Calling you X's and O's geniuses, Why does Brady own Pittsburgh better than other top QBs?

It seems like the Pats always spread the Steelers out and go pass like 75% of the time and easily pick them apart. While the Steeler d hasn't been legit in years, in their hayday in the mid to late 2000's they were big trouble for the rest of the league. It's interesting that the Ravens always give Brady all he can handle but, the Steelers get whooped almost everytime. So, why is it the Patriots beat up on Pittsburgh so much easier than the rest of the league?

My theory is that the Steelers under labough did one thing all the time and perfected it. You do that and Brady knows exactly what to expect and can pick it apart. Plus with polamalo you can bait him into being aggresive and getting a huge play. With ed reed he baits you and the ravens change up what they do more fruequently then the Steelers. The one time recently the Steelers beat Brady was when they went almost entirely man instead of their typical zone blitz scheme. If I was a DC trying to stop the pats I would find out all of my tendencies....and do the exact opposite. I think more then talent, how prepared the pats are is their biggest advantage and screwing with that is the best thing you can do to win.

pazrul72 said:

My theory is that the Steelers under labough did one thing all the time and perfected it. You do that and Brady knows exactly what to expect and can pick it apart. Plus with polamalo you can bait him into being aggresive and getting a huge play. With ed reed he baits you and the ravens change up what they do more fruequently then the Steelers. The one time recently the Steelers beat Brady was when they went almost entirely man instead of their typical zone blitz scheme. If I was a DC trying to stop the pats I would find out all of my tendencies....and do the exact opposite. I think more then talent, how prepared the pats are is their biggest advantage and screwing with that is the best thing you can do to win.

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True, Brady has always made Polamalu look like a fool. I'd take Ed Reed over him easily.

Because Brady picks apart the zone blitz like no other quarterback does, esp. the fire zone blitz which leaves a three-deep coverage that is pretty predictable across the middle (five in space) as you simply throw to the space the blitzer has vacated.

We are 8-2 vs. Pittsburgh. One loss was that Halloween disaster, and the other was the last game Lebeau DC'ed for Pittsburgh in which he completely tossed the fire blitz and played man the entire game which was a total surprise to Brady but I had suspected something like this would happen because it was Lebeau's last chance to vindicate himself, so I felt that he was going to do something drastic as he had nothing to lose.

PP2 said:

Because Brady picks apart the zone blitz like no other quarterback does, esp. the fire zone blitz which leaves a three-deep coverage that is pretty predictable across the middle (five in space) as you simply throw to the space the blitzer has vacated.

We are 8-2 vs. Pittsburgh. One loss was that Halloween disaster, and the other was the last game Lebeau DC'ed for Pittsburgh in which he completely tossed the fire blitz and played man the entire game which was a total surprise to Brady but I had suspected something like this would happen because it was Lebeau's last chance to vindicate himself, so I felt that he was going to do something drastic as he had nothing to lose.

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We got LeBeau in 2013 too. Wonder why the hell he went back to his old game plan. I was in boot camp for that 2011 game and was pretty shocked when I heard the Squeelers held us to 17.

PP2 said:

Because Brady picks apart the zone blitz like no other quarterback does, esp. the fire zone blitz which leaves a three-deep coverage that is pretty predictable across the middle (five in space) as you simply throw to the space the blitzer has vacated.

We are 8-2 vs. Pittsburgh. One loss was that Halloween disaster, and the other was the last game Lebeau DC'ed for Pittsburgh in which he completely tossed the fire blitz and played man the entire game which was a total surprise to Brady but I had suspected something like this would happen because it was Lebeau's last chance to vindicate himself, so I felt that he was going to do something drastic as he had nothing to lose.

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I believe you're referring to 2011 game. The offense wasn't clicking, and it happened to be a Patriots team where our passing defense was one of the worst in the League. If I recall, Big Ben threw for 325 yards that day.

In addition to what's been said so far, Big Ben is a great QB but he's neither overly consistent in smarts or execution, nor is he quite top 5. He never seems indomitable to me--or, despite is huge frame, all that intimidating. And at times, he just doesn't thrive on the big challenge game.

fxkane said:

In addition to what's been said so far, Big Ben is a great QB but he's neither overly consistent in smarts or execution, nor is he quite top 5. He never seems indomitable to me--or, despite is huge frame, all that intimidating. And at times, he just doesn't thrive on the big challenge game.

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He always seems to pad his stats in garbage time against the Pats to make it look like he plays well vs the Pats.

PP2 said:

Because Brady picks apart the zone blitz like no other quarterback does, esp. the fire zone blitz which leaves a three-deep coverage that is pretty predictable across the middle (five in space) as you simply throw to the space the blitzer has vacated.

We are 8-2 vs. Pittsburgh. One loss was that Halloween disaster, and the other was the last game Lebeau DC'ed for Pittsburgh in which he completely tossed the fire blitz and played man the entire game which was a total surprise to Brady but I had suspected something like this would happen because it was Lebeau's last chance to vindicate himself, so I felt that he was going to do something drastic as he had nothing to lose.

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Take this PP2 post,

1. Add the fact that the Steelers have generally had relatively poor CB play
2. Add the fact that the Steelers have generally had LBs who were better blitzing and run covering than pass defending
3. Add the fact that Brady, historically, has been willing to hold onto the ball longer when needed, and take more hits, in order to complete the pass, than most other QBs, although he's gone away from that a bit as he's aged, taking the "better part of valor" route more often than he used to

So, better coverage reads, with more willingness to get hit, in order to throw against lesser pass defenders, and an unmatched ability to fake T.P. out of his jock...

The Steelers aren't a game plan team, or haven't been. **** Lebeau was awesome, but his teams did what they do win or lose. We exploited that and they never really had adjustments to make.

IIRC, we would go empty backfield a lot with 5 wide and force Pittsburgh to take LBs off the field. They'd still leave a few out there for easy mismatches.... a LB trying to cover Gronkowski? Seriously?

I always felt that we beat Pittsburgh by outcoaching them. We'd find a personnel group that they couldn't match up well against and just keep running plays. We also refuse to substitute or huddle when we catch them at a disadvantage so that they can't substitute.

Watch for more no huddle, hurry up, quick snap, and taking advantage of some serious confusion on the Pittsburgh side of the ball. Remember when no one covered Gronkowski last year to open the season on one of his 3 touchdowns.

Roethlisberger could have kept them in this game. Both teams healthy and at full strength would have been one of the few really good games of the season. It's a shame really that we won't get to see that.

Froob said:

We got LeBeau in 2013 too. Wonder why the hell he went back to his old game plan. I was in boot camp for that 2011 game and was pretty shocked when I heard the Squeelers held us to 17.

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Thank you sir, for your service.

oldrover said:

Thank you sir, for your service.

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Thanks friend.

**** Lebeau isn't coaching the D anymore since last year. So I don't think this is an accurate title.(or discussion)

Wheelman said:

**** Lebeau isn't coaching the D anymore since last year. So I don't think this is an accurate title.(or discussion)

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Butler doesn't use the zone blitzing as much as LeBeau did, but he still uses it, and the exploitable defensive personnel issues are still mostly the same.

Wheelman said:

**** Lebeau isn't coaching the D anymore since last year. So I don't think this is an accurate title.(or discussion)

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I'm thinking more historically than I am about today's defense. Today's Steelers' defense is a paper tiger.

Because he throws to the O's and not to the X's.

Ed Reed is the reason why Baltimore gives the pats all they can handle. And T sizzle. I think Baltimore is better coached, I think Tomlin is a rah rah guy and not so good with actual game plan schemes.

Chiuba E. Obele said:

I believe you're referring to 2011 game. The offense wasn't clicking, and it happened to be a Patriots team where our passing defense was one of the worst in the League. If I recall, Big Ben threw for 325 yards that day.

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IIRC, two key adjustments they made in that game was putting Taylor on Welker on the inside, instead of outside to prevent against the long play. The other was playing tight at the line and just hitting receivers as they released and this really disrupted the timing between Brady and his receivers.

two word answer. Zone Blitz

I'm gonna leave this here since it seems like a good place. This is one of my favorite Pats - Steelers moments.

Brady with the QB keeper into the endzone for a touchdown. While he's lying down, Polamalu runs in and literally starts pushing Brady's head back and up in an incredibly awkward position, which if too much force were applied could have serious consequences. It is seriously one of the dirtiest things I've ever seen on a football field.

Mankins rightfully takes issue with this and starts a scuffle. Meanwhile Brady jumps up, runs to the endzone, holds the ball up high, and then spikes it. You can't see it in this shot but in the original broadcast they show the replay, and he's holding it up, staring down the crowd, that collectively rises to boo him. He appears incredibly defiant before he spikes it, and he knows he's riling them up. If anyone has a better video than this that shows the crowd shot, I'd love to see it.