Why Should Lebeau Go??

[FanSince72]

Originally Posted by VictoryFormation

After 15 weeks, the Steeler‘s defense, under coach Dick lebeau, is ranked number 1 in total defense, in the league. This is a defense that is playing along side an offense that is ranked 21st in the league, averaging just 20.8 points per game. With that in mind, there are those in the media, along with fans that are calling for Dick Lebeau to step down. Lebeau said that he doesn’t want to step down yet, but that the decision is, ultimately, up to Mike Tomlin.
Dick Lebeau first became a defensive coordinator in the NFL, back in the 1980’s, with the Bengals. He invented the Zone Blitz, which was made famous by the Pittsburgh-Blitzburgh defense, taking the Steelers to Super Bowl XXX. Lebeau’s second stint as defense coordinator for the Steelers began in 2004, when he took over a struggling defense from Tim Lewis.
With Dick Lebeau as defensive coordinator, the Steelers have won 8 Division Championships, 4 AFC Championships, and 2 Super Bowls.

Please tell me? Why do we need to get rid of Dick Lebeau? Who would take over? Could his replacement be any better?

First of all let's get one thing straight; Dick LeBeau did not "invent" the Zone Blitz - he simply refined it as many Defensive Coordinators have for years. The Zone Blitz has been around for about 40 years and was used extensively by the Miami Dolphins in the early 70's and Bill Arnsparger is often credited with "inventing" it.

That said, LeBeau did use the ZB in ways that were very creative and for a while it was a defensive scheme that was difficult to game-plan against and was thus very successful for a long time. But these days, virtually every team in the league is using some version of the ZB and as a result, most teams have a plan for playing against it.

LeBeau was a great DC and in some ways still is but my biggest complaint with him is that he doesn't seem to be able to adapt to an ever more changing game and he tends to rely on "Old School" methods and this was demonstrated quite clearly when the rules changed regarding the way defensive players can hit offensive players. Being an "Old School" player and coach, LeBeau (like many other such players who became coaches) learned to play defensive football in an era when hitting and intimidation was commonplace and he, naturally, passed on that mindset to his players. This worked for many years and the old "Imposing Your Will" approach, which included a good deal of token hitting and overkill tackling was often all that was necessary to basically scare the shit out of an opponent to the point where receivers shied away from crossing routes or other situations that might result in some crushing blow.

Nowadays, with the rules beefed up to eliminate such contact, LeBeau seems lost. He now (possibly for the first time in his career) has to think of ways to defend against offenses without relying on physicality and to play more as one might play a game of chess and he doesn't seem to be able to do that. He has (thankfully) concentrated more on the Secondary which has improved greatly but has become way too "soft" in the 10 to15-yard area and the line play - particularly in the blitzing department has suffered and I think it's because he can no longer rely on brute force as he has in the past.

Today's game is more about guile and cunning than simply an elbow to the head and I think LeBeau is too steeped in the old physical game (and too old to want to try to change gears now) to try to develop a more cerebral approach to the game.

[rpbncb]

Lebeau isn't going anywhere unless he wants to. He really needs to tweak his defense some but that won't happen unless we get a real HC. But that's another story.

[Riddle_Of_Steel]

Originally Posted by MasterOfPuppets

so who's defense was better ?

Are we comparing our "preciouses"? Who cares? The point is that someone else thinks our defensive scheme is perfect, and I pointed out quite simply that despite the gaudy fasntasy rankings, this defense was unable to stop several of the worst QBs on the worst teams this year.

Originally Posted by MasterOfPuppets

go ahead and list a few and then i'll show you what qb's shredded them ...in case you haven't noticed defenses around the league suck in general thanks to all the new rules to promote scoring.

Again, not sure what this would prove.

[zsheik22]

Lebeau isnt the problem or anything close to it. Your defense isnt always going to hold teams to nothing, especially in this day and age. The defense was something you could definitely win with. The fumbles. Oh God, the fumbles.

[steelfury02]

I'd say plenty of teams would like to have the defense that looked like it was ready to rectify their weaknesses on the perimeter. I won't base a defense on 1 game - but the offense is responsible for more losses than the defense. We take away about 3 god awful performances by Ben, the Wrs, and the RBs, we're sitting at 10-6 or 11-5 instead of 7-8 - that's including the defense getting owned through the first 5 games.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda. The defense got better, the offensive personnel outside of Heath forgot to show up. 8 games by thin margins. Sounds like the offense shooting itself in the foot with the defense keeping it close.

[MasterOfPuppets]

Originally Posted by Riddle_Of_Steel

Are we comparing our "preciouses"? Who cares? The point is that someone else thinks our defensive scheme is perfect, and I pointed out quite simply that despite the gaudy fasntasy rankings, this defense was unable to stop several of the worst QBs on the worst teams this year.



Again, not sure what this would prove.

i just wanna know who's "non-choke" defensive scheme has caught your attention.... i mean who/what defense should the steelers strive to emulate ?
the difference i see between the steelers defense and the defense of some of this years more successful teams is the successful teams are scoring more points than their opponents ... why bother nit picking a defence that gave up 20 points when the offense put up 35 ? but when your offense puts up a measly 17 points all the sudden that 20 looks huge on the score board...
here's some food for thought...if the steelers averaged 35 points a game like the patriots do , they would most likely be 15-0 right now...



i seen way to many individual failures this year to blame it all on the scheme. missed tackles , missed interceptions, and penalties are not part of the "scheme".

[sloppyjoe]

i will run him out of town as soon as the offense finishes in the top 5 for 3-4 years and the defense is the cause of the losses.

[MasterOfPuppets]

Originally Posted by sloppyjoe

i will run him out of town as soon as the offense finishes in the top 5 for 3-4 years and the defense is the cause of the losses.

thats the point i was making. the pats defense is usually in the bottom 3rd of the league but do you think pats fans are focused on that ? no because they are still getting the W's.

[austinfrench76]

#1 defense in the league. #1 against the pass, #2 agianst the run, 10th in scoring. No matter what we argue about on here. Dick is coming back. Those are great stats and we will miss him if he leaves. I know we rank near the bottom in TO's but that is not due to defensive play calling. They need to teach these guys a strip move and park the DB's in front of a juggs machine!!!

[White_Steel_Wolfe]

Originally Posted by MasterOfPuppets

i just wanna know who's "non-choke" defensive scheme has caught your attention.... i mean who/what defense should the steelers strive to emulate ?
the difference i see between the steelers defense and the defense of some of this years more successful teams is the successful teams are scoring more points than their opponents ... why bother nit picking a defence that gave up 20 points when the offense put up 35 ? but when your offense puts up a measly 17 points all the sudden that 20 looks huge on the score board...
here's some food for thought...if the steelers averaged 35 points a game like the patriots do , they would most likely be 15-0 right now...



i seen way to many individual failures this year to blame it all on the scheme. missed tackles , missed interceptions, and penalties are not part of the "scheme".

Agree