It's Scheme, not Talent.

[ricardisimo]

Originally Posted by Steeldude

There will be no adjustments anytime soon. Lebeau does adjust, but he does it years later. Look no further than the Patriots. How many times did Brady tear up the Steelers' defense?

So you're going to judge a defense based on what Tom Brady in his prime did to it? You do realize, of course, that this means there were no good defenses anywhere in the league for the entirety of the 2000s?

[OX1947]

Tomlin's game plans in the 4th quarter are the main issue. Steelers havent been blowing or making things tense at the end of 4th quarters just the last year. It almost cost the Steelers a Super Bowl. Almost blew a 21 point lead in the 2010 AFC title game. Tomlin needs to figure out how to kill clock in the 4th. The Steelers had the greatest 4th quarter coach of all time, it makes it obvious. He needs to figure out how to kill clock in the 4th with a damn lead.

[Edman]

Dickard the Genius humiliated again, and the Steelers didn't even play this week.

All-World Carson Palmer vs. Denver.

19/34, 202 Yards, 0 TD.

Raiders lose 37 to 6.

[Hawaii 5-0]

Polamalu: Steelers' scheme isn't the problem

Dejan Kovacevic



Troy Polamalu gave a flat answer when asked if the Steelers' defense needed to change: "To be quite honest, this is a question that you guys ask us at this same point every single year since I've been here. We're not going to change. It's about how we execute and how we can win our one-on-one matchups. If we don't, it's nothing to do with the scheme of things. It's just that we're not performing."

He then laughed and added, "Maybe I ought to make a recording of that."

http://sulia.com/channel/pittsburgh-...source=twitter

[GoFor7]

Originally Posted by Hawaii 5-0

Polamalu: Steelers' scheme isn't the problem

Dejan Kovacevic



Troy Polamalu gave a flat answer when asked if the Steelers' defense needed to change: "To be quite honest, this is a question that you guys ask us at this same point every single year since I've been here. We're not going to change. It's about how we execute and how we can win our one-on-one matchups. If we don't, it's nothing to do with the scheme of things. It's just that we're not performing."

He then laughed and added, "Maybe I ought to make a recording of that."

http://sulia.com/channel/pittsburgh-...source=twitter

Right or wrong, I wouldn't expect many players on that defense to say otherwise.

Although, I should point out the week leading up to the Patriots game last year some of the defensive players pulled the "we are who we are" card.

[Edman]

And then they sprung an aggressive man defense on New England.

Troy isn't going to talk smack on Lebeau in the media. He's not that kind of person.

Even though Dickard has pretty much set them up to fail, the vets respect Lebeau not to talk crap on him in the media. They know something is clearly wrong with the Defense they've been running, but they're not going to air it out.

[Riddle_Of_Steel]

Originally Posted by Hawaii 5-0

Polamalu: Steelers' scheme isn't the problem

Dejan Kovacevic



Troy Polamalu gave a flat answer when asked if the Steelers' defense needed to change: "To be quite honest, this is a question that you guys ask us at this same point every single year since I've been here. We're not going to change. It's about how we execute and how we can win our one-on-one matchups. If we don't, it's nothing to do with the scheme of things. It's just that we're not performing."

He then laughed and added, "Maybe I ought to make a recording of that."

http://sulia.com/channel/pittsburgh-...source=twitter

Maybe Polamalu needs to make a recording of what our biggest gripe was with Bruce Arians-- he made his players run "his scheme", instead of custom tailoring the scheme to match the talent he has available.

If our guys on defense are not "executing and winning the one-on-one matchups", then the scheme needs to be adjusted accordingly, lest we find ourselves entering "square peg, round hole" territory....

I realize that Polamalu is too classy a guy to call out his mentor and DC in front of the press.

Whatever the guys are saying-- the problem was scheme, moreso than execution. With this same injury-riddled roster we have now (no Harrison, old Dline, no pass rush), we beat the Patriots soundly last year-- and they are one of the highest flying of the high flying offenses in the NFL right now.

You CANNOT tell me that this defense can shut down Tom Brady, but cannot handle Carson Palmer and Darrent McFadden-- not if the right scheme is called.

The sky is NOT falling, and we do NOT need to get rid of Lebeau (you should have your head checked if you are suggesting this) but some things need to change moving forward.

* More press coverage to give the pass rush time to land some sacks, and better job of disguising who is playing deep each play (Peyton Manning was keying off of where Polamalu was lining up pre-snap each play--QBs have to learn to respect our deep secondary at least a little bit for Troy to be able to do his thing).

* No more soft zone cushions, unless the CBs start having trouble staying with their guys consistently in man coverage. We have athletic corners, but they cannot make the play when they are being told to line up 10 yards off their guy.

* Pull some of the snaps Big Snack and Kiesel have been getting and give some snaps to Cam Heyward and Steve Mclendon. At least 50/50. Both have looked awesome this season, but have only been given a literal handful of snaps-- and somehow, the press is seeing phantom #97 and #90 getting "no push" on every play, even though they got a cumulative 11 snaps between the two of them against the Raiders. Cam Heyward closes out the Jets game with a big sack (his second snap), and then gets.....5 touches the next game in favor of an aging veteran with bad knees. Dumb. Kiesel and hamp may just need some more time to heal up, considering they jsut went through rehab for major knee injuries-- not sure why we were in such a rush to start them this year when we have capable guys behind them.

* Timmons needs to wake the hell up.

* Replace Ryan Mundy with a new cardboard cutout if Troy is not ready to go this Sunday.

In all, I would not be alarmed, fellow Steelers faithful....this team is going to get stronger as the year goes on:

* More time with Haley's system.

* Colon will adjust to LG in time.

* Mendenhall coming back.

* Redman getting healthy with less touches.

* DeCastro coming back.

* Poalamlu coming back.

* James Harrison playing his way back to health.

* Either Kiesel and Hamp get healthier legs under them, or Cam & Steve era begins.

[teegre]

Originally Posted by Edman

the vets respect Lebeau not to talk crap on him in the media. They know something is clearly wrong with the Defense they've been running, but they're not going to air it out.

I think that there is something wrong... and the Steelers know that there is something wrong... and the players know that there is something wrong. All three facets (fans, coaches, players) are accustomed to having a top five defense... and none of those three will sit idly by & allow this team's defense to slip downward.

They WILL solve this problem.

In-fighting... or throwing each other under the bus does not help.

Again, I am certain that they are aware of the problem... and that they are all collectively trying to figure it out.

[ricardisimo]

Originally Posted by teegre

I think that there is something wrong... and the Steelers know that there is something wrong... and the players know that there is something wrong. All three facets (fans, coaches, players) are accustomed to having a top five defense... and none of those three will sit idly by & allow this team's defense to slip downward.

They WILL solve this problem.

In-fighting... or throwing each other under the bus does not help.

Again, I am certain that they are aware of the problem... and that they are all collectively trying to figure it out.

Technically, we do have a top-5 defense. Now, you can qualify that all you want, and you can all be regular spoiled Steelers fans who can't stomach the thought that other teams, by rule, are allowed to win from time-to-time. Or, you can take a peek into the league's present and future thanks to Mr. Goodell and company. In other words, they really are a top-5 defense in this league, and you can all stop whining.

The flip side to this is that they always turn it around whenever they dip downwards, so just imagine how good they're going to be in a few weeks when they get their studs back and iron a few kinks out.

[Hawaii 5-0]

Originally Posted by Riddle_Of_Steel

* Timmons needs to wake the hell up.

* Replace Ryan Mundy with a new cardboard cutout if Troy is not ready to go this Sunday.