BlitzFritz

Yes, we all fret when the Pats give up the plays 5 yards in front of the DBs etc.

HOWEVER, did you notice how the Steelers sold out on the last play of the game yesterday. They had 11 guys on the LOS, to run blitz. And then BAM, game over. Steelers gave up the big play all day.

There may be more to the defensive strategy of giving up tons and tons of yards than we will ever know.

-- FRITZ

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"If you counted out the Patriots, you just don't get it." Adam Schein, September 2008

“We are building a big, strong, fast, smart, tough and disciplined football team that. consistently competes for championships.” Guess who.

Husse

The Steelers obviously tried to put the game on Tebows arm rather than his and the Broncos RB legs. They sold out on the run because they thought their rush would get there fast enough for the DBs to not lose the coverage and Tebows mechanics would be too slow.

The Broncos did some nice things on the Offensive side of the ball to switch up from what they had been doing previously. And Polumalu bit on most of the shallow routes just to see the receiver turn downfield and run right past him. Broncos had a good gameplan and executed it well. The Steelers didn't seem ready for the passes Tebow threw.

Tebow didn't have a great game throwing, but he did enough to win it. But really, who could miss with most of his completions being to receivers who were wide open? Broncos won the game-planning handily.

5 Rings for Brady!!

I doubt BB considers giving up tons of yards a defensive strategy. I think the idea is to keep the play in front of you and thus limit the yards given up, but it doesn't always go to plan.

When your QB either scores almost instantaneously, or goes three and out even faster (like Brady's offense tends to do), than you have your defense on the field a lot. That is one factor in why GB and NE both have opportunistic defenses who can hurt you with turnovers but also seem to spend a lot of time on the field.

PatsDeb

Yes, it was unbelievable how the Steelers didn't adjust, all game, to what Tebow was doing. You'd think after they got burned 2, 3, 4 times they would stop stacking the box and leave their safeties in coverage. Denver did have a good game plan (after starting off the same way in the 1st quarter, trying to run and getting no where). I said to my husband, Pats shouldn't change the way they play, at least they keep everything in front of them! I couldn't understand why the Steelers were so afraid of the run. The Broncos gained something like 250+ yards rushing in their last game against Kansas City and they scored 3 points. 3 Points! Let em run, you dummies!

Oh well. My opinion of Tebow increased. He kept saying if they let him open it up he could play better. He was right. Hopefully he reverts to form in Foxboro, or the Pats can cook something up to stop his new found bombs away attitude. He is still incredibly inaccurate in the short passing game. The Pats should focus on getting him to have to throw short.

Rob0729

The Steelers only play one style of defense. They play a zone and rely on pressure from the front seven. The problem is that if the front seven don't get to the QB, it exposes their secondary especially with their best coverage safety out.

I don't think the Steelers did anything different against the Broncos than they usually do. Their problem was that with Kiesel and Hampton going down, they couldn't apply the pressure they usually do.

What they should have done is what Belichick usually does with Roethlisberger. You don't need to sack him a lot, but you gotta cut off the running lanes so the QB can scramble out of the pocket and extend the play. If they were able to keep Tebow in the pocket, he would have never thrown nearly as well. I think losing 2/3 of their d-line in the first quarter played a part of that.

Patriot 37

LeBeau handed the Broncos this game. Thank God because BB won't be so stupid

PatsDeb

You are probably right, but why not put the safeties back in coverage? It was like they had their plan and they were sticking to it, come what may (even though what kept coming was huge completions down the field, mostly to one receiver).

Husse

I think some Steeler fan in some other thread was that LeBeau wasn't very good at adjusting during the games. The lack of adjusting during this game certainly points to that.

It's still unbelievable that Tebow threw for over 300 yards on 10 completions. I mean, that it over 30 yard per catch, somewhere it has to pop into you head that you are putting too many men on line of scrimmage.

Personally I agree with Deb, let them run, take long drives and try to get a stop on the next down and then utilise your own receivers in the passing game for quicker scores than the opponent. It's not really a good plan either, but now the big big big plays they gave up and allowed scoring opportunities would be more limited. The Steelers put themselves in the situation they found themselves in by being stupid and not adjusting.

But they still had a chance to win it at the end, and i really thought they would, they were hot and got a cold shower with that botched snap and the delay of game penalty.

BradyMoss812

I thought Pittsburgh played Denver the same way that the Jest played them in expecting Tebow or McGahee to run on every play.

Also, it helps Denver if your own QB is not fully fit (Big Ben) or just inept (Sanchez).

Gwedd

And how did Denver manage to get those two guys out of the game so early? By doing what Denver has done for decades: Go for the legs and knees of the opposing player and try and injure him. Any wonder how Andre Carter got injured so quickly when we played them? Remember when a cheap shot from a Denver Defensive player broke Brian Cox's leg?

They've been called out for it time after time. The league, however, has never done anything about it, but Shannahan started coaching his players to play dirty on the line, and it's been handed down ever since.

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