I just looked this up to satisfy my curiosity.
Last year, the defense was great, and we won the Super Bowl. This year, we give up leads like nobody’s business.
Key stat: Opponent 3rd Down Conversion %:
2008: 31.7% - #1 in the NFL.
2009: 41.6% - #27 in the NFL.
Sad.
Very sad.
It’s been a weakness of this defense for a while though, last year was the exception rather than the norm. For this defense to click on third downs we need more depth at corner and I’m sure the team thought we were good there before the season started despite the loss of McFadden. I thought it looked good too but Townsend has lost a step, Ratliff didn’t perform, Gay didn’t look as comfortable as last year when he filled in. Lots of reasons without even considering Polamalu.
I think what really kills them is this late in the season teams have enough game tape to see that no one in our secondary can make them pay for throwing a ball up so why not take your chances? If you’re a Raiders or Chiefs or Browns squad with nothing to lose if you’re wrong and a lot of confidence to gain from beating the defending champs if you’re right you take those deep shots. The pass rush isn’t threatening you and the secondary won’t make you pay.
In the Super Bowl the cardinals exposed another weakness of the 3-4 which the Patriots had previously exploited on us by hitting the flats with quick passes. The response has been to drop the outside linebackers into coverage more than I’ve ever seen from this team. They had to do that but it’s had a bad effect on the pass rush.
In other news, Limas Sweed and Greg Warren are done for the season. We won’t miss Sweed but Greg Warren could be tough to replace. Long snapping looks easy until you get a bum in there. No word on what’s wrong with Sweed. They’re saying non-football related illness.
I think the worrisome aspect is that last year was an outlier in regards to our pass defense. Usually, we have an extraordinarily stifling run defense and a mediocre pass defense. I do believe we are worse now on pass defense, even moreso than is typical for us, but that’s historically been our weak link. We just can’t survive being average in run defense and simultaneously being unable to control the clock on offense.
I know that William Gay is obviously the place to throw against us, but it was exceptionally frustrating to watch on Green Bay’s later drives, where they needed three or four yards to convert a first down, and he’s playing 10 yards off. How much easier could you make it? To make matters even worse, on one or two plays, he even missed the tackle after playing soft and giving up the short yardage reception.
Looking over the play by play of the Browns-Steelers game, I don’t see a single completed deep pass. All the completions are labelled as “short”, which I think means 0-10 yards. The Browns didn’t win that game on any fluke big plays - they won the game because they utterly dominated the Steelers at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
The Browns were just an example of a team with little to lose by taking deep shots if they didn’t have a noodle-armed quarterback. I don’t recall anyone saying their win was a result of fluke big plays anyhow. They won because they played better. Period. Exposing another team’s weakness isn’t a fluke either, it’s smart football. Teams should keep going at William Gay and Tyrone Carter until the Steelers give them a reason to do otherwise.
It sounded like you were implying that all of those teams won by taking chances and making plays - I just wanted to clarify that point.
No, sorry for the confusion, I meant risk-taking but not in a bad way. It goes back to the third-down conversions. If you think you might turn the ball over making certain throws, you might hold off or at least wait that extra beat that let’s the pass rush get to you. Right now teams can throw with confidence. The worst that will happen is an incompletion most of the time.
I actually thought the Browns would have beaten us in the first match-up if it hadn’t been for all the dropped passes. Some of those guys were in position to to run after the catch for big yards, IF they would have held on to the ball.
There’s no disputing this. It was clear to me by the second half that the Steelers just simply gave up. They were outworked, outschemed, outgutted, outmanned, and any other out you want to apply to it.
And Josh Cribbs rubbed his nuts on the face of the entire 45 man active roster - and the emergency QB just for good measure.
Yeah, I know - I’m talking a lot for 1 victory out of the last 7200 matchups. What else do I have this season?
The most embarrassing part of that game was one of the sacks given up by Chris Kemoeatu. I forget who the Browns’ DE was but he charged toward the a-gap and then stopped and stood straight up. Kemo stopped and looked around like the play was over but he hadn’t heard the whistle and then the DE blew past him for the sack. I have no words for it, all I can do is shake my head.
Well, he was an impact player of course, but that’s relative to the rest of the Browns.
He ended up with 87 rushing yards, 9 receiving yards, 42 kickoff return yards, 60 punt return yards and no TDs. I suppose whether or not that qualifies as rubbing one’s nuts on the face of one’s opponents is a matter of perspective. But if that’s what you choose to crow about in that game, it’s certainly your choice. The Steelers did nothing to nobody all night long.
Well, considering he was only in the game for a few wildcat/gadget plays, I’d say 87 rushing yards is pretty good. His early big return may have set the tone, although the rest of the offense sucked too much to score a TD from it.
I guess I’m factoring in past history too - Cribbs always torches you guys … obviously usually in losses, but that’s not his fault.
Vaginaitis. He needs to throw some sand in his pussy and learn to catch the damn ball.
Ah, who cares. he’s gone just as soon as the season is over. Maybe the Browns will take him, like they do with the rest of the Steelers’ castoffs.
As a Packer fan, BTW, I just wanted to come in a give extreme props to Mike Wallace for that helluva catch. I’m not happy about the loss, but you gotta givce it up to quality when you see it.
So Limas Sweed finishes the season with 1 catch for 5 yards. Wow, that’s incomprehensibly bad for a guy who can get open like he does. Did he forget how to catch balls after leaving college? I don’t get it. Hines Ward’s hamstring apparently was so sore he could barely walk following Sunday’s game but he said there’s no way he’s missing the game against the Ravens. I don’t think any of us can question his toughness but it’s interesting that Hines called out Ben but nary a word has been said about Troy missing so much time. I really thought he would be back for the Green Bay game.
Coach Tomlin has announced that Deshea Townsend will be starting this week in place of Gay. Kind of late, but better late than never. Townsend will still move inside in the nickel package though; he’s always been more of a nickel corner than an outside guy.
Was anyone else as happy as I was about that onside kick that Tomlin called last week? I think it was clear to everyone in the stadium that he was calling the defense on the carpet with that call. I think that’s the best way to challenge a veteran defense like this. Attack their pride. You have to do it in a way that will challenge them without losing them and I think it was the right approach. Again, too late but those are the types of mistakes you make when you have an underperforming team that’s made up of almost all the same guys you just won a Super Bowl with.
I typically don’t jinx the Steelers by talking about stuff like this, but they have done me wrong so many times this year that I don’t feel bad in bringing it up.
The Steelers playoff scenario comes down to this (all have to happen this week):
They win at Baltimore
The Jets lose to the Colts
The Titans lose to the Dolphins
The Jaguars lose to the Patriots
The Broncos lose to the Eagles
If that happens, believe it or not, the Steelers are win-and-in going into the last week against the Dolphins.
Here’s the good news, though: all four of the teams that must lose are underdogs.
I think the Steelers have a hell of a chance. There are other scenarios, but all of them depend entirely upon Pittsburgh winning out.
Turn off the lights. The party’s over.
You know, I hope for your sake and that of about 10 other pinheads here that they don’t make the playoffs, because if they do I’m going to beat you guys to death with it every chance I get. And if by some miracle they not only make the playoffs but win the Super Bowl, you guys better pack it in.
Yeah because when things get tough you might as well quit right? Even if they don’t succeed it’s crucial to re-establish the winning attitude we know so well.
ROFL!! Too true, too true! 