OL has to play better....and other thoughts

[Soul_Survivor88]

 

[Ochmed Jones]

If the o line can not keep Brady clean, we are in big trouble.

It would also help if they can open some holes for blount and Lewis,

 

[mosi]

I think those SACK stats would be the same for any QB. Any QB that is getting sacked a lot is in trouble.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Patriots know Steelers will be coming — up the middle - The Boston Globe

The most effective way to get to Brady is by bringing pressure up the middle because Brady’s pocket awareness and quick release allow him to escape outside rushes that take more time to develop.

It is, however, easier said than done. Houston frustrated Brady, but the Patriots still won by 18 points. The Broncos had a historically great defense last season, hit Brady 20 times, sacked him four times, and only won narrowly.

The 2015 Broncos the 2016 Steelers are not, but Pittsburgh does like to blitz and has the personnel to do so from a variety of angles. Defensive end Stephon Tuitt and linebackers Bud Dupree, Ryan Shazier, Lawrence Timmons, and James Harrison are all accomplished pass rushers.

One factor is the Steelers activated left outside linebacker Dupree off injured reserve on Nov. 19, before their Week 11 game at Cleveland. Harrison, who had previously been rotating with Jarvis Jones, has taken over the full-time OLB gig on the right side. Harrison and Dupree have combined for 10 sacks since Week 10

“They’re very confident in their system and what they do, and like I said, they do it well. They’re good at running blitzes, their blitzes they run, they’re good at it,” Andrews said. “The big thing for us is just everyone being on the same page, getting that coordinated and handling that, and not having anyone run free with some of their blitz packages.”​

 

[The Brandon Five]

Patriots know Steelers will be coming — up the middle - The Boston Globe

The most effective way to get to Brady is by bringing pressure up the middle because Brady’s pocket awareness and quick release allow him to escape outside rushes that take more time to develop.

It is, however, easier said than done. Houston frustrated Brady, but the Patriots still won by 18 points. The Broncos had a historically great defense last season, hit Brady 20 times, sacked him four times, and only won narrowly.

The 2015 Broncos the 2016 Steelers are not, but Pittsburgh does like to blitz and has the personnel to do so from a variety of angles. Defensive end Stephon Tuitt and linebackers Bud Dupree, Ryan Shazier, Lawrence Timmons, and James Harrison are all accomplished pass rushers.

One factor is the Steelers activated left outside linebacker Dupree off injured reserve on Nov. 19, before their Week 11 game at Cleveland. Harrison, who had previously been rotating with Jarvis Jones, has taken over the full-time OLB gig on the right side. Harrison and Dupree have combined for 10 sacks since Week 10

“They’re very confident in their system and what they do, and like I said, they do it well. They’re good at running blitzes, their blitzes they run, they’re good at it,” Andrews said. “The big thing for us is just everyone being on the same page, getting that coordinated and handling that, and not having anyone run free with some of their blitz packages.”​

I hope that they blitz a lot. Tom eats that **** for breakfast.

 

[willard]

The typical Patriots foil to a strong pass rush is Brady making quick throws. Playoff defenses in the past have sometimes been able to disrupt our short passing game and shut us down. This year we have the long passing game still going even without Gronk. So shutting us down is harder. I really hope and expect us to run better against Pittsburgh than Houston. I think we will see more of White and Mitchell should make his mark.

 

[mosi]

I hope that they blitz a lot. Tom eats that **** for breakfast.

In the first game, I don't think they blitzed much at all. Just flooded the middle and begged for the Patriots to run the ball, which they did. Honestly, if they play a similar style, I hope the Lewis and Blount both eat up some huge yards.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Patspulpit offers some nice film review on how Pittsburgh might uses their personnel to pressure the quarterback

Will Pittsburgh use Houston’s plan to attack the Patriots offensive line?

With the Patriots’ interior struggling against the quickness of Houston’s defenders, the Steelers could try to emulate their approach.

Especially in the first half of the Houston Divisional game, the plan worked. New England’s offense was unable to get into a rhythm because of the pressure the Texans’ talented frontline players put on the Patriots’ interior blockers. Ultimately, the team found a way to maneuver around the interior pressure but with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming to town might once again be forced to deal with it – at least if the Steelers decide to change things up a bit defensively....

Houston uses its talented linebackers to serve a multitude of roles and one of them – rushing from the interior – created the majority of New England’s blocking issues. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, does not move the linebackers around as much as the Texans do. Last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, for example, the team predominately used the following approach.​

[Click Link for Full Entry]

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Four Key Stats for NFL Conference Championship Weekend

New England Patriots
The stat: Tom Brady is sacked 10.6 percent of the time he’s pressured.

After a conservative start to the year netted them just eight sacks in seven games, the Steelers have have generated consistent pressure by blitzing at a higher rate (43 percent) than all but two teams since their Week 8 bye. It’s helped their sack numbers skyrocket, as the Steelers grabbed an NFL-high 30 sacks from Week 9 through the end of the regular season. After watching Houston occasionally confound Brady last week with a heavy dose of unpredictable blitzes (they sent five or more rushers on 37 percent of snaps), expect Pittsburgh to steal a page from the Texans’ book then take it up another notch.

New England boasts a solid pass-protecting offensive line under the expert tutelage of Dante Scarnecchia, and it finished sixth in adjusted sack rate on the year. But against an enterprising attack like the Steelers’, which can send a blitzer from anywhere on the field, they’ll need a quarterback that can deftly maneuver at the last second to prevent a hurry or hit from turning into a sack. Fortunately for the Patriots, they have one of the best.

Per Pro Football Focus, Tom Brady was sacked just 10.6 percent of the time he faced pressure this season. This isn’t because he’s simply getting the ball out quickly on every snap, either: Brady finished the year just 21st in time to throw per snap (2.57 seconds). Rather, the league-low number is representative of how good he is at subtly side-stepping or eluding pass rushers before stepping up into the pocket to make a throw. He’s never scrambling away from pressure, but he also never gets sacked. Like a great point guard, Brady knows where everyone on the field is at all times. If he sees an imminent hit coming, he either avoids it, delivers the ball to a quick-outlet receiver, or throws it away to live another day.

Expect the Steelers to put Brady’s league-best sack percentage to the test, though.​