Eagles' D v. Steelers' D

[Mulli]

Eagles ranked #3

Steelers ranked #1

I am thinking Eagle's D was better than the Steelers this year.

I am almost positive that the Eagle secondary is better for sure.

I would take Dawk over Poolamoola.


Anyone disagree?

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Eagles ranked #3

Steelers ranked #1

Important point!

 

[Mulli]

Look closely at the Steelers division. Faced Bmore, Browns, Bengals.


Please.

 

[Mulli]

In playoffs:

Beat Chargers in the snow and Bmore with rookie QB?

Interesting.

 

[BigDavis75]

The Steelers D is way better, the Eagles have no one that can even compare to guys like Harrison and Woodley. I would say Philly's scondary is marginally better but as a unit the steelers D is much better.

 

[Mulli]

The Steelers D is way better, the Eagles have no one that can even compare to guys like Harrison and Woodley. I would say Philly's scondary is marginally better but as a unit the steelers D is much better.

Harrison and Woodley, got it. Eagles Falcons and Pants play in much tougher divisions. So who have Steelers proved there lofty position against.

Joe Flacco?

 

[nashman]

I would say they are very close, Pitts weak ass division inflates their numbers and Philly definately has a better secondary. I think they are going to be very simular to the game we just played, except we will not be at home and I am sure mostly a Steelers crowd will be cheering. It will be a close game within a score or so and I think the Cardinals finish this amazing run off.... and sadly I think Warner will call it a career and go out on top!

 

[82CardsGrad]

Eagles ranked #3

Steelers ranked #1

I am thinking Eagle's D was better than the Steelers this year.

I am almost positive that the Eagle secondary is better for sure.

I would take Dawk over Poolamoola.


Anyone disagree?

As an entire unit, the Eagles are arguably better. However, the Steelers have a ton more playmakers than do the Eagles... Harrison, Woodley and Palamalu are some of the best playmakers in the game today. And yes, I would take Palamalu over Dawkins without even a second thought. Dawkins is old and one-dimensional. Palamalu flies all over the field, hits like a train, is fast, can play the run and the pass with the best of them...

Still, there isn't a defense out there that can stop our offense. None... The question for the Super Bowl will be, can the Steelers keep up with our scoring... We will ring up more points than any other team has against the Steelers in this post season. What can they do about that??

 

[Mulli]

As an entire unit, the Eagles are arguably better. However, the Steelers have a ton more playmakers than do the Eagles... Harrison, Woodley and Palamalu are some of the best playmakers in the game today. And yes, I would take Palamalu over Dawkins without even a second thought. Dawkins is old and one-dimensional. Palamalu flies all over the field, hits like a train, is fast, can play the run and the pass with the best of them...

Still, there isn't a defense out there that can stop our offense. None... The question for the Super Bowl will be, can the Steelers keep up with our scoring... We will ring up more points than any other team has against the Steelers in this post season. What can they do about that??

I like it.

Do we need a D McNabb with Fatheadburger thread?

 

[Magoo]

Half of the AFC North was weak. Hard to call the division weak when two teams represented the division for the AFC Championship.

I don't see any of you stating that the Cardinals offensive numbers are inflated by playing in the worst division in the NFL (fewest wins in regular season by a division in 2008, Pittsburgh/Baltimore had more wins than entire NFC West).

This should be a close Super Bowl.

Inflated numbers or not on both sides, this will be great offense vs. great defense.

 

[Mulli]

Half of the AFC North was weak. Hard to call the division weak when two teams represented the division for the AFC Championship.

I don't see any of you stating that the Cardinals offensive numbers are inflated by playing in the worst division in the NFL (fewest wins in regular season by a division in 2008, Pittsburgh/Baltimore had more wins than entire NFC West).



Well, they only surrendered 10 points @ New England. Remember them?

This should be a close Super Bowl.

Inflated numbers or not on both sides, this will be great offense vs. great defense.

Okay, but Bmore's offense isn't really as good as the SEA or SF offense is it?

Against Matt Cassell at home? Great.

 

[Stout]

Eagles ranked #3

Steelers ranked #1

I am thinking Eagle's D was better than the Steelers this year.

I am almost positive that the Eagle secondary is better for sure.

I would take Dawk over Poolamoola.


Anyone disagree?

Uh, Polamalu is waaaaaaaaaaay better.

 

[BlueTalon]

Eagles ranked #3

Steelers ranked #1

As a measure of effectiveness, these stats are meaningless. They are based solely on yards allowed. It's impossible to really tell which defense is better without looking at other criteria.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I'd take a Dawkins of 5 years ago over Troy. Not now.

 

[Mulli]

As a measure of effectiveness, these stats are meaningless. They are based solely on yards allowed. It's impossible to really tell which defense is better without looking at other criteria.

I'd take a Dawkins of 5 years ago over Troy. Not now.

Ok, poolomoola is better now. Yes those rankings are kinda silly.

 

[ajcardfan]

Uh, Polamalu is waaaaaaaaaaay better.

That's for sure. Dawkins had a TERRIBLE game Sunday. He and Demps were the worst players on the field.

 

[SteelersDave]

I have to defend my defense. I think you are attempting to gloss over just how good our defense is. We beat a 37 year old NFL record for holding teams to under 300 total yards of offense in 14 straight games. We faced 5 of the top 10 offenses in the league during that stretch. We only allowed an absolutely astounding 156 ypg passing. The Eagles defense better than ours? You cannot be serious lol.

 

[BCEagle]

Uh, Polamalu is waaaaaaaaaaay better.

Polamalu is a strong safety; Dawkins is a free safety. The two positions are very different -- it is like comparing apples and oranges.

 

[Stout]

Polamalu is a strong safety; Dawkins is a free safety. The two positions are very different -- it is like comparing apples and oranges.

True. I'm just guaging them as far as impact in the game.

 

[b8rtm8nn]

Steelers are solid, this will be a tough game and I think a great matchup.

I'm more worried about stopping their offense since (like McNabb) Roethy will step up when pressured, if his receivers don't cave like the Eagles, then they hold the advantage.

I also think their special teams is better. As usual, depends on who shows up to win.

 

[Black and gold]

There is no comparison between the Steeler's D and Phillies. The Steeler's D is absolutely suffocating where as there are holes in the Philly D if you could run against them. Steelers play very tight in pass coverage and with the pressure they get from Harrison and Woodley, they cause many incomplete throws.

Best case for the Cards is to come out running, then go to play action with short to intermediate throws. I like the Cards in the 2 tailback look with Warner under center. Steelers have some trouble with this look especially when you run your receivers on crossing routes to open up the swing pass to one of the tailbacks. Key is quick passes to the flats and away from Troy. He reacts too quickly. Slant routes are dangerous and Steelers like to have linebackers drop back causing tight windows which are dangerous. If I were the Cards, I'd run a couple misdirection plays that take advantage of the over aggressive Steeler's D. I love that misdirection screen the Cards run. Very effective and 10x better than your regular screen play. Leonard Pope might have a decent game too if he delays his release and stops 7-9 yrds down field. Don't spread the field. Keep that bunched wr group you guys run. Throws fear in opposing teams and a lot of confusion. Cards got away from doing this earlier in the season going to the 4-5 wide instead and it caught up to them.

On D, the best thing the Cards can do is keep blitzing to a minimum. Ben thrives on finding space on the blitz and coming up with big plays. HE's just so darn hard to bring down and when his adrenalin kicks in, he somehow breaks tackles and finds receivers down the field. Rush 3-4 and go with a cover 2 type package. Ben has trouble when there's too many defensive backs and he sometimes makes mistakes. Even when he has all day, he'll press.

 

[TigToad]

I get way more Steelers nation talk than I would like having a very good friend who is a die-hard Steelers fan... so I, in no way, underestimate the defense.

I think the bigger issue is, with the exception of New England, which everyone is going to claim snow on, no opposing defense has really shut us down. We scored 20+ points, I believe, all but twice this year (7 against NE in the snow and 17 against the Vikings at home). We put up 32 on the Eagles defense, which i"ll grant, isn't near as good as the Steelers defense, but is impressive in its own right. Even back east in a horrible Thanksgiving game we put up 20 on the Eagles in Philly.

I think the general thought, and my hope is a die-hard Cardinals fan, is that we can put up 20-24 points on the Steelers, even with their great defense. If you want to look at a game to get tips to keep that from happening, look to Minnesota. (my tip to the Cardinals on that is don't go down by 14 right away).

The real question is, can the Cardinals defense limit the Steelers to 19-23 points. Our defense is a middle ranked defense (with some abnormal games working against us -- hopefully abnormal games). The Steelers offense is vulnerable however, especially on the o-line and we have shut down much better run games.

I think this whole game comes down to... can the Cardinals defense limit the Steelers offense. I'm sure we get our points.. we won't put up 32 and probably not 24.. but I thinkw e can get the 21 we need to win... can we stop the Steelers from doing the same?

Thats the question in my mind.

I have to defend my defense. I think you are attempting to gloss over just how good our defense is. We beat a 37 year old NFL record for holding teams to under 300 total yards of offense in 14 straight games. We faced 5 of the top 10 offenses in the league during that stretch. We only allowed an absolutely astounding 156 ypg passing. The Eagles defense better than ours? You cannot be serious lol.

 

[CardLogic]

Don't kid yourself, guys! That Steelers defense is for real, they are solid.

In terms of comparison I would only consider the secondary of the Eagles a better unit than the Steelers secondary. However Polamalu is much better than Dawkins at this point. Total defense of Steelers is the best in the NFL and they proven it.

Also if you are going to criticize their "weak division" (isn't that what has been said about the Cardinals?), then look at their overall schedule this season. Pittsburgh played against the NFC East and the AFC South this year, add in New England and San Diego. In truth the Steelers have played one of the toughest schedules in the league this season.

That said, I believe TigToad nailed it in his post. This game will be decided by the Cardinals defense against the Steelers offense. Whichever unit wins that battle will win the game.

 

[RonF]

Palamalu is an exceptional player who does it all. I personally think he is one of the best defensive players in football and is hard to scheme him out of a game.

 

[Mulli]

Palamalu is an exceptional player who does it all. I personally think he is one of the best defensive players in football and is hard to scheme him out of a game.

He is good. But how is the rest of the Steelers' secondary?

I really want to know.