2015 defense vs. 2016 defense

[antdrewjosh]

It's not after the fact coaching, a ton of people have been questioning that strategy after the 1st two weeks. A lot of the times when we get run on we are in that 2DL set, it's not hard to run the ball against that, hell we were in that 2dl set last year trailing in Baltimore in the 4th when any football fan knew Baltimore was going to be running to kill some clock, and we still stated in it and let them run all over us and kill clock.


I think we are probably damned either way, but if rather take my chances blitzing and at least having a chance to get to the QB then rushing 3 and hoping everyone can cover.

It really doesn't bother me what's the play call. Execute the play call. But I can understand the lack of blitzing with rookies in the game. When you blitz you are way more exposed and if those guys aren't in the right spot big plays will happen. Guess it's a matter of preference.

 

[Steelers1]

Lol OK. SMH. Funny and sad at the same time

Yes you are, you need your meds badly. By the way, the word is spelled cleat .

 

[POP]

On the 73 yard TD to sproles we got pressure and got torched.

Yea, because Sproles in space is a dangerous thing. He has done that to A LOT of teams. But, of course, our D was extra sloppy on that play as well.

 

[Litos]

the fast coverage of previous games by the DBs wasn't there against the eagles. Too many YAC

 

[SteelerFan448]

Yea, because Sproles in space is a dangerous thing. He has done that to A LOT of teams. But, of course, our D was extra sloppy on that play as well.

Sproles made some nice cuts, but that was one of the most embarrassing plays I've ever seen against the Steelers defense. Pathetic effort.

 

[antdrewjosh]

During his Tuesday press conference, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked a very good question as it relates to the play of his team’s pass defense and lack of sacks so far this season. Below is that question along with Tomlin’s response.

Question: Is the way that you’ve chosen to play pass defense in the first three games at all responsible for the lack of a pass rush or at least the sack total?

Answer: In some instances, yes. In some instances, it’s game circumstance. I think that our lack of tangible pressure in the last game probably has got a lot to do with how the game unfolded and their ability to keep us off balance, and spin the dial and throw the ball quickly, and not take the calculated risk that usually create a climate where quarterback pressure and splash happens. In some of the other games, particularly in some of the other games where we were in control and had a lead, I was much more disappointed in our ability to put pressure on the quarterback in those circumstances, because, we had our opponent somewhat one dimensional and should’ve taken better advantage of it. Washington being an example of that.

Now, one sack through three games is one sack through three games and as far as quarterback pressures go, there’s been way too few of them as well heading into Week 4. As far as what Tomlin said on Tuesday, I wanted to focus on the comments he made about the game this past Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles and how rookie quarterback Carson Wentz got rid of the football quickly.

I went back through the all-22 tape from Sunday’s game and timed every pass that Wentz attempted from both angles and then averaged the two. While not perfect, I’m sure my times are probably pretty close to being exact. Additionally, I have provided the distance that each pass was thrown past the line of scrimmage in the table below.

For starters, Wentz only threw 9 passes more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage during Sunday’s game. 19 of his throws included the football being out of his hand in 2.5 seconds or less after it was snapped. The last time I saw some reliable numbers, the median sack time in the NFL was around 2.7 or 2.8 seconds. Only 9 times against the Steelers did Wentz exceeded 2.69 seconds before getting rid of the football and on two of those plays a Steelers defensive player recorded a pressure with the pass also failing to be completed. Outside linebackers Anthony Chickillo and James Harrison were those two players with the latter also have another pressure during the game.

If you average out all of the times below, you will see that Wentz got rid of the football in 2.41-seconds on average against the Steelers. If you remove Wentz’s longest time of 5.25-seconds on the play that included him scrambling outside the pocket before hitting running back Darren Sproles for what would ultimately be a long touchdown, his average time from snap to release drops to 2.33-seconds.

Now, none of this should serve as an excuse for the Steelers defense not doing a better job of pressuring Wentz on Sunday because there certainly were some chances, albeit very few. These numbers, however, should show you how Wentz used a very short dink and dunk passing game to beat the Steelers in addition to the Eagles offense being able to gash the Steelers up the middle in the second half with their running game.

http://www.Invalid Link - Check SN ...-wentz-several-low-snap-throw-times-steelers/

Now all you football experts tell me should we have blitzed more?? I always thought you defeated the blitz with quick passes from the QB. The Eagles were already doing that.

 

[antdrewjosh]

Keith Butler On Steelers Poor Pass Rush: ‘It Really Comes Down To Beating Guys One-On-One’

BY DAVE BRYAN SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 AT 02:35 PM
I don’t need to tell any of you how disappointing the pass rush of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense has been so far through the team’s first three games and I certainly don’t have to tell defensive coordinator Keith Butler that, either. During his weekly segment on Steelers Nation Radio, Butler talked about how his defense is failing to get the job done so far this season when it comes to not only getting sacks, but applying pressure on opposing quarterbacks as well.

“Last year we were third in the league in sacks and we’ve got to really come on,” Butler told Miss Matthews. “Were behind right now in terms of sacking people at the rate we want to sack them and putting pressure on the quarterback, making him make decisions he don’t want to make. And we’ve got to do a better job of that and well try to do a little bit better than we have been.”

Something certainly does need to change moving forward when it comes to the Steelers defensive pass rush and while it sounds like Butler is actively addressing that issue this week in practice, he’s not willing to say what differences we’ll see schematically this Sunday.

“I’d rather not right now because I don’t want to tell anybody what we’re doing in terms of trying to improve it and stuff like that,” Butler said. “So, there are some things schematically we can do a little bit better, but it really comes down to beating guys one-on-one and stuff like that.

“Sometimes guys are double-teamed, it makes it tough for them, but not everybody’s double-teamed. Everybody that rushes is not double-teamed and when you’re not double-teamed, you’ve got to produce.”

When Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media on Tuesday, he indicated the same thing that Butler did as it relates to defensive players needing to win their one-on-one matchups while rushing the passer.

“We have to do a better job of putting these guys in position to win those one-on-one (pass-rush) matchups, and they in turn have to win those one-on-one matchups,” Tomlin said.

The Steelers have registered just one sack so far this season and even that one left a lot to be desired as it was recorded by outside linebacker Arthur Moats after he had originally dropped into coverage in the Week 2 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. To nobody’s surprise, that one sack currently has the Steelers ranked last in the league in that statistical category.

If it’s any consolation, the Steelers will host the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night at Heinz Field and their quarterback Alex Smith enters the game having already been sacked 9 times so far this season. While the Chiefs are expected to have an offensive attack Sunday night somewhat similar to one the Philadelphia Eagles used against the Steelers defense this past Sunday, Butler knows he can’t use the same scheme he used last Sunday for several obvious reasons even though he will have studied the upcoming opposing offense for two straight weeks now.

“We’re doing stuff different in this game than we did in the last game,” Butler said. “Obviously, we don’t want to show them the same defense as we showed Philadelphia because it didn’t work. So we’ve got to do a little bit better.”

Hopefully they can do a lot better against the Chiefs as a little bit better might not be enough.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

I was expecting the D to be a little better this year but instead the pass rush has gotten worse.
Really the only good defensive draft picks Tombert has made were Timmons, Tuitt, and Heyward. That's not much to show for ten years. Your second-best LB is a 38 year old UDFA from the previous administration and the only DB who doesn't suck is the oldest one.

 

[stuntmanmike]

The jackasses that came up with the two dowmlinemand scheme should be thumped. It just sucks. From peewee to the pros you have to control the line of scrimage. You simply can't with only two linemen. For us to make things worse jones and moats can be blocked with tight ends and backs. It all equals out to zero passrush and it doesn't take a genius to figure it out.

 

[Punxsutawney]

The jackasses that came up with the two dowmlinemand scheme should be thumped. It just sucks. From peewee to the pros you have to control the line of scrimage. You simply can't with only two linemen. For us to make things worse jones and moats can be blocked with tight ends and backs. It all equals out to zero passrush and it doesn't take a genius to figure it out.

The two linemen nickel defense worked fine in the 2008-2010 period when Harrison and Woodley were coming off the edge in their primes.

There's a serious talent deficiency right now both at OLB and in the secondary.

Their overall rush/coverage scheme works when you have good pass rushers and fast, explosive DBs like Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu who can close quickly on passes, either breaking them up or preventing yards after the catch.

The pass rush was a lot better last season, but Harrison is a year older, Dupree isn't in the rotation, and I tend to doubt that Heyward has fully recovered from his preseason injury.

You're right about Jones and Moats, as they're physically overwhelmed just about every pass play. The Steelers would be about as well off playing Shamarko at OLB, as at least he's explosive.

It seems like Tomlin and Butler are trying to compensate for the personnel issues by implementing a very passive scheme, hoping that opponents, having to gradually move the ball, will make drive-killing errors. The Redskins and Bengals did, but the Eagles did not, and we saw the results.

They're going to have to take more chances on defense, as they just do not have the players right now to do what they're doing and expect to stop offenses on a regular basis.

 

[Coryea]

We use the 2DL formation way to much, even on running downs we use it, as I've pointed out last year in Baltimore with us trailing late, which is obvious running down for them to kill clock, we still were in that 2DL set and Baltimore killed a ton of time.

The problem with it is we rush 3 guys so much that two guys can occupy Heyward, two more on Tuitt, then the 5th OLinemen takes the third guy.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

It seems like Tomlin and Butler are trying to compensate for the personnel issues by implementing a very passive scheme, hoping that opponents, having to gradually move the ball, will make drive-killing errors. The Redskins and Bengals did, but the Eagles did not, and we saw the results.

I was gonna say, I think they've given up on any semblance of a pass rush to keep everyone back and just trying to force incompletions.

 

[antdrewjosh]

We use the 2DL formation way to much, even on running downs we use it, as I've pointed out last year in Baltimore with us trailing late, which is obvious running down for them to kill clock, we still were in that 2DL set and Baltimore killed a ton of time.

The problem with it is we rush 3 guys so much that two guys can occupy Heyward, two more on Tuitt, then the 5th OLinemen takes the third guy.

It depends on what the other team's formation is. If they are three wide we will be in nickle. And teams will run out of three wide. If we go to base they will pass and get mismatch of a LB on a WR. Pick your poison.

 

[antdrewjosh]

Coryea you got your wish buddy the Steelers turned up the pressure and blitzed more. Kudos for calling for it. And I got my wish also they tackled much better this week..

 

[antdrewjosh]

http://www.Invalid Link - Check SN Home Page/2016/10/film-room-keith-butler-turns-heat-win/

 

[Coryea]

That and they played a lot tighter to the WR's, they were making tackles as soon as they caught, as opposed to last week where the guy had time to catch and turn up field.

 

[antdrewjosh]

To go from good to great, Steelers must rely on emerging defense
play

Steelers give Roethlisberger, Bell praise after big win over Chiefs (0:51)

10:15 AM ET
Jeremy Fowler
ESPN Staff Writer
PITTSBURGH -- Take Carson Wentz out of the Pittsburgh Steelers' lives, and this defense is soaring.

A few more performances like the one Sunday night and that Week 3 letdown in Philadelphia will fade fast.

For all the offensive wizardry in the 43-14 dismantling of the Kansas City Chiefs, it's the defense that brings the most optimism on this team's postseason chances. And through three games this group has done its part, giving up four total touchdowns to the Washington Redskins, Cincinnati Bengals and the Chiefs, two of which came in Alex Smith's garbage time.


The Steelers sacked Alex Smith four times and shut out the Kansas City offense until garbage time in the fourth quarter. AP Photo/Don Wright
To go from good to great, the defense needs to build off its four-game start, starting Sunday against the reeling New York Jets in Heinz Field.

With two first-round picks and a starting safety in street clothes, the Steelers looked unfazed and fiercely physical.

These veteran defenders were angered by the 31-point Philly loss and knew they could clean things up, particularly the missed tackles.

"We try to play for pride," safety Mike Mitchell said. "We have a lot of pride in our room and wanted to keep them at zero."

The Steelers would be smart to jump to an early lead against New York, considering quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has 15 touchdowns and 20 interceptions since 2015 when the Jets are trailing, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information. Fitzpatrick's four touchdowns to 10 interceptions this year set the stage for the Steelers to employ the game plan from Sunday night: Mix and match blitz looks, rely on defensive ends Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt to wreck havoc, then let the back seven do the rest.

This is a different defense when Heyward is healthy and explosive. His three sacks and a pass deflection resulting in a Jarvis Jones interception Sunday were no coincidence. He had been battling a high ankle sprain early in the season. Finally healthy, Heyward and Tuitt were active all night, and Jones has been playing good football despite no sacks on the year.

"We have the best big people in the NFL," said linebacker Vince Williams, who recorded 15 tackles and a sack in replace of injured Ryan Shazier. "Those guys really led the charge."


After sitting back and letting Wentz have his way the previous week, the Steelers intensified their blitzes off the edge Sunday and experimented with defensive backfield lineups because of injury. Cornerback Justin Gilbert played some in the slot. Ross Cockrell played a snap of safety. Safety Jordan Dangerfield acquitted himself well in relief. Smith was off balance all night, and by the time he found his footing, it was far too late.

First-round corner Artie Burns has come along faster than expected. He's playing significant snaps, and his diving pass breakup on a deep-ball attempt to Tyreek Hill.

Heyward said he knew the defense would respond from the Philly game. That's easy to do after a brutal loss. Now they don't plan to overlook the Jets, and they accomplish do that with a simple goal.

Give Roethlisberger and the offense prime field position.

"When we give them a short field, we relish those opportunities because we think that's seven points," Heyward said.

 

[Hines57]

We will see how this defense responds next week, then with Miami, NE, and the Rats coming up. Getting into the meat of the schedule

 

[antdrewjosh]

Keith Butler Was At His Most Aggressive Sunday Night


BY ALEX KOZORA OCTOBER 4, 2016 AT 09:15 AM
I doubt Keith Butler actually listened but we can all pretend he heard us anyway.

The number one request from this Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense was to become more aggressive, send more blitzes and defenders. And Butler responded to that as the defense dominated the Kansas City Chiefs.

On Sunday, Butler sent 5 or 6 rushes on 19 of 58 opportunities. That’s just under one-third of the time, easily the highest mark of the season. And he blitzed 24 times, 41.4%, also his highest.

Here were Butler’s game-by-game totals in each category in the previous three games.

Washington

Rush 5+: 2.2% (1/45)
Blitz: 24.4% (11/45)

Cincinnati

Rush 5+: 15.8% (9/57)
Blitz: 22.8% (13/57)

Philadelphia

Rush 5+: 11.4% (4/35)
Blitz: 25.7% (9/35)

Kansas City

Rush 5+: 32.7% (19/58)
Blitz: 41.4% (24/58)

Do the math and that means he blitzed five rushes more often against Kansas City than he did the first three weeks combined.

Now that isn’t his most aggressive game as the defensive coordinator. That came in Week 17 last year when he blitzed the Cleveland Browns over 50% of the time. Compared to last year, the Chiefs’ game would’ve ranked only the ninth highest in 5+ rushes and the sixth highest in blitz percentage.

But this year, it was a stark change, a clear adjustment, from the previous gameplans.

The decision clearly paid off. The Steelers recorded four sacks opposed to just one in those first three weeks and pressured Alex Smith 14 times, the most in any game. James Harrison and Cam Heyward led the way with 3.5 pressures each. That surpassed both their season totals.

Heyward now leads the team in pressures with 6.5. Harrison is second with 5.5 while Stephon Tuitt and Arthur Moats are tied with five. Jarvis Jones, because I know you’re wondering, has three. And Anthony Chickillo has one.



http://www.Invalid Link - Check SN Home Page/2016/10/keith-butler-aggressive-sunday-night/

 

[antdrewjosh]

Keith Butler Confirms He Showed Chiefs New Looks Sunday

BY ALEX KOZORA OCTOBER 6, 2016 AT 12:20 PM
I don’t think you needed him to confirm what your eyes saw but Keith Butler admitted he was more aggressive against the Kansas City Chiefs.

And he needed to be in order to restart, or just plain start, a pass rush that was abysmal the first three weeks. By game’s end, Butler had sent more five man pressures and blitzes than he had in any game this season.

He talked about his gameplan with Steelers.com’s Missi Matthews on Coordinator’s Corner.

“Everybody says I blitzed more and all that stuff. We did, we blitzed a little bit more, and we gave the appearance of blitzing. We didn’t really blitz, we had some false blitzing going on, and we still just rushed four but it appeared we were rushing five, rushing six sometimes. Different type of fire zones and fire zones we’ll use. We’ll continue to do that throughout the year. Sometimes we will blitz. Sometimes we’ll bring six. We’ve done that before.”

That included a couple of new wrinkles.

“We ran some stuff they hadn’t seen before from us. They really did a good job of executing. We tried to hold these guys, as much as we could, to keep them under our goal of 16 points.”

If you missed my post earlier this week, Butler sent five 32.7% of the time and blitzed, sent someone who wasn’t a DL or OLB, 41.4%. Those were easily his two highest marks of the year.

Ideally, Butler and the defense could win with a straight four man rush. But it wasn’t effective and to win, the team knew they had to get quarterbacks uncomfortable.

“We needed to get pressure on the quarterback. That was the biggest thing for us.”

But it wasn’t a product of just scheme. Players won individual matchups and Butler was quick to point that out, too.

“Cam really did a good job at [winning matchups]. Cam had a heck of a game. So did Stephon. Both of those guys had good games. We need those guys to play well every week.”

Cam Heyward had three sacks, his first stuck game and first by a Steeler not named James Harrison since 2005. He and Stephon Tuitt bullied the Chiefs’ guards while James Harrison hassled Eric Fisher throughout the game.

The Steelers are now out of the league’s cellar in sacks. They’re now tied for 28th, ahead of the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons.

http://www.Invalid Link - Check SN ...tler-confirms-showed-chiefs-new-looks-sunday/