I want honest opinions of Steelers defense...

[Grizzafted]

I'd be worried about your LB's on outside runs as well. I'm not concerned iwth our defensive gameplan, but oyur offensive gameplan could be a huge determining factor. we need to spread you guys out and make your slow LB's play in space against our speed. In we try to pound it, we will lose.

Those slow linebackers have played pretty well aside from the last two weeks.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

Hi, Steelers fan here...

I want honest opinion of Steelers defense. I have a lot of respect for
Tom Brady and the Pats offense. I think it is among great ones (I'm not
convinced the GOAT) but definitely an amazing one.

That said, I can see that it is not totally invincible, even before your
Ravens game. I am not here to talk smack. I see a lot of threads, like
this one:

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/showthread.php?t=69663

a lot of posters just belittled our defense without serious analysis.

I only want good football discussion. Why you would think that our D will not
(or will) hang tough with your offense. I am not that homer to think that our
D is great and not without vulnerability.

To me, ranking stats are just part of it. Like the Pats' #1 rank offense can
be slowed down by the Ravens, our #1 D can be shred by Brady and
company also. But you should seriously look why we allowed less than 160
yds passing, even taking into account so called weak schedules etc. (we
faced the Browns and Bengals twice and their offenses aren't anemic).

Of course one can argue that Palmer and Anderson have happy feet or
whatsoever, or you can say they are not Brady. But how would you explain
Brady's low percentage against the Ravens?

My point here is that it too simple and stupid to disrespect the other team
with arsinine arguments like those in the thread above. I just hope for your
sincere opinions. There must be some reasons why the Steelers have the #1
ranking, right? Even if you argue the quality of opponents, how would youc
orrect for that then, and what ranking will it be according to your correction?

I think that Tom Brady and company will make some plays. But without
a serious running threat, the Steelers will just key on your passing game and
sooner and later, your receivers will hear foorsteps and drop passes. Brady
will have less confidence and can have a subpar game.

Indy, Eagles, and Ravens held your offense to 24, 24, and 27 pts. I think we
will not allow quick strike and cheap points, as we have done all year and
the Pats won't score more than 20-24 pts.

Here to a good hard hitting game, but clean, I don't want injuries to anybody.

OKay, I'm out and will listen to you.

Okay, since you asked....

Your Steelers defense is the same great defense we played in 2001. 2002. 2004 twice. 2005.

You guys are always good on defense. Nothing has changed.

Come to think of it, your offense looks pretty familiar as well.

I think it will be a tight game. But I don't think there is anything new or special or better about your defense. It looks just as good and much the same as ever.

All our games with the Steelers have been tough in one way or another. If the refs call the game correctly, you won't see any of the crap you saw in the Ravens game. You won't be able to simply cheat to slow us down if the officials get their heads out of their ass for a change.

 

[Grogan's neck roll]

This is what I dislike. WHO CARES what Pitt gave up a few weeks ago to some weak teams. WHAT ARE THEY CAPABLE OF?? That;s the question. Baltimore had lost 5 in a row before meeting the Pats, walk in the park, right?? WRONG.

In the end though, there are not any really great defense out there this season. If you needed one shut down game on defense, who would you pick?? Who the heck knows??

This is a very good point. It's not what the teams have done previously, it's what they will be capable of against this opponent on this day.

It's also true for the Pats, and my belief is that with the rest that BB has given both the offense and the defense this week, that they're going to be in much better shape to do their thing this week than they have the last two.

 

[makewayhomer]

It's not what the teams have done previously, it's what they will be capable of against this opponent on this day. .

there is a pretty strong correlation between these 2 things

 

[GameDay]

OK... I looked up.

Steelers D has the best % for stopping long drives (50 yards or more). Factor in the offensive capability of opponents, it is still the best within the uncertainty. This figure has a much better correlation to the true defensive scores than total yardage, 3rd down eff. etc.

Total scores can be unfair. I see that some scores they gave up was due to their offense TO's (Ben Roth's INTs) that caused short field situations.

Now this is interesting. The Pats have historically unprecedented % of long drive successes (either TDs of FGs). If Steelers can harrass Pats' receivers and if TBrady still look only for long bombs rather than dink and dunk to sustain drives, I can see the Pats at a disadvantage...

But if the Pats can put together 4 or more long and time-consuming drives, they'll be in good shape.

 

[mgteich]

So far this year, the PITT defense is #1 in the league. So far this year, the PATS offense is the best in a century. I believe the PITT defense will be tested on Sunday.

It seems that the PITT team is similar to what they have have had for the past four seasons, a very solid team. HOWEVER, the patriots are much improved in 2007 over its great teams of the past five years.

The patriots SHOULD win by at least 10. We have enough offesnive weapons to beat the steelers, especially if they choose to drop eight into coverage. But we'll see Sunday.

 

[ShrewBeer]

has anyone looked at what offences the pitt defence has faced?!?!? THEY HAVE FACED ALL THE WORST OFFENCES IN THE LEAGUE. therefore, the stats mean nothing.

 

[OKSteel]

Well, thank you guys for all your opinions.

I was out just for the afternoon and come back with interesting reply posts.
Too many for me to reply one by one.

I enjoyed your posts though of course I don't agree with some. BTW, I
missed the CHFF article before posting this. Thank you for pointing it out.

But I don't buy into this kind of rating either. I agree with one poster:
WHAT ARE THEY CAPABLE OF?? Exactly that's what I have in mind. By the
number, the Pats offense is great and Tom Brady ripped our hearts too many
times already. But in just this one game (or may be two?) we can frustrate
him. That's all the edge we look for. I don't assume Pats the offense will
automatically have the same game against us like Ravens. Not anymore than
you should give stock to how Clements and Jones killed our D for the game
tying drive.

I'm not here for homeric rant, but I do think that our D plays together better
as a unit now. Jim Harrison is great and I never miss Joey Porter anyway.

The secondary is playing well together, and please don't mind Anthony
Smith. He's just a young guy. I really believe that it's not individual plays,
(Ike, Deshea, Tyrone are good individually), but their play together is what
I really believe special this year. Like some poster said, we can prevent long
drives.

It may surprise you for me to say this, but I wouldn't want less than 100%
Troy back there anyway. Not any more that you guys missing Seymour.
(woud you miss him if he were still on PUP?)

My hope is that Big Ben would just be smart, keep clock-killing drives and
keep Tom on the sideline. I like our chance if we can stop the Pats the first
few drives or hold them to figgies.

Here to a good game.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I'm almost not concerned about the Steelers defense. They will have to doubleteam Moss. They will make sure they play Stallworth tight.

That will generally leave someone open more often than not, and require them to bring a safety forward to be ready to tackle Welker and Gaffney.

So I expect the Pats will be able to complete enough passes to give us enough points to win. It's just a question of how the defense plays, and whether our tired LBs and an overworked secondary can respond to a running game that will keep their attention and a QB who can get the ball downfield accurately enough to exploit the fact that the Pats will be concerned about Parker.

If the LBs and DBs can dig down and muster the energy for this game they'll have a much easier time for the next two, so I suspect they'll find what they need. Pressure on the line is a big thing as well.

So its really a question of how well the Patriots D plays that stands to affect the outcome of this game to me - no disrespect meant to the Steelers D - they'll pressure Brady etc. and likely get some hits in but that's to be expected and I don't expect that will dictate the outcome of the game.

 

[OKSteel]

Five drops, including 2 TD passes?
The wind?
The fact that Ravens were holding our receivers all night long? The officials just decided not to call it for the first 3 quarters. I'm sure part of it was pass rush, but the drops are inexcusable.

It comes down to this for me:
The Pats have the #1 offense in the league, Pittsburgh has the #1 defense. The Pats have played two of the elite of the league (Indy and Dallas) -- on the road no less -- and won. Pittsburgh.... well, they haven't played an elite team. Until this week of course. So, who knows? The Steelers may be up to the task but right now I'm feeling pretty confident as a Pats fan.

Not wanting to nitpicking, but Kyle Boller threw darts in the same wind...
It's very hard to measure "pressure". Only Tommy knows how it affect him.

 

[OKSteel]

There is a reason DA was high on his throws and its pressure. DA is mechanical and needs to step into his throws to be accurate. If you push the pocket on his and he can't step into his throw, you get what you witnessed. Steelers can still be credited with his failure.

My point precisely. We don't have too many sacks, but pressure can do the job.

 

[TIMEsteelersfan]

My point precisely. We don't have too many sacks, but pressure can do the job.

Right on... If I'm not mistaken our D leads the lead in opposing QB's completion % among the many other categories we lead in. Bottom line is that Pittsburgh's "D" is as good as any other in the league... nobody is better. There's a few that may be as good, but none better.

If we don't give you guys a short field (turnovers, special teams blunders) and you're forced to start drives at around your own 30 all day we should be able to keep you around 24 points. One or two timely mistakes and you guys could post a 40 berger on us.

 

[OKSteel]

So far this year, the PITT defense is #1 in the league. So far this year, the PATS offense is the best in a century. I believe the PITT defense will be tested on Sunday.

It seems that the PITT team is similar to what they have have had for the past four seasons, a very solid team. HOWEVER, the patriots are much improved in 2007 over its great teams of the past five years.

The patriots SHOULD win by at least 10. We have enough offesnive weapons to beat the steelers, especially if they choose to drop eight into coverage. But we'll see Sunday.

Yes. Both way. I really want to see how good our D is. Is it for real?

I guess the Pats want to see how they fare after the Ravens. I am sure the Pats
are very confident. But if you have another struggle with our D?

 

[RussFrancis]

Who knows just how good that D actually is. Personally, I think some of the overall defensive #s have been helped by a combination of horrific Os and that hideous field that Pittsburgh plays their home games on. And theyve played 7 of their home games to date. New England has had 7 road games. And if Denver or Cinci are the best Os that D has faced, then obviously that team hasnt really been challenged. I do know this. The last time New England faced the Pittsburgh D while they were ranked #1 in the league was the '04 AFCC game, and the Pats dropped 41 on them in Pittsburgh with a far less prolific offense. But the same QB. Good luck, Steelers fans.

 

[TIMEsteelersfan]

Who knows just how good that D actually is. Personally, I think some of the overall defensive #s have been helped by a combination of horrific Os and that hideous field that Pittsburgh plays their home games on. And theyve played 7 of their home games to date. New England has had 7 road games. And if Denver or Cinci are the best Os that D has faced, then obviously that team hasnt really been challenged. I do know this. The last time New England faced the Pittsburgh D while they were ranked #1 in the league was the '04 AFCC game, and the Pats dropped 41 on them in Pittsburgh with a far less prolific offense. But the same QB. Good luck, Steelers fans.

If Ben throws three INT's Sunday like he did as a rookie in the championship game you'll post 41 on us again. I don't see that happening, but it's very possible.

 

[RussFrancis]

If Ben throws three INT's Sunday like he did as a rookie in the championship game you'll post 41 on us again. I don't see that happening, but it's very possible.

We'll be hoping he's in the giving mood. Love your guy, Roeth, btw. Rock solid. But he's going down this week. good luck.

 

[Brady_12]

Not wanting to nitpicking, but Kyle Boller threw darts in the same wind...
It's very hard to measure "pressure". Only Tommy knows how it affect him.

Perhaps you didn't want to nitpick, but you did... You skipped a couple of other points:
Five drops, including 2 TD passes?
The fact that Ravens were holding our receivers all night long?

Boller didn't exactly blow the Pats away, BTW... His stats were seriously padded by the BS 50 yard hail mary at the end... Otherwise, his stats were pedestrian.

Add the absolutely inexcusable drops by Moss, Watson, and Gaffney and this game is a runaway.

 

[BradyFTW!]

How is losing to the Jets the D's fault? They gave up 19 points. Hell, the Pats gave up 14. Sure, giving up 19 to the Jets isnt a great showing, but the real problem there was that the O couldn't put up 20.

 

[JR4]

The Key is pressure on Brady. You tell me if Steelers will be able
to bring pressure and bring it quickly. If they can then
then PATs score will be in the twenties as many here stated

BUT If they can't bring consistent pressure then Brady will move the offense down the field without much problem.

I see Cincy game being used as a "see .. Steeler's shut down a good Offense"
to support Steeler's D is for real, even against good offenses.
Well here's some thoughts on that game
* First Bengals Offense is not PATs offense. Big difference.
* Steeler's had their Terrrible Field Advantage ( it was sloppy)
for starts ... no matter how they tried to fix it. If snow/sleet doesn't
arrive sooner than expected Sunday ... PATs should have a fast field to
work on.
* Also. correct me if I'm wrong, Bengal Oline is not healthy.
* Dropped catchable passes - too many.
* Palmer was thowing high all day ... real off day.
* Rudi just not the same any more.
* Plus Steelers know this team very well.

But at end of day I believe PATs protection for Brady will be
good against the Steeler's D.
If I'm wrong then it will be a good game.

 

[wdkantro2]

Honest opinions? Read the CHFF article. They are fantastic. They could be one of the best in history if it weren't for the fact that their schedule is considered the weakest in the league.