We need to talk about this defense (2 Viewers)

[EGLSShin]

Front 7 is far too slow.

 

[DaveXA]

Dead last in pass rush win rate in 2022, dead last in 2023. I’ve been asking myself, what did I expect?

That happens when you blitz such a low percentage.

 

[Rouxble]

That happens when you blitz such a low percentage.

That metric is how often the DL beats the OL. And we send 5+ at one of the highest rates in the league, believe it or not. This game may have changed that because we tried and failed to contain instead.

 

[slikk]

Front 7 is far too slow.

They wanted cam jordan back extended him instead of letting him walk. 2 sacks on the season. Great leader and no production. Same as mathieu Great leader no production only tackle was shown was a face mask.

 

[faceman]

It makes me jealous of the Steelers. They're consistently good on defense and allow their average offense a chance to win games week in and week out.

Our defense is jekyll and hyde. We don't know which defense will show up from week to week.

The Steelers have ran a 3-4 as their base since Joe Greene and L.C. Greenwood retired in 1982.
I've always liked the 3-4. You can blitz any of the 4 Lb'ers and still have 7 in coverage. The key
according to the late Sam Mills was having a NT who could take on double teams and not be
moved off his spot. He said NT Jim Wilkes was the real MVP of their defense. The Steelers just
have a knack for finding a good NT and those tweener DE/OLB types who can rush the passer.

 

[RJ in Lafayette]

This defense is not close to being elite. The cornerbacks are. The front seven are average. And because of the front seven, we overall lack speed on defense.

 

[Dallas_Saint73]

the defense seems to struggle with mobile qbs for some reason

We don’t have LBs that have fast side to side speed.

 

[Deuuuuce]

We’ve been dead last in pass rush win rate all season after being dead last in 2022. The idea that we are overflowing with talent in the front seven can’t be accurate.

What’s interesting is that PFF found a few years back that coverage plays a bigger role in good pass defense than pass rush, but I don’t think they accounted for the being the worst pass rushing team.

a good pass rush is a secondaries best friend…ours stinks this year. Dobbs looked like he was back at Tenessee carving up college defenses

 

[BayouSAINTJoe]

We don't blitz enough....said this last year when we beat up our DEs for not getting enough sacks. We're rushing 4 guys against 5-6 blockers and are dissappointed no one gets through?

Weird times.

We need to help our DEs by sending additional rushers, that creates a level of confusion that level of confusion leads to hesitation which gives your DEs a little bit of an edge in their 1 on 1s. We just play a simple base D that says our 11 is better than your 11...with our secondary playing at a high level it masks the vanilla nature of the scheme....but lack of a pass rush is definitely a symptom of our blandness.

 

[FlySaint]

Look, the talent is there on D. While our starting DEs are subpar, we’ve gotten pressure with Kpass and Bresee, and sometimes Braun. Out LBs overall are average, so adequate. Our DBs are outstanding, aside from Matthieu.

What’s letting us down is the coaching staff. Every element of coaching is inadequate. Our philosophy and game planning are antiquated. Our in game adjustments are abysmal.

Can anyone honestly say that any other average NFL coaching staff wouldn’t get more out of our personnel?

Fire DA now!

(and PC, even though this is a defensive thread)

 

[Tony1Saintfan]

But no one in the US has that number, soooo...

Jenny does

 

[No2DC]

They're not elite. We have not beaten a winning team yet.

 

[TurboWhoDat]

There’s just zero speed and no standout athleticism. Can never get to the QB and if they scramble there’s nobody fast enough to run them down so it’s on a DB to stop them.

 

[Noble Saint]

The front six don’t get it done and DA refuses to blitz

That’s what I saw. He finally blitzed later on in 2nd half. Refused to first half.

 

[meily]

“Elite” Defenses don’t only play half a game….

This is not an elite defense, this is a good defense