. During the Steelers/Ravens contest the defense, predicted by many to be the top in the league prior to the game, gave up 35 points. The Ravens netted 170 rushing yards with a touchdown and 224 passing yards with 3 touchdowns. Joe Flacco completed 58.6% of his passes. Which is pretty good for Joe. Baltimore gained 5.5 yards per rushing attempt and overall gained 6.3 yards per offensive play. Add a 2-point conversion and two field goals, and you've got a banner day for the Ravens.

By contrast, during the remainder of the season here are the per-game averages for the defense:

12.8 points/game

95.1 rushing yards/game

3.9 Y/A rushing attempts

.4 rushing TD/game

168.5 passing yards/game

.8 passing TD/game

54% completion rate for opposing QB

4.6 Y/A per pass play

And don't forget, the defense had two shutouts, something they hadn't done in a while.

That's all very well, but now let's look at the official figures that don't give the Steelers a mulligan for the first game, and compare them to last season. All stats come from ProFootball Reference:

Points etc.

	Pts	Yds	Yds/OP	1stD
2010 Team Defense	232	4429	4.5	272
2010 League Ranking	1	2		5
2011 Team Defense	227	4348	4.5	264
2011 League Ranking	1	1		1

Rushing

	Att	YDs	TDs	Y/A	1stD	TO
2010 Team Defense	333	1004	5	3.0	61	35
2010 League Rank	1	1	1	1		3
2011 Team Defense	399	1597	7	4.0	82	15
2011 League Rank	8	8	2	9		32

Passing

	Comp	Att	Yds	TDs	INT	NY/A	1stD
2010 Team Defense	363	593	3425	15	21	5.3	182
2010 League Rank		29	12	3	5	2
2011 Team Defense	289	530	2751	15	11	4.9	156
2011 League Rank		13	1	2	24	1

2010 - 61.2% of passes completed; 30.7% of pass attempts resulted in 1st down

2011 - 54.5% of passes completed; 29.4% of pass attempts resulted in 1st down

Carnell Lake (whose picture heads this story) managed these improvements with essentially the same players. He had two promising rookies, but a couple of other guys that had looked good in their time (such as Crezdon Butler) were cut. While not all of these numbers demonstrate dramatic improvements, they are all in the right direction, except, of course, the interception numbers.

I think that something that is easy to overlook when considering the secondary is just how unstable the front seven were this year. The defensive line and linebacking corps, both of which had always been considered to be quite deep, experienced an unprecedented number of injuries. This definitely put more pressure on the secondary, which makes their pass defense numbers this year all the more impressive.

It also goes a long way toward explaining the historically poor numbers of interceptions and forced fumbles. It's been said before but is worth repeating that the fact that this defense has performed so well without getting a lot of turnovers is possibly one of the most impressive things about this season. Imagine what the numbers would look like with a "normal" number of turnovers.

For what it's worth, that's my take on the defense. Based on the above information, I feel comfortable predicting that if the offense doesn't turn the ball over too often and manages to generate more than about 13 points, the defense can keep them in the running. Go Steelers!

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who apparently had spun a heap of straw into (Black and) Gold

This is nice.

If you buy a foreign made product you give money to a person who will not be buying an American made product that you get paid to make. Think about it next time you're at the store.

by SNW on Jan 6, 2012 6:38 PM EST reply actions

Love our Pass D this year....

But we need Cortez and Keenan back , we’re getting pretty thin there…I don’t want to see BMac have to take the field on Defense…

by stoco40 on Jan 6, 2012 10:16 PM EST reply actions

Keenan is good to go for the playoff game

by GDEUCE on Jan 7, 2012 5:33 AM EST up reply actions

Why was the Pass D good this year?

Because Polamalu played in every single last game of the 16 game season.

That’s all you need to know. He has an Area of Influence that other players don’t have. Quarterbacks WONT throw over there, because they know he’ll mess them up. He helps other players in coverage, anywhere on the field, at any time.

I believe 100% that Polamalu is the definition of the literal word ‘safety’. You know the other players can relax a bit and just play when they know they got #43 back there covering their asses. And even if a guy makes a catch on the other side of the field Polamalu won’t let it go for much of a gain.

He simply enhances the entire unit, on top of his stellar play that leaves my jaw resting on the floor.

by Mechem on Jan 6, 2012 11:22 PM EST reply actions

Interesting theory -

if I get a chance, I’ll find the stats from last year game by game and compare pass defense when he’s in and out. Of course last year he had a ton of picks, and this year he has two, so it’s a bit skewed already. And to be fair, you have to admit that the backs were playing a lot more aggressively in coverage this year, which was Carnell Lake’s doing.

"If you're not getting better, I don't care what business you're in, you're a dead man. I try to look critically at the mistakes that I make and try to learn from them, like our team does." - Mike Tomlin

by Rebecca Rollett on Jan 7, 2012 4:22 AM EST up reply actions

I can go with both theories, though I’m more partial to yours. I firmly believe that Carnell Lake is VERY responsible for the improvement. I’ve read your stories, and have read others, he seems like the biggest difference. We have pretty much the same players, and went from 12 to 1.
I love Troy (obviously) but after this season, I love Lake equally (or…re-love him, since I loved him as a player)

This is the problem with the Flacco hate, people don’t really know who he is as a person. - Mr. Malor. Crazy Raven fan/possible stalker.

by FrankWyt on Jan 7, 2012 5:53 AM EST up reply actions

Both are probably responsible

But to me, those times when Polamalu is on the field we play better.

Definitely the entire unit played well, even in times he was out for a short while, and the press coverage we’re starting to see is brilliant.

by Mechem on Jan 7, 2012 7:04 AM EST up reply actions

What's notable to me is how different Gay and Lewis * look *

The cushions Gay permits are smaller – huzzah – because he doesn’t need to give up as much room. Mr. Gay now is in position to swat down a lot of balls whereas his role before was only to tackle the receiver after catch. His hand positioning and body position seem different.

Same thing for Lewis, who looks aware and well-positioned.

The article a few weeks ago about Carnell Lake may have been the best piece I read on the Steelers this year. I now fully subscribe to the Lake Theory.

by Steelzombie on Jan 7, 2012 8:14 AM EST up reply actions

So true

Impose your will.

by ALDOG on Jan 7, 2012 10:01 AM EST up reply actions

This year is better

Clearly there are some differences between the 2 years, however; I they are essentially the same personnel. Troy being in place is huge, but I think you have to look at some key area to see where they have improved. The bearded wonder clearly had his best season and had made an impact this season. Done with significant absence from his sidekick deebo!
Also not to be forgotten, Gay has played much better than expected / anticipated. They insertion of younger corners and safeties in the nickel and dime have added some speed as well- that can’t hurt.
Dad has also- it seems to me , not blitzes as much and relied on coverage and press together the job done.
Lastly, I think the number of passing attempts are down, that is due to the ability of us controlling drives on offense despite the lack of points. It’s subtle and I credit Ben to checking down to the 3-4 th receivers.
It’s all connected, the d does deserve slot of credit for a 12-4 record despite the lack of to and splash plays. So long as we win, who cares.

Impose your will.

by ALDOG on Jan 7, 2012 10:01 AM EST reply actions

It only stands to reason

That if teams are going to throw against you 530 times and run 399 times, that your pass defense is going to be the most important part of limiting the other team’s ability to score. Kudos to Dick LeBeau and Carnell Lake for identifying the pass coverage as the most important area to work on this season, and making it better.

That said, the shuffling of the front seven (and particularly the loss of Aaron Smith) definitely had a negative impact on the run defense.

Maybe it is as simple as more Troy on the field, and less Aaron Smith = better pass defense, and slightly worse run defense. Impact players on the field make a huge difference!

Gerela's Gorillas are here for the show
and so is Franco's Army
It's been many years in coming
just watch that Steeler machinery humming!

by GoldMetalDefense on Jan 7, 2012 10:05 AM EST reply actions

The Lake Affect

Mr. Lake is the difference in our defence. With the same players a true coach, who happen to be a great DB himself, gave them proper technique and good fundamentals. Ray Horton was horrible when he played and coached the same way.

by steelerfromtheco on Jan 7, 2012 10:41 AM EST via mobile reply actions

As usual...

under Lebeau, this is a super bowl caliber defense and like you said with turnovers and lineup changes to the front seven, this could be a great defense down the stretch. As in most years, the defense maybe had 2-3 sub-par games. For all but 2 or 3 games, the defense did exactly what they were supposed to do, as in stark contrast to the offense, which was about the exact opposite, the offense did their job up to expectations only about 2-3 games. This is nothing new though as the offense under Arians has never performed up to expectations in my opinion. The talent level of individuals on offense usually enable the team to squeak out enough points for the win in spite of the playcalling, and seeing Matt Flynn play one game for the Packers, it shows what good playcalling can accomplish with a 7th rd pick at QB and atleast equal talent to the Steelers, they are solid at reciever and tight end, get just enough from running the ball and have a banged up O-line as well and in one game with Flynn they looked better than the Steelers have in 5 years, if we even had an average defense with our offense we would be 6-10 and sitting at home right now. I think under LeBeau and now Lake as well, the defense will almost always play up to the standard they have set for themselves in past years, and as long as our offense never lives up to expectations or at the very least do their job in 50% of games, the defense will have to be up to this level for the team to be competitive, they might evolve even more with Lake as coach but I think they will stay at the top of the league, and they have to for this team to have a shot to win in the playoffs or to even beat the Browns in week whatever and they will be up to the challenge.

by SteelCity G on Jan 7, 2012 1:10 PM EST reply actions

Does the change in the style of pass defense naturally lead to lower interceptions?

If you are playing man and press coverage does that mean you narrow your vision and therefore don’t see the QB passes as well? When you drop back off the line can you jump routes easier? If you aren’t up on the line of scrimmage then maybe you have a higher probability of intercepting the pass? Do zone defenses generate more interceptions? I wonder how the interceptions drop off correlates to the increased press coverage.

by Norcal_Roxy on Jan 7, 2012 2:59 PM EST reply actions

That's a great question, actually,

and I think that you might be on to something… Maybe when time permits I’ll look at the teams with great interception rates and see what sort of pass coverage they tend to play.

by Rebecca Rollett on Jan 7, 2012 4:27 PM EST up reply actions

Brilliant

That’s a damn fine idea there. I think you are quite possibly right.

It makes a lot of sense to think that a receiver looking from 10 yards back can read routes a lot better and see much more. Instead we’re up in a guys face with the sole mission to bump him and disrupt timing and route running.

Course last year even Keisel had a pick-6, something you can’t really explain with that theory haha.

by Mechem on Jan 7, 2012 9:02 PM EST up reply actions