Let's Take a Closer Look at the Steelers D

[steeler tim]

That's not what I said at all. I said your defense's deficencies have been disguised by the volume of foul weather games you have played.

and as Luke said our offense's awesomeness has been disguised by the same thing. I really don't care if we win 51-50 or 3-0 ... just that we win. I'm sure you hope for the same.

 

[PACardsFan]

I just listened to Tony Dungy (former Steeler) & he was emphatic in saying that the Steelers D will have a MUCH toughter task stopping the Cardinals O than the Cardinals D will have stopping the Steeler O. We'll just have to wait until Sunday folks. Because of their storied past, the current Steelers are given the benefit of the doubt. Conversely, because of our past, we don't. The Cardinals are the better team & they will prove it Sunday!

 

[SteelCityMom]

Great post, Steel Mom!

I apologize if I'm getting a little worked up the closer we get.

Oh I'm getting worked up too...and for as calm as I've tried to be the past week and a half, it's all changed the past couple of days, and Sunday I know I will be a complete freak.

I figure though if I type out grounded thoughts maybe it'll keep me grounded if we lose the game...I doubt it but maybe lol.

 

[LukesDad88]

I just listened to Tony Dungy (former Steeler) & he was emphatic in saying that the Steelers D will have a MUCH toughter task stopping the Cardinals O than the Cardinals D will have stopping the Steeler O. We'll just have to wait until Sunday folks. Because of their storied past, the current Steelers are given the benefit of the doubt. Conversely, because of our past, we don't. The Cardinals are the better team & they will prove it Sunday!

Of course, that could explain why he's been such a big "winner" in the postseason.

 

[LukesDad88]

Seriously, as a Steeler fan, that analysis does get me more concerned, as Dungy's opinion is a heck of alot better than just about all of these other hack analysts.

 

[1DS]

Rich Eisen told me that Dungy predicted a 27-13 win for the Cardinals after they cut to commercial...

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Rich Eisen told me that Dungy predicted a 27-13 win for the Cardinals after they cut to commercial...

And I thought my 30-21 prediction was some rabid homerism. Wow.

 

[LukesDad88]

Rich Eisen told me that Dungy predicted a 27-13 win for the Cardinals after they cut to commercial...

Told you personally, did he?

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Your team lost 7 games this year, and were blown out in a few as well. So is it your offense or defense that is overrated?

FYI:

Atlanta: John Abraham 16.5 sacks in season (0) against Cards

Carolina: Julius Peppers 14.5 sacks in season (0) against Cards

Philly: Darren Howard 10 sacks in season (0) against Cards

Philly: Trent Cole 9 sacks in season (1) against Cards

Oh... and if you decide to blitz: The Cards were blitized 218 times this season, by far the most, and gave up 6 sacks.

 

[Covert Rain]

Some of you are serious koolaid drinkers if you think the Steelers defense is overrated.

 

[red desert]

Steelers have played one game above 50 degrees. There defense is grossly overrated by the fact that they play consistently in sub optimal conditions that hide how weak their corners are. They will be exposed this weekend on a fast track field in Tampa.

Excellent point, Chris.

 

[red desert]

I just listened to Tony Dungy (former Steeler) & he was emphatic in saying that the Steelers D will have a MUCH toughter task stopping the Cardinals O than the Cardinals D will have stopping the Steeler O. We'll just have to wait until Sunday folks. Because of their storied past, the current Steelers are given the benefit of the doubt. Conversely, because of our past, we don't. The Cardinals are the better team & they will prove it Sunday!

And with that, i bid you good night.

 

[Cards Czar]

Some of you are serious koolaid drinkers if you think the Steelers defense is overrated.

Not saying that the Steelers Defense is bad, they are really really good but they have not faced us yet. If you go back to last years game between us you will see the after warner came in for Leinart the he nip picked your defense apart. Dont beleve me watch the film. Your defense cannot contain a 4 WR spread. Warner uses that 3 step drop and with his quick release you team better bring your A game. We on the other hand better have our A game on Defense. (fingers crossed). This game will be decided by 3 points.

 

[LukesDad88]

Not saying that the Steelers Defense is bad, they are really really good but they have not faced us yet. If you go back to last years game between us you will see the after warner came in for Leinart the he nip picked your defense apart. Dont beleve me watch the film. Your defense cannot contain a 4 WR spread. Warner uses that 3 step drop and with his quick release you team better bring your A game. We on the other hand better have our A game on Defense. (fingers crossed). This game will be decided by 3 points.

Last year was last year. Different schemes, players at different livel of health, and a scheme based on stopping Leinert, not Warner.

For all the talk about who's better, what it's really going to come down to is who makes the most mistakes.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Steelers have played one game above 50 degrees. There defense is grossly overrated by the fact that they play consistently in sub optimal conditions that hide how weak their corners are. They will be exposed this weekend on a fast track field in Tampa.

Thank you for bringing this up. Let me ask you this Steeler fans? If you had the EXACT same team and played in a dome would you have the same defensive rankings? Are you going to tell me cold weather and the worst turf in the NFL don't effect offensive peformances?

You won't have that advantage Sunday.

We got extremely lucky with how the playoffs played out because we are the opposite of you. We are not built for cold weather.

Have fun chasing us on the fast track.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Some of you are serious koolaid drinkers if you think the Steelers defense is overrated.

God I hate crap comments like this. Who is saying overatted? Why don't you actually pick a post (like mine) that points out a relavant fact to why numbers maynot tell the whole story and address that instead of making all encompassing generalizations and calling people Koolaid drinkers.

Theres usually two sides to every argument.

I DETEST sports "fans" who just eat up what stats and Sportscenter tells them wihout having any original thought of their own. I might not always agree with you but at least have a point.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

The best break down I have heard was from Hasselbeck. He said that he faces the Cardinals two times a year and understands their passing offense and why its different from most. He feels our offense attacks the seams and that is what can hurt the Steelers. He mentioned howin 05 that was their gameplan except the plan was to attack with Stevens in the slot (he mentioned how he was split wide like a WR that game alot).

The problem was Stevens was open all game but was not up to the task with a fumble and a few critical drops. Instead Q, Breaston, or Fitz wil be lined up in the slot.

He said he sees things that onlyplayers on the field who have played these teams would and said he really likes this matchup for our offense personally.

And like I always say - its stupid to do rankings of how good a team is - its ALL matchups. The Steelers might be ranked #1 but they haven't played an offense like ours yet.

We will see what happens.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Some of you are serious koolaid drinkers if you think the Steelers defense is overrated.

It's not that they are overrated but,i don't care who it is, this Cardinals offense is going to put 20+ points on the board. That doesn't necessarily mean they'll win, but they are going to score. They have on every team this year except the snow game. Sunday will be no different.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Keep in mind with Cincy and Cleveland that their stats look so horrible partly because they have to play both the Ravens and Steelers twice a year...not that I think they'd be powerhouses regardless (Cincy may have done better if Palmer had been healthy and played a full season) but Balt. and Pitt have a lot to do with their dismal seasons.

.

they were horrible offensively no matter how they played. The Ravens and Steelers had nothing to do with that.

 

[SteelersDave]

Thank you for bringing this up. Let me ask you this Steeler fans? If you had the EXACT same team and played in a dome would you have the same defensive rankings? Are you going to tell me cold weather and the worst turf in the NFL don't effect offensive peformances?

You won't have that advantage Sunday.

We got extremely lucky with how the playoffs played out because we are the opposite of you. We are not built for cold weather.

Have fun chasing us on the fast track.

I look at it this way; Our defense is not an anamoly, not based on weather or field conditions, but a mindset we have had for almost 40 years. This argument might hold more water if we weren't known for defensive prowess, but we are. You do have an extremely high powered offense (I wish I knew what that felt like lol), but there has been games where it did not show up this year. Our defense has been consistently strong the entire year. I welcome the challenge as this is a great opportunity to prove beyond a doubt our defense is the best the NFL has seen since at least the 2000 Ravens. Maybe we will fall short, maybe you will destroy us, but we have to make a statement tomorrow one way or the other.

 

[LukesDad88]

The best break down I have heard was from Hasselbeck. He said that he faces the Cardinals two times a year and understands their passing offense and why its different from most. He feels our offense attacks the seams and that is what can hurt the Steelers. He mentioned howin 05 that was their gameplan except the plan was to attack with Stevens in the slot (he mentioned how he was split wide like a WR that game alot).

The problem was Stevens was open all game but was not up to the task with a fumble and a few critical drops. Instead Q, Breaston, or Fitz wil be lined up in the slot.

He said he sees things that onlyplayers on the field who have played these teams would and said he really likes this matchup for our offense personally.

And like I always say - its stupid to do rankings of how good a team is - its ALL matchups. The Steelers might be ranked #1 but they haven't played an offense like ours yet.

We will see what happens.

Ok, it's bad enough going back to the 07 season. Now we're going back to the 05 SB? Different players, different schemes.

His view of your offense comes from watching your games against his team, which was ranked dead last in the league in passing defense.

Hmm, I womder if playing them propped up your numbers? But wait, I forgot you also faced off those two pass defending juggernauts, the Rams & 49'ers. Who came in at #19 and #20.

 

[SteelCityMom]

they were horrible offensively no matter how they played. The Ravens and Steelers had nothing to do with that.

Really? Playing the top 2 defenses in the league twice a year has nothing to do with their offensive stats? The only reason the Bengals and the Browns had tougher schedules than the Ravens and the Steelers this year is because they had to play the Ravens and the Steelers. It doesn't have everything to do with them being horrible offensively, but dropping 4 games a piece (1/4 of their schedule) to division rivals does have something to do with it.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Ok, it's bad enough going back to the 07 season. Now we're going back to the 05 SB? Different players, different schemes.
His view of your offense comes from watching your games against his team, which was ranked dead last in the league in passing defense.

Hmm, I womder if playing them propped up your numbers? But wait, I forgot you also faced off those two pass defending juggernauts, the Rams & 49'ers. Who came in at #19 and #20.

Really. Did Dick Labeau assume room temperature over night?

 

[LukesDad88]

Without even going through the season (since what happened during the regular season only applies to the Steelers, and not the Cardinals), let's take a look at who your passing juggernaut faced in these miraculous playoffs.

Atlanta Pass Defense Ranking of #21. Well below average.
Carolina Pass Defense #16. Average.

Philadelphia was the only team with a good pass defense (#3), but statistically, there was still a 25 YPG difference from them to the Steelers. Statistically, they were closer to the #15 Bengals than they were to the #1 Steeler Defense. Toss in their coach's history of choking in the big game, and your offense doesn't seem nearly as intimidating does it?

 

[SteelCityMom]

I look at it this way; Our defense is not an anamoly, not based on weather or field conditions, but a mindset we have had for almost 40 years. This argument might hold more water if we weren't known for defensive prowess, but we are. You do have an extremely high powered offense (I wish I knew what that felt like lol), but there has been games where it did not show up this year. Our defense has been consistently strong the entire year. I welcome the challenge as this is a great opportunity to prove beyond a doubt our defense is the best the NFL has seen since at least the 2000 Ravens. Maybe we will fall short, maybe you will destroy us, but we have to make a statement tomorrow one way or the other.

Well Steelers fans kind of do know what it's like to have a high powered offense, we had one last year...top rusher in the league and 2nd best passer in the league (with 32 TDs and 11 INT) was pretty darn good. They suffered defensively and on special teams last year though and it showed with their 10-6 record and one and done in the playoffs. Last years schedule wasn't nearly as tough as far as opposing defenses were concerned either.

It's all been opposite this year though, where they were struggling with injuries on defense last year while playing more good offenses than not, this year the defense has been very healthy all year, but the offense has been banged up to no end for the better part of the season while playing half of their schedule against top ranked defenses.

I agree with you about them wanting to make a statement though, the defense knows that they will truly have not made a name for themselves unless they win this game.