#1 Defense By Smoke & Mirrors

[Hawaii 5-0]

Originally Posted by Bayz101

Our defense was awful!

no kidding, how does Lawrence Timmons not run in that interception in OT to win the game?

instead, we have to depend on Suisham to kick a 23-yard FG to seal the victory.

friggen defense...

[lloydwoodson]

LeBeau is doing a helluva job this year. Farrior retired and he was the leader on defense. Polamalu, Harrison, and Woodley are all battling injuries constantly. The Steelers have sitll given up the fewest yards per game in the league. That is very impressive to me. This team is playing really well. The Steelers have won 4 in a row and if you're not happy with that... there's the door.

[FanSince72]

As a frequent critic of Mr. LeBeau and as someone who still believes we have a way to go in terms of the overall performance of our defense, I have to say that after a rocky start, the defense has really come around and is playing quite well lately. In fact, one of my most common complaints over the last couple of seasons has been that we can't seem to stop teams on 3rd and long or other critical situations and even that has changed for the better.

We still have some issues and we still need to see how LeBeau uses Troy when he gets healthy, but overall I am really liking what I'm seeing lately and I hope we keep improving.

[jtbsteeler]

If you're #1 after week 10 its legit. With the way the rules are made to help the offense, to be #1 at this point is a testament.

#1 overall and #1 against the pass. The Ravens just put up 55points. After the defense wins the game next week please come back and repeat your mantra. Don't back down from your stance that this defense is "smoke and mirrors".

[steelfury02]

all they need to do is find Ray Rice. Why teams constantly let him chip off and get into the flat time and time again is beyond me

[maddog78]

Originally Posted by steelfury02

all they need to do is find Ray Rice. Why teams constantly let him chip off and get into the flat time and time again is beyond me

He's a superstar, it's not just a matter of teams "letting him do stuff".

The defense is overrated, IMO, but doing the best they can with the aging, injured players on the roster.

The DL is in dire straits, IMO.

[SteeleReign]

I believe the defense is not the best defense in the league, but I do believe they have gotten better and certainly saved the Steelers' asses yesterday.

There is not enough pressure on the QB and the secondary is still suspect in my mind.

As we all know, the Steelers play to win Super Bowls, not to get into the playoffs and lose. That being said, they will need to beat the likes of Brady, Manning, Schaub, Rodgers, Brees, Ryan, etc to win the Big One. I just don't think the defense, as it looks now, can stop those QBs. Pitt has played one elite QB (P. Manning) and one near-elite QB in Eli Manning. The rest have been between dogshit and average - two of which beat us. The win against Eli is a bit over-hyped - Eli has been pathetic since week 2 and has clearly regressed.

It's not smoke & mirrors, but it's also not as dominant as it appears on paper. We'll find out a lot about this defense over the next three weeks. They will clearly need to be at the top of their game against the Ravens, especially with the no-huddle Flacco likes so much now.

[stiller39]

the Chiefs had lots of success running to Ziggy Hoods side. I don't think he played well at all. I know the Crows will see this on tape also.....just saying

[Terminator]

Originally Posted by stiller39

the Chiefs had lots of success running to Ziggy Hoods side. I don't think he played well at all. I know the Crows will see this on tape also.....just saying

Ziggy Hood has been more or less a bust since he was drafted.

[cubanstogie]

Originally Posted by TRH

i believe the defense is honestly, somewhere in the middle of the pack in the league. They're not the worst, but they sure as hell ain't the best....by far.

That said - the offense was HORRIBLE tonight. I couldn't believe how many 1-yard gain and "no-gain" plays we ran...i started to lose count.
And once again : during the last 5 minutes of the 4th, we play "not to win the game - but to play conservatively" and the result of that is 3 and outs and giving the ball back to the other team for them to tie or win. I don't understand. All the other good teams either seal the deal or try to seal it. We don't. Its mindboggling....and it never changes.

They have gotten a lot better at trying to seal the deal since arrival of Haley. Atleast against the Giants anyways. It did bug the crap out of me the last couple of years always relying on D. But last night it was completely understandable. Lefty needs too much time to throw and has no mobility, a bad combination. The Chiefs couldn't do much all game offensively and they went with the odds. I don't think it was 3 and out,they did get a 3rd down conversion to Sanders unless I am mixing up possesions. Lefty and Batch were great backups 3 or 4 years ago, but last night showed how much we need Ben and how much we need a young back up.