Run the ball and Tackle the Catch

[Stosh-67]

The Game Plan
Run the ball and tackle the catch.

Offense
I think we have seen games over the last two years in which were very heavily weighted either run or pass. Mostly run.
The Steelers ran the ball on their first 5 offensive plays and 7 of their first 10 plays.
They handed the ball to Dwill the first two plays of a possession 6 out of 13 times.

The PS knew the rain was rolling in. They probably assumed it was going to be a ball control ground game and probably wanted to get the run game in rhythm early on, rather than try and establish the run when the weather got worse. Given the rain, wet ball and worsening field conditions as the game wore on, the plan worked, as evidenced by the final score.

Like some have mentioned, It would have been nice to be more balanced and unpredictable. I do not think they wanted to get into long downs and distance. Getting two or three+ yards on first downs and staying away from 3rd and longs kept them in favorable spots, as opposed to having that defensive line pin back their ears and hit Ben all day. Keep in mind that Jessie James is still not very good at protecting Ben when asked to stay in and block. Grimble is still new and learning assignments as well.

But it was also nice to see the continued growth of Jessie James and introduction of Grimble, who had two tuff catches. Would have been nice to see Rogers work against #3 or #4 db's on a wet field in short distance to help move the chains.

Ben was not very sharp yesterday. Yes the rain and wet ball had a lot to do with it. But he has missed on more throws the first 2 games than he has in any 2 game stretch that I can remember.
With all the new guys mixing in and learning the offense and where to be for Ben, it will take some time. Count me in on welcoming back Wheaton as a guy that has a good amount of play time with Ben and may be able to convert some third downs or at least some easier completions. He at least has a good amount of routes he can run with Ben and has over 100 receptions in the last two years.

There were very few easy completions yesterday. . Coates is still limited. Rogers is still raw. James is still not totally in sync with Ben.....to be that quick, hot read, open target over the middle that Heath provided.

Hence, on a rainy sloppy day, against a division rival. We got an extra large dose of Dwill.
Once again, I say, top 5 FA signing over the last 20+ years. ( Bettis, Farrior, Hartings, Clark, Dwill)

Run to the Wheels fall of 101.
32 carries for 94 yards with a long run of 11 yards, means Dwill = Dmoney.
Love his running style. Watch how he almost always readies for impact by wrapping both arms around the ball and lowers his shoulders.

In his first 9 years in Carolina, Dwill carried the ball more than 20 times in a game only 14 times. He had more than carries 25 in a game, twice, including a career high 30 carries in a game in 2009.
In 17 games in Pittsburgh, he has carried more than 20 times 7 times. 25 or more 4 times, including a career high 32 yesterday.
Love watching him run. Hope they learn how to mix him in more when Bell comes back, so they both stay fresh.

It was nice to see Richardson and Frenchy get some touches. Would like to see more in Philly so we have Dwill for all 16 and then some. I look forward to seeing Rosie Nix back in the mix as well, both as FB and on ST's.

Defense
Tackle the catch was certainly the plan. Keep everything in front of you was what kept A.J. Green from striking big and often.
I do not think anyone would have bet on Green ending the game with 2 catches for 38 yards and no touchdowns. Makes AB's stats look good. LOL
Make Dalton beat you with the other guys is what the game plan was.
No Marvin Jones and Mohammed Sanu is huge. Eiffert being out helped.
Without all those Cards to play with and the Steelers bottling up Green, Dalton still managed to complete 31 passes for 366 yards.
Keeping him out of the endzone was obviously the key.

The defensive plan has been the same the first two weeks.
I will assume it will be the same in week 3 as well.
It has worked twice, as giving up only 16 each Sunday will win a lot of football games.
Only 5 teams have given up less after 2 full games.
Baltimore has only given up 26, but they have played two poor offensive teams in Cleveland and Buffalo with far less talented QB's than Cousins and Dalton.

It's encouraging to see Davis and Burns getting good playing time. Davis may not have left the field much at all the first 2 games. They will get better each week.
Burns is gonna get his hands on some balls.
Burns may be competing for Cockrells spot down the road.
Gay played a nice game and was around the ball often. Golden was around the ball often and had was in the backfield making hits.
Mitchell was also active, tho I do not know what he was thinking leaving his feet looking to deliver a blow on one incompletion.

So the secondary, given its assignments and restrictions, played well.
Making the opposing QB play perfect and stay patient while waiting for mistakes has worked twice.
Not hitting the QB, not making him move his feet, not sacking him will not win playoff games or Super Bowls.

The pass rush is not going to get home with this plan. Rushing 3 and 4 into 5 and 6 man lines with a blocking back chipping and releasing will not continue to work against better teams and better QB's.
Its compounded by not subbing in defensive lineman to stay fresh. Hence, Tuit and Heyward have little to nothing left for those last few drives by opponents.
We need to see several things for the pass rush to get home.

Hargave, Matthews and Big Dan mixed in a bit more, or at least the first two guys more often as the PS went 2 DLinemen often.
James Harrison is still our best pass rusher. He needs to be part of the pass rush more often.
Moats may be the 2nd best pass rusher as far as OLB's. He needs to see more snaps from that left side than Jarvis.

More Blitzes........primarily from the ILB's and secondary, since it does not look like we will get much pressure from the OLB's
Shazier gets to the QB in a hurry. If Timmons is staying on the field, they should send him once or twice a game.
Fort showed a quick burst in spots last week.

I do not think we have seen a DB or S blitz in two games. Run blitz, yes. But not on third and long downs.
With Mitchell, Golden and Davis all on the field together and often.............I would like to see a Safety blitz once or twice a game.
I do not think we have seen a CB blitz in 2 games. Once or twice a game would help.
Faster decisions under quick pressure creates panic, errant throws if not INT's

I understand they are slowly meshing and growing as a team in terms of trust and responsibilities.
But I expect to see some things mixed in week after week.

Can't wait to watch this team on Sunday. Look forward to seeing what Philly does tonight. Nice to get them on a short week as well.

Go Steelers

[jebrick]

Steelers ran at least one safety blitz that almost netted a INT yesterday.

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2016/09/fi ... s-thunder/

I'm sure more will show up when I watch the game again.

[steelmann58]

you are correct thought it was Davis?

[Steel Mike]

Sacks are not the only measure of pressure. It'd be nice to see them get more, no doubt, but it's not like Dalton wasn't under pressure at all yesterday.

He's shown that even the slightest hint of pressure makes him move in the pocket and get uncomfortable, so why commit more resources than needed? They made him move and throw off-target while also eliminating the run. I'd say that's a win for the defense.

[Scunge]

I spent a lot of time trapped in my car today, taking cat to vet, dealing with the still closed Liberty Bridge, etc and listening to Mark Madden today rail on about our crappy defense.

Everybody is so enamored with yards given up, how that is bad, how we are lucky to be scraping by, etc.

Nobody, including Madden, can see the improvement in our defense.

LeBeau's last season our pass defense, for the season, gave up a 98.3 passer rating collectively to the QB. 4,049 yards passing, with 30 TDs and only 11 INTs, we gave up 7.8 yards per pass attempt. That was 28th worst in the NFL.

Last season under Butler, we got that passer rating stat down to 90.9. Yes, we gave up more yards but QBs weren't as successful, they threw for 29 TDs but had more INTs, 17 and the yards per pass attempt fell to 7.5 yards per attempt. That was an improvement to 17th best in pass rating given up.

Now, through two games, people are saying the sky is falling, we are 2nd worst in the NFL in giving up passing yards. But look at the Passer Rating folks. Butler now has that pass rating for the opposing QB down to 79.2, which is 10th Best in the NFL. We have given up just 1 passing TD to 2 INTs, the longest pass play has been just 33 yards.

The media is so concerned about yardage and sacks as if that is what makes a winning, successful defense.

Yes, we have 1 sack on defense, the Jets have 7 sacks but the Jets have also given up 5 pass plays over 40+ yards, 4 TD passes and a QB rating of 113.6. They are giving up a 69% completion rate on passes. Would you trade our defense for that defense? I wouldn't even trade Ross Cockrell for Darrell Revis.

Cockrell shadowed AJ Green and did a pretty damn good job. Many of the ticky tacky PI calls would not have been called if he were Josh Norman or Revis.

Golden has been fine as a starting safety.

To me the defense is starting out strong and faced two QBs that are not just complete bums. But we are not exactly at full strength either, Golson and Dupree out, Heyward and Hargraves playing through some injuries.

The communication and trust that the secondary is showing, the coverage that they are displaying this early in the season is a beautiful thing to behold. The pass rush, to me will come together and get to where it needs to be eventually.

[Legacy User]

I spent a lot of time trapped in my car today, taking cat to vet, dealing with the still closed Liberty Bridge, etc and listening to Mark Madden today rail on about our crappy defense.

Everybody is so enamored with yards given up, how that is bad, how we are lucky to be scraping by, etc.

Nobody, including Madden, can see the improvement in our defense.

LeBeau's last season our pass defense, for the season, gave up a 98.3 passer rating collectively to the QB. 4,049 yards passing, with 30 TDs and only 11 INTs, we gave up 7.8 yards per pass attempt. That was 28th worst in the NFL.

Last season under Butler, we got that passer rating stat down to 90.9. Yes, we gave up more yards but QBs weren't as successful, they threw for 29 TDs but had more INTs, 17 and the yards per pass attempt fell to 7.5 yards per attempt. That was an improvement to 17th best in pass rating given up.

Now, through two games, people are saying the sky is falling, we are 2nd worst in the NFL in giving up passing yards. But look at the Passer Rating folks. Butler now has that pass rating for the opposing QB down to 79.2, which is 10th Best in the NFL. We have given up just 1 passing TD to 2 INTs, the longest pass play has been just 33 yards.

The media is so concerned about yardage and sacks as if that is what makes a winning, successful defense.

Yes, we have 1 sack on defense, the Jets have 7 sacks but the Jets have also given up 5 pass plays over 40+ yards, 4 TD passes and a QB rating of 113.6. They are giving up a 69% completion rate on passes. Would you trade our defense for that defense? I wouldn't even trade Ross Cockrell for Darrell Revis.

Cockrell shadowed AJ Green and did a pretty damn good job. Many of the ticky tacky PI calls would not have been called if he were Josh Norman or Revis.

Golden has been fine as a starting safety.

To me the defense is starting out strong and faced two QBs that are not just complete bums. But we are not exactly at full strength either, Golson and Dupree out, Heyward and Hargraves playing through some injuries.

The communication and trust that the secondary is showing, the coverage that they are displaying this early in the season is a beautiful thing to behold. The pass rush, to me will come together and get to where it needs to be eventually.

good point when u put it like that..

[randomsteelerfan]

I spent a lot of time trapped in my car today, taking cat to vet, dealing with the still closed Liberty Bridge, etc and listening to Mark Madden today rail on about our crappy defense.

Everybody is so enamored with yards given up, how that is bad, how we are lucky to be scraping by, etc.

Nobody, including Madden, can see the improvement in our defense.

LeBeau's last season our pass defense, for the season, gave up a 98.3 passer rating collectively to the QB. 4,049 yards passing, with 30 TDs and only 11 INTs, we gave up 7.8 yards per pass attempt. That was 28th worst in the NFL.

Last season under Butler, we got that passer rating stat down to 90.9. Yes, we gave up more yards but QBs weren't as successful, they threw for 29 TDs but had more INTs, 17 and the yards per pass attempt fell to 7.5 yards per attempt. That was an improvement to 17th best in pass rating given up.

Now, through two games, people are saying the sky is falling, we are 2nd worst in the NFL in giving up passing yards. But look at the Passer Rating folks. Butler now has that pass rating for the opposing QB down to 79.2, which is 10th Best in the NFL. We have given up just 1 passing TD to 2 INTs, the longest pass play has been just 33 yards.

The media is so concerned about yardage and sacks as if that is what makes a winning, successful defense.

Yes, we have 1 sack on defense, the Jets have 7 sacks but the Jets have also given up 5 pass plays over 40+ yards, 4 TD passes and a QB rating of 113.6. They are giving up a 69% completion rate on passes. Would you trade our defense for that defense? I wouldn't even trade Ross Cockrell for Darrell Revis.

Cockrell shadowed AJ Green and did a pretty damn good job. Many of the ticky tacky PI calls would not have been called if he were Josh Norman or Revis.

Golden has been fine as a starting safety.

To me the defense is starting out strong and faced two QBs that are not just complete bums. But we are not exactly at full strength either, Golson and Dupree out, Heyward and Hargraves playing through some injuries.

The communication and trust that the secondary is showing, the coverage that they are displaying this early in the season is a beautiful thing to behold. The pass rush, to me will come together and get to where it needs to be eventually.

good point when u put it like that..

Comments like these make me wonder if people even understand what they're watching during games or if they even know how to determine if their team is improving or regressing.

[Legacy User]

I spent a lot of time trapped in my car today, taking cat to vet, dealing with the still closed Liberty Bridge, etc and listening to Mark Madden today rail on about our crappy defense.

Everybody is so enamored with yards given up, how that is bad, how we are lucky to be scraping by, etc.

Nobody, including Madden, can see the improvement in our defense.

Well there's your problem right there. Listening to Madden.

Good post!

[Steelafan77]

Another area this defense has had good success is on 3rd downs. As pedestrian as the pass rush seems this defense has not allowed many 3rd down conversions. bungholes were successful on 4 of 16 attempts. This same defense allowed only 3 of 10 3rd down conversions last week vs the skins. All while stopping the run effectively. I say... so far so good. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely. I believe this defense will improve as the season continues. Good start for this defense IMO. BTW, good analysis from both Stosh and Scunge. Thanks for your insight gentlemen.

[Thrillsseeker]

Another area this defense has had good success is on 3rd downs. As pedestrian as the pass rush seems this defense has not allowed many 3rd down conversions. bungholes were successful on 4 of 16 attempts. This same defense allowed only 3 of 10 3rd down conversions last week vs the skins. All while stopping the run effectively. I say... so far so good. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely. I believe this defense will improve as the season continues. Good start for this defense IMO. BTW, good analysis from both Stosh and Scunge. Thanks for your insight gentlemen.

Here Here.

[steelclan]

Bernard & Hill had close to 150 yards receiving. The main issue with that is simple: tackle better & that yardage gets sliced in half.

PS will face a YAC demon at RB next week: Darren Sproles. That tackling needs to improve sharpish because Sproles can make a few missed tackles into a home run very quickly.

[bradshaw2ben]

Bernard & Hill had close to 150 yards receiving. The main issue with that is simple: tackle better & that yardage gets sliced in half.

PS will face a YAC demon at RB next week: Darren Sproles. That tackling needs to improve sharpish because Sproles can make a few missed tackles into a home run very quickly.

If Wentz's surrounding talent were competent and actually even good, the Eagles would be quite dangerous. But, they're not.

Sproles is, as you say, capable but his best is behind him. Matthews and Agholor suck right now and can't catch the ball with any consistency. Wentz, however, can play.

[jeemie]

Bernard & Hill had close to 150 yards receiving. The main issue with that is simple: tackle better & that yardage gets sliced in half.

PS will face a YAC demon at RB next week: Darren Sproles. That tackling needs to improve sharpish because Sproles can make a few missed tackles into a home run very quickly.

Sproles is at the end of his career...he still is reasonably fast, but I don't think he has the home run burst anymore.

[Scunge]

Yeah, the tackling has to get much better. To me it looks like Golden will keep that starting job this year because not only does he know the defense but he is so strong as a tackler. You just don't see him trying to arm tackle, he is probably the best tackler in the secondary. There is something to be said for a good form tackler who comes up and gets the job done, laying the wood is good and all, but it just seems like nothing but bad things happen when you just lower a shoulder.

You can whiff, you can hurt yourself, or you can draw a flag if your helmet makes contact while lowering that shoulder to make a hit or tackle. I prefer Golden's tackling and especially for a safety.

Sean Davis missed 40 tackles in his 3 years at Maryland and he really is continuing that trend so far in his 2 game NFL career. Needs to get much, much better if he hopes to displace Golden as a starter.

Some other defensive stats that bode well for our defense, look at 3rd down conversions and 4th down conversions. And penalty yardage.

We are currently 2nd in the NFL for giving up the fewest 3rd down conversions with only 7.
Opposing teams have converted just 7 of 26 3rd down attempts, that is only a 27% success rate on 3rd downs. That percentage is the 3rd best in the NFL. We have allowed only 1 of 3 4th down attempts.

Stupid penalties can kill a defense, so far this year we have only 86 penalty yards by the defense which is good for 8th fewest in the NFL. The Denver Broncos, the defense that everybody wants us to emulate with their edge rushers, etc, they have 179 yards in penalty yards.

Yeah, what about those Broncos? They are giving up 20 points a game, Steelers only 16. The Broncos have given up twice the number of 3rd down conversions, they are 15 of 29, a 52% conversion rate on 3rd downs, and 1 of 1 on 4th down.

And yet everyone, the media, your average joe on the street would tell you that the Broncos defense is better than the Steelers. Denver is giving up 293 yards per game, the Steelers 398 yards per game. But what if you account for that penalty yardage? Denver's defense is giving up 90 yards a game in penalties, the Steelers only 43 yards. You take those into account and the difference is Denver 383 yards and the Steelers 441 yards, 58 yards separate the two. Yes, the offenses that they face take penalties too, but still something to think about.

The 3rd and 4th down conversions rates have been a sore spot the past two years. Often times we got teams into 3rd down situations that looked pretty favorable only to watch them convert them at a 40% rate. LeBeau's last season teams were very successful converting 4th downs, 10 of 14, 71% against us. So, for us to have really cut down those percentages bodes well that the secondary may just turn out to be just fine.

[Steelafan77]

I'd say you can put William Gay in that category with Golden.