BobDigital
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2013
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If the Pats do lose it will be cause the Pitt D is better than we thought. The Pats scored 27 points on it with Gronk but did not play their best game.
Pitt has the 14th rank rush D in YPG. They gave up 100 even. However they also give up 4.3YPC which puts them at 19th. This tells me they are okay but force teams to pass which makes their run D a little less exposed.
Against Miami and KC they gave up 52 yards on 21 carries for 2.5YPC and 61 Yards on 14 carries for 4.4. They did well vs both teams but Miami was just bad that day and KC abandoned the run i think. I think the Pats can power run on this team. Also besides McCullins at 350LBs they don't have a true full size DT. They have 4 guys in the 305-295 range but not another big body. It is possible they can be pushed around due to lack of that size.
Their pass D is decent enough. They have the 14th best defensive passer rating. They have a good amount of sacks and pressure but they don't have that 1 super talented guy. They have a solid mix of 5-6 guys without any stars. James Harrison leads the team with 5 sacks but they have 38 total good enough for a 3 way tie for 9th best. Their best DB is William Gay (graded PFF's 10th best CB for what that is worth) and they have a few guys who are okay but no one I term as overly special.
Pitt in the 12th ranked D in adjusted PPG giving up on average 1.75 less points their their average opponents score. Pats BTW are 2nd giving up 5.63 less than their average opponents score. Also Pitt is 12th in YPG defensively.
Are we underestimating this D? Personally I think as long as the OL blocks it should be smooth sailing but maybe we should give this unit more credit and not just pencil in 40 points?
Pitt has the 14th rank rush D in YPG. They gave up 100 even. However they also give up 4.3YPC which puts them at 19th. This tells me they are okay but force teams to pass which makes their run D a little less exposed.
Against Miami and KC they gave up 52 yards on 21 carries for 2.5YPC and 61 Yards on 14 carries for 4.4. They did well vs both teams but Miami was just bad that day and KC abandoned the run i think. I think the Pats can power run on this team. Also besides McCullins at 350LBs they don't have a true full size DT. They have 4 guys in the 305-295 range but not another big body. It is possible they can be pushed around due to lack of that size.
Their pass D is decent enough. They have the 14th best defensive passer rating. They have a good amount of sacks and pressure but they don't have that 1 super talented guy. They have a solid mix of 5-6 guys without any stars. James Harrison leads the team with 5 sacks but they have 38 total good enough for a 3 way tie for 9th best. Their best DB is William Gay (graded PFF's 10th best CB for what that is worth) and they have a few guys who are okay but no one I term as overly special.
Pitt in the 12th ranked D in adjusted PPG giving up on average 1.75 less points their their average opponents score. Pats BTW are 2nd giving up 5.63 less than their average opponents score. Also Pitt is 12th in YPG defensively.
Are we underestimating this D? Personally I think as long as the OL blocks it should be smooth sailing but maybe we should give this unit more credit and not just pencil in 40 points?