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

[stcjones]

After watching replay of Houston game....have serious concerns about our OL and once again their ability to first and foremost PROTECT Tom Brady.....and secondly to enable our run game to be a factor. The OL play in both of above statements was piss poor. Brady as we all know was hit and pressured relentlessly and brutally. Anyone other that Tom Bleeping Brady would have been out of the game! Thuney and Andrews played half assed horrible football and should be ashamed of themselves as professionals.

If the OL gets manhandled like that against Pittsburgh...it's obviously over. Solder will have one of hardest tests against Harrison who charges out low ...and will move around in sure.....

Now onto the run game ....or lack thereof against Houston (other than Lewis.....and his fumble issues scare the crap outta me this coming weekend). We HAVE TO be able to run the ball against Pittsburgh. Absolute must. Pitt will most likely double Edelman ALL game and take him out....which WR will pick up Edelmans production?! Maybe Danny...maybe extra to Hogan if he can go 100%..Mitchell probably out again and Floyd is a total wild card....

Bennett is really banged up it seems....leaving Lengel as only healthy TE....he better be ready to go for heavy blocking and making some catches.....

The Houston game was much closer than it should have been....and than many would believe.....and crappy play, weaknesses, and sloppiness like the Pats trotted out against Houston.....will not fly against Pittsburgh....

 

[RobertWeathers]

It was one game dude.

Different opponent. Different players coming up.

 

[deroc5050]

Bennet wasn't very good against Houston. I am also not a big fan of using Edelman as a deep threat. Keep Edelman 10-15 yard routes, and use Hogan for the intermediate and deep routes. Use Mitchell every where. I don't know what to do with Floyd he had a bad game, and how effective Amendola is, I have no idea.

I would not get greedy for the big play against Pitt, on just about every play I would have Dion or Edelman running high percentage routes.

But we have the weapons, we just need to protect Brady.

 

[BKapatsfan]

Well good news is that Houston had the best dline left this year. I think we match up well there against Pitt too.

 

[Vindicate]

Steeler's defense doesn't have as much potential to disrupt our line. I'd also like to think some bye week rust was in there, with Texas coming off a hot win in Oakland.

 

[stcjones]

Great post.....Everyone expecting Pitt to just focus on taking Edelman completely out of game which makes sense....so that opens things up a bit for Amendola (is he 100%healthy and up to speed?) and Hogan (had nasty quad strain....where will he be by gametime?)
Floyd has been hot and cold so far....pretty awful last game.....tough to predict that he will be a major factor this Sunday....hopefully he will step up! Mitchell may not play....or will be really hindered I'd imagine if he can go....

Like you said Bennett did not play overly well and looked slow.....but he is really banged up from all reports.....and that is another concern


Wish Baby Gronk could catch the ball and was up to speed on playbook (I imagine he is still with us on practice squad).....would be great to bring him in as hback.....thanks

Bennet wasn't very good against Houston. I am also not a big fan of using Edelman as a deep threat. Keep Edelman 10-15 yard routes, and use Hogan for the intermediate and deep routes. Use Mitchell every where. I don't know what to do with Floyd he had a bad game, and how effective Amendola is, I have no idea.

I would not get greedy for the big play against Pitt, on just about every play I would have Dion or Edelman running high percentage routes.

But we have the weapons, we just need to protect Brady.

 

[drewskie]

Hogan, Mitchell and Floyd should be the primary deep threats. Use Jules/Dola/Dion/White/Bennett for the short to intermediate routes.

 

[IndianPat]

As for OL, they have one job - protect Brady. And Brady will deliver.
Patriots run game has always been crappy in playoffs historically because it is very rare for Indy type defenses to make it to playoffs. Also the run game is under emphasized in playoffs. So protect Brady - that's all. Send in extra protection if you have to.

(In the Houston game, I saw the Texans doubling Bennett, Edelman and Lewis at different times. Just an observation).

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Steeler's defense doesn't have as much potential to disrupt our line. I'd also like to think some bye week rust was in there, with Texas coming off a hot win in Oakland.

The best way to affect Brady is interior pressure, which means the interior OL needs to give him room to step up from edge pressure.

 

[Vindicate]

The best way to affect Brady is interior pressure, which means the interior OL needs to give him room to step up from edge pressure.

Honestly, running up the gut might be the best move for us. Don't the Steelers have quick defensive players who can cover lateral speed easily? Would this suggest that they'd be more prone to a brutal, smashmouth run attack?

I think our offense lines up perfectly with this defense. I could be wrong.

 

[ashley]

I thought the tackles played pretty well. I think where we had issues were the interior, especially with Andrews. I agree with the general idea that our offense can only play as well as our O-line plays. If Tom gets time this weekend, we are going to carve Pitt's secondary up.

 

[chasa]

that was one of the top dlines in the league, and they STILL put up 30+ on them.

The patriots wont face another "elite" defense for the rest of the year.

 

[The Brandon Five]

I thought the tackles played pretty well. I think where we had issues were the interior, especially with Andrews. I agree with the general idea that our offense can only play as well as our O-line plays. If Tom gets time this weekend, we are going to carve Pitt's secondary up.

Lots of centers have trouble with Vince Wilfork. My nephew met Shaun O'Hara from the Giants at a party for Coughlin's nephew and O'Hara told him that Wilfork was the toughest guy he ever faced.

 

[fightingirish595]

The run game has to be more consistent. That being said there was no attempt to establish one on Saturday. That's going to make pass blocking tough on any o line that faces good pass rushers. The pats ran a lot of passes with Brady lined up under center too.

 

[IllegalContact]

The Steelers are not capable of dialing things up the way the Texans did....first, they're not as athletic, and they pretty much play 12 guys total on defense.......if they try to do what the texans did, they will be gassed by halftime....

on top of that, their secondary is simply not capable of playing press the way the texans did

 

[BobDigital]

The Steelers are not capable of dialing things up the way the Texans did....first, they're not as athletic, and they pretty much play 12 guys total on defense.......if they try to do what the texans did, they will be gassed by halftime....

on top of that, their secondary is simply not capable of playing press the way the texans did

Pretty much this. Pitt doesn't have the CB talent or DL talent to pull it off.

I have 100% confidence in Cannon/Solder. It is about the 3 in the middle and I think Scar will work with them to be sure it doesn't happen again. Pitt does not have the players Houston has. Houston has legit play makers on the DL. Pitt has a decent stable. It won't be enough. Bud Dupree might be the biggest issue but he won't beat them I think. After Clowney and Co. he won't seem as hard to deal with.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

@stcjones You might want to read this article. It basically reiterates what everyone else has mentioned

Can The Steelers Slow Down Tom Brady Like The Texans Did?

The Texans defense didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel on Saturday, but they did prove that there is still a formula to slowing down Brady and the Patriots offense if you can scheme it properly – and have the personnel to pull it off. If you can get pressure on Brady up the middle with just three or four rushers and flood the short-to-intermediate areas of the field with as many as eight players in coverage, you get what you got on Saturday.

The Texans consistently pressured Brady and threw him off his spot in the pocket with Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus, and they also held tight man-to-man coverage in the areas of the field where Brady typically picks teams apart. That’s why Brady had to roll out of the pocket and heave so many deep throws down the field, which Bill Belichick described as “prayers.”

Brady’s deep ball accuracy has improved this season and Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan are pretty good receivers, so the Patriots were able to make some big plays with that strategy on offense. But it’s hardly a sustainable game plan and they would surely rather correct the problems they had – most importantly, the pressure up the middle.
​

And with regards to the Steelers' defense:

Do the Steelers have enough personnel to pull the same tricks as the Texans? Up front, they have the likes of James Harrison, Bud Dupree, and Stephon Tuitt to generate pressure, and could also mix in linebacker Ryan Shazier. They are good, but not necessarily great, pass rushers, certainly not on the level of Clowney or Mercilus.

In the defensive backfield, the Steelers have veteran corner William Gay to go along with rookie Artie Burns and third-year pro Ross ****rell. This group is decidedly not on the same level as a duo like Bouye and Joseph, so there’s a chance that Brady will have more windows to make the short-to-intermediate throws that he excels at – as opposed to lobbing up rainbow after rainbow like he did on Saturday.​

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Also @stcjones there's a difference between a 3 or 4-man rush (which only a few teams are equipped to do) and a zone blitz, which has been a staple of Pittburgh's defense, and is being employed by Steelers DC, Keith Butler:

The Steelers Found Their Pass Rush in Blitzburgh

[Click Here For Full Entry]

Instead of leaning on one or two big-name game-changers like Von Miller or Ndamukong Suh, Pittsburgh has relied upon the even play of a bunch of savvy veterans and young, play-with-their-hair-on-fire athletes. It’s taken some scheming, but defensive coordinator Keith Butler has squeezed every drop of production he could out of a group lacking a true superstar.

Butler recognized that three- and four-man rushes just weren’t going to get the job done, and so he started upping the pressure. From Week 9 to their finale against the Browns in Week 17, Pittsburgh racked up an NFL-best 30 sacks, including an eight-sack performance against the Browns in Week 11. The return of Dupree, who had 4.5 sacks in the last four regular-season games, certainly helped, but the biggest change over the back half of the year was that they blitzed on 43 percent of their defensive snaps (third most in the NFL).

Going blitz heavy isn’t new for a team that once earned the nickname “Blitzburgh.” The zone blitz was a staple of former defensive coordinator **** LeBeau’s arsenal for years. Instead of the traditional idea of a blitz, in which you roll the dice, send the house, and leave just a few defenders in coverage, he’d disguise his intentions prior to the snap. LeBeau would line up six, seven, sometimes eight or nine guys at the line, then send pressure in the form of a linebacker or defensive back from one side while dropping a different defender into the quarterback’s throwing lanes on another. It was a way for the Steelers to create pressure and confuse offensive lines and quarterbacks without sacrificing numbers in pass coverage.

In the second half of the year, Pittsburgh has gotten back to its roots — both with zone and traditional blitzes. Much like LeBeau used to, Butler has begun to confuse opposing offenses with his pre-snap alignments. And he’s exploited the Steelers’ area of strength: While Pittsburgh has no true standout rusher this year, what it does have in spades is pure athleticism in its back seven, and that speed is often the difference between a pressure and a sack. Butler sends big, explosive athletes hurtling toward unprepared backs and tight ends and dares them to figure out how to stop his defenders.
​

With regards to Sunday's game, it mentions how well Brady has done against the blitz :

In its two games so far this postseason, Pittsburgh’s blitz rate has dropped back down to early-season levels (25.8, per Pro Football Focus), but that’s likely more of an indication of the quarterbacks they’ve faced than a wholesale change in philosophy. They’ll have a choice to make this week against Tom Brady, though: Be content to rush three and four at an elite passer and hope for the best? Or go at him fast and furious, hope to get him off his spot, hit him, and force him to make mistakes?

The bad news for Pittsburgh, of course, is that it’s a Catch-22. This year, Brady has recorded a 67 percent completion rate, 8.1 yards per attempt, 14 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 104 passer rating against four or fewer rushers, per Pro Football Focus. But he’s also been a blitz killer: Against five or more pass rushers, he’s completed 66 percent of his passes at 8.5 yards per attempt and has 14 touchdowns and no picks for a 131.4 rating.​

 

[patriot1136]

Would love to see Bennett step up and run all over these guys. With him being injured, he may just be a decoy or used for blocking. That may actually open up things for other guys. I think we gotta get White involved more. With Hogan, Mitchell, and Dola banged up, White and then Lewis can help take some heat off Edelman.

 

[mosi]

Lots of centers have trouble with Vince Wilfork. My nephew met Shaun O'Hara from the Giants at a party for Coughlin's nephew and O'Hara told him that Wilfork was the toughest guy he ever faced.

It was no Wilfork but rather really good coaching by Houston. Make Andrews have to defend on one play against Wilfork and the next against Mercilus and the next against Clowney . The technique to play against each one of those guys is different and Andrews probably played Mercilus like Wilfork and got beat quickly. Got to give him credit, Romeo dialed up a great game plan.