Like I said the success of this defense will be more about the KIND of players we have as opposed to WHO we have. I hope I can explain the subtle difference in that sentence.
Over the past couple of years Bill has assembled the KIND of players he needed to defend the way the game is played. ANY defense playing an offense under today's rules and the talent they they have out there on a week to week basis will HAVE to lose if they play them in anything close to a straight up defense. That is a defense where the offense knows where everyone is going to line up play to play. (ie 4-3 nickel or base, 3-4 nickel or base, etc. The ONLY way to compete evenly with the way offense is played and the rules is to CONSTANTLY be in some kind of alignment and personnel package that the offense doesn't expect.
Christ Bill played the Rams in a f*ucking 6-1 defense. Do you know that the 6-1 was LONG outdated back when I played HS ball and that's almost 60 years ago. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. BUT it wasn't what the Rams expected and it worked like a charm.
That's why I kept emphasizing the VERSATILITY aspect of this defense. Week to week it is going to change in BOTH alignments and personnel packages. I know YOU know what that will mean for teams that come to play us. They will have no f*cking idea what they are going to get until they line up for their first series. (sorry I tend to swear when it's late) WHAT an advantage! That far outweighs any talent disadvantage there might be or the fact we don't have any "individual pass rushers of note" Just like in the SB, it will be "collective pressure"
And here's where the depth comes in. Just look at the varies set of skill sets you have so deep on this team. It's for this reason I'm sure we are going to see Williams, Winovich, AND Cowart (sorry Adam Butler) making plays this year. Bill will get them into situational situations where their skill sets create favorable matchups for them.
I can picture a scenario where Williams comes in and shuts down or limits Kelce on passing downs. Cowart blows up OG's that might be vulnerable to power moves, and Winovich can line up all over the DL in week to week match ups that are favorable.
I was very nervous about that first game, even at home. No one in the league has more talent than those choking frauds. But this is the first game of the season, not the last, so my worries are growing, especially with a great OL. But I take solace in knowing that Bill knows the Steeler offense better than Tomlin does. And the difference between Ben's stats on the road as opposed to home are significant. I will be very interested to see what he does that first week and compare it with Miami in the following week.
If it's what I think we will see, we will have pundits sh!tting all over themselves trying to explain exactly what's happening.
