Steelers Defense, anything we are missing?

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?

Pencil 40 points

Half the teams that were supposed to win this weekend lost. The Pats were the only team to cover. They did this despite unlikely interceptions and fumbles. Maybe all this analysis isn't as helpful as we thought?

The Pats put up 34 points against the best defense in the NFL after putting up 27 points on that same defense with a third string, rookie quarterback who finished the game injured earlier in the season.

Pittsburgh is coming to Foxboro to play the team with the best record in the AFC. Brady is 9-2 against the Steelers, 4-0 at home, and 2-0 in the post season. I like their chances.

The Steelers have a young, hard-hitting defense, able to get after the quarterback and stop the run. Pittsburgh’s 27 sacks in the final eight games of the regular season were tied for the most in the NFL over that period. The Steelers also held their opponents to under 100 yards rushing in almost all their wins. They have allowed 18.7 points per game over their past nine games and finished the regular season 12th in the NFL in total defense.

When the Steelers missed the playoffs in 2012 and 2013 one of the problems pinpointed by scouting and coaching staffs was a lack of speed on defense. The Steelers were a defense in transition as older and slower players were being phased out and new, young playmakers were being sought. This season, eight of their starters have three years of NFL experience or less. Several of their recent draft picks have developed into impact players (Ryan Shazier, Bud Dupree, Stephon Tuitt) while rookies Artie Burns, Sean Davis, and Javon Hargrave, have all locked down starting roles.

Their defense is also notable for its speed, athleticism and ball skills. Linebackers Bud Dupree and Ryan Shazier, defensive end Stephon Tuitt, cornerback Artie Burns and safety Mike Mitchell are among the fastest players in the league at their respective positions. Dupree ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds at the 2015 NFL combine, the fastest time for an outside linebacker. He also posted the best vertical leap and best broad jump for his position group. Tuitt is among the fastest defensive ends in the league and pursues plays from the backside and downfield as well as any defensive lineman. Shazier is the fastest inside linebacker in the league. He didn’t run the 40 at the combine because of an injury, but he ran an unofficial 4.36 at his Ohio State pro day. Burns and Davis each ran 4.46 at the combine last year.

Soul_Survivor88 said:

The Steelers have a young, hard-hitting defense, . . . .

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The hard hitting, sometimes to the edge of cheapshot-late hits, was what i saw a lot of yesterday. The speed also came out once or twice chasing down runs/misdirection plays. KC looked to be getting too cute sometimes, might have been better just ramming down their throats so squeelers couldnt use their side-side speed.

BobDigital said:

Also besides McCullins at 350LBs they don't have a true full size DT.

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I wouldn't worry about McCullers. He's a "duck-footed short-stepper" - NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Daniel McCullers

In sure Brady will be ready.
We will need Bennett to have a good game as well in both blocking and passing now that Gronk is out to keep their linebackers at bay.

I never liked 38 year old James Harrison, but had a pretty good year played 56% of the Steelers Defensive Snaps this year and had 5 sacks to lead the team...

Wonder if he eats avocado ice cream??

Matt Moore completed 80% of his passes for 300 yards against them last week.

From Kevin Seifert of ESPN:

NFL Playoffs Reset: How each of the four teams can reach Super Bowl LI

This hasn't been a good matchup for the Steelers in the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady era. They have lost nine of their past 12 to the Patriots and have won in New England only once in the past 18 years. That one victory? It came in 2008, after Brady tore his ACL and Matt Cassel took over as the starting QB. To be fair, Brady has always been susceptible -- as are most quarterbacks -- to a strong pass rush. Brady threw two interceptions to the Houston Texans' defense Saturday, and the Steelers' pass rush might be the NFL's best. It had a league-high 30 sacks over the second half of the regular season and is a big reason why the Steelers have now won nine consecutive games.

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Brady has handled the Steelers in the past. Not saying we can't lose. But they should be more afraid of Tom than we should be afraid of them.

The Patriots have a better offense, a better defense, a better head coach, have home field advantage, and have an extra day's rest (and time to prepare). The Pats rightly are close to a touchdown favorite.

But football being football, and in a one-and-done scenario, you just never know. The Steelers are completely worthy adversaries, and only if the Patriots win will we hear people like Shank talk about how the Steelers were "tomato cans".

The last four teams in the tournament are all really good, and I believe any of the four can win this thing. I also think the Patriots are the best team left in the tournament. You'd have to bet the field over New England, but I think if you had to pick one team to win it all at this point, you'd be wise to pick the Patriots. Best team, home field, championship experience.

Let's do this.

As much as I think Brady has his way with that secondary of course the past means little... they could have their best game of the season.

Feels like Pats could miss Gronk more than they did against the Texans though.

I am actually surprised the line is only 5.5..

I was expecting it to be closer to 9.5 - meaning a TD favorite if you take away the typical homefield bonus..

convertedpatsfan said:

From Kevin Seifert of ESPN:

NFL Playoffs Reset: How each of the four teams can reach Super Bowl LI



Brady has handled the Steelers in the past. Not saying we can't lose. But they should be more afraid of Tom than we should be afraid of them.

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Some context to their 30 sacks

12 of them came in the 2 games against the Browns.
5 of them came against the Bills
3 of them came against the Colts (who had Scott Tolizen playing)

Against the Ravens(2 games) Cowboys, Giants and Bengals combined they had 10.

luuked said:

I am actually surprised the line is only 5.5..

I was expecting it to be closer to 9.5 - meaning a TD favorite if you take away the typical homefield bonus..

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The lines aren't a prediction of what Vegas thinks the score differential will be. They are set to encourage betting one way or another, based on how lopsided people are betting on one team. The goal is to make the betting as equal as possible on both sides. This allows Vegas to make money off the over/under spread.

JMC00 said:

Some context to their 30 sacks

12 of them came in the 2 games against the Browns.
5 of them came against the Bills
3 of them came against the Colts (who had Scott Tolizen playing)

Against the Ravens(2 games) Cowboys, Giants and Bengals combined they had 10.

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ughh, if only we had the Browns to pad our stats against twice every year

Actually it the Steelers offense that could be key. In Big Ben's first 14 playoff games, they never scored less than 21 points. In the last five games (2014-present), they have scored 16,17,18,18 and 30 ( the 30 was versus Miami). As was the case last night, they couldn't score the TDs in the red zone, settling for FGs. If the Pats D can do the same and keep them under 20 points, I am comfortable that the Pats offense can outscore them....

wizwor said:

Half the teams that were supposed to win this weekend lost. The Pats were the only team to cover. They did this despite unlikely interceptions and fumbles. Maybe all this analysis isn't as helpful as we thought?

The Pats put up 34 points against the best defense in the NFL after putting up 27 points on that same defense with a third string, rookie quarterback who finished the game injured earlier in the season.

Pittsburgh is coming to Foxboro to play the team with the best record in the AFC. Brady is 9-2 against the Steelers, 4-0 at home, and 2-0 in the post season. I like their chances.

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My Father told me that you go with the best QB in these big games and he is right.

Ben is better than Smith, Rodgers vs Prescott, Ryan vs Wilson, Brady vs Arsewieller.

Therefore, Brady vs Ben and Rodgers vs Ryan

I thought KC should have won the game Sunday as receivers beat the Steeler defense. Problem was the receivers dropped the ball or the QB wasn't accurate. I don't see that same scenario with Brady and company. Big Ben didn't stand out like he normally does (I'll have to check his stats). Their red zone scoring was putrid (obviously).

Triumph said:

My Father told me that you go with the best QB in these big games and he is right.

Ben is better than Smith, Rodgers vs Prescott, Ryan vs Wilson, Brady vs Arsewieller.

Therefore, Brady vs Ben and Rodgers vs Ryan

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How does he explain the Eli Manning Superbowls?