Defense and The Second Stools Game.

[Danamal]

I have no fancy stats but more of a question from a defensive standpoint.
Was it more of a case of the season being lost and throwing caution to the wind or was it the defense finally beginning to believe and execute the system or was the whole thing just one of those nights akin to Bud Carson's 51-0 blowout?
It just seems that from that night throughout the rest of the season the defense stepped up and looked like a different squad,I know injuries played a part in it but I'm just throwing this out there to ask those of you who really know your x's and 0's what caused the change?

[Inspecta]

I think it was a combination of the young guys stepping up and wanting to make a name for themselves, and the Stoolers putrid offensive line plan, combined with Big Ben wanting to spend copious amounts of time with the ball.

[TheBestPlayersPlay]

I think it was a combo of all things mentioned ...but mainly that our guys finally started to "get it". It wasn't just beginning @ the Steelers game, but rather after the bye we played much better in all facets.

[DawgFan]

Originally Posted by Inspecta

I think it was a combination of the young guys stepping up and wanting to make a name for themselves, and the Stoolers putrid offensive line plan, combined with Big Ben wanting to spend copious amounts of time with the ball.

It was the 2nd game in which Rubin started.

I am not saying Rubin is better than Rogers, but what I "AM" saying, and what has been said by numberous people in the know is that Rubin is much more likely to stick with his assignment of clogging up the middle and taking on 2 guys...and Rogers is much more likely to improvise and run himself out of the play.

With Rubin staying in position...and Ryan KNOWING he would do it....Ryan was able to amp up the LB/CB/S blitzes without worrying about getting caught by a cutback.

Sometimes (read ALWAYS), doing what you are SUPPOSED to do in a team sport leads to positive results.

[DeadWombat]

There was this guy called A Clockwork Orange over on the browns scout board who completely dissected that game, frame by frame. Let's not dwell on obsessive insanity of such an act for the sake of all the useful information he garnered.

I've been studying 2009 as some of you may know through some of my Paper Champion predictions. I have really watched the 2nd Pitt game very closely (about 4 times now, frame by frame on one occasion). What I have noticed was as our offense got better, the more risks Ryan took with the D. I also noticed that much of our defensive woes happened in games we were pretty much out of it by halftime. I games we were competitive offensively, we actually played rather well defensively (exception being KC and Lions). We were exposed at certain positions, namely, nickelback and ILB (inexpereinced Maiava) for much of the season and were trying to find the right pieces. Things settled in a bit with Bowens and Roth taking over at the outside and inside spots. Not so much in the secondary where we had Furrey and Poteat starting in nickel and dime packages.

Another observation: Rubin actually puts both hands on ground, I have never seen that before. He looks like a lion about to launch into his prey. Also at one point our DL was Schaefering, Williams and Roth with Wimbley and Trusnik on the outsides...this was a 2nd and 10. I could see this happening more with Rogers in middle, Roth at DE and Schaefering at DE with Bernard and Gocong attack from OLB and. Ryan also likes to bring pressure from the safety and corner spots, he did it quite often with Elam, Poteat and McDonald last season..imagine what he could do with Elam, Haden and Brown..throw in one of the young safeties and he has to be grinning from ear to ear.

It's no longer 2009 guys, that season is long gone. Looking towards 2010 I think we have improved the roster and have guys more familiar with the coaches and the schemes...add to this that the guys on defense love playing in Ryans attacking scheme and you should have all the makings of a more consistent and productive unit.

Also, on a side note... he also notices this:

For a guy who supposedly cannot block, Harrison is used more as a blocker in the backfield on passing downs than any other RB on our roster...in fact they used him sometimes only in passing downs to block..wtf?

WTF Daboll? If you dislike Harrison so much because he can't block, WHY THE HELL ARE YOU MAKING HIM BLOCK ALL THE TIME??? why not use Vickers?

Err, sorry for the mini-rant.


PS: Fuck you, Daboll.

[Inspecta]

Another observation: Rubin actually puts both hands on ground, I have never seen that before.

He's never seen that before? It's called a 4 point stance (4 limbs on the ground). Grant it, you don't see it a ton at the NFL level, but it's widely used at the high school and college level. The advantage of using this technique is that you get maximum thrust off the snap of the ball, the disadvantage is that you don't have has much control coming out of your stance, and it's easier for linemen to steer you one way or another. However if you practice it enough you can really wreak havoc with it. I was never a fan of it when I played as I had plenty of thrust coming out of a 3 pt stance.

[DeadWombat]

I think he meant he never noticed Rubin doing that before.

[Vegasdogg]

Originally Posted by DeadWombat

WTF Daboll? If you dislike Harrison so much because he can't block, WHY THE HELL ARE YOU MAKING HIM BLOCK ALL THE TIME??? why not use Vickers?

Devils advocate here: Because Harrison is a better pass catcher, can block, and does not tip the hand of the play to the defense. If Harrison can block, why take him out?

[Danamal]

The reason I started this thread was we kicked ass and as serious an ass whooping as we put on them I thought the team was well disciplined and focused and I for one hope we see that kind of ferocity all year long this season and it wasn't just a one off type of game.

[Alo]

We were able to shut down Pittsburgh because:

1. Hines Ward was playing hurt and was minimally effective
2. The weather was crappy, which hampered their passing game
3. Those two factors allowed the team to send a bunch of exotic blitz packages at Roethlisberger, and they were very effective

In order to replicate our success in that game, we needed to bolster our cadre of cornerbacks. There's no way you can blitz the house and leave Brandon McDonald is on an island against a healthy Hines Ward or Mike Wallace.

Fortunately, we were able to add Sheldon Brown & Joe Haden. Also, the Steelers' offense got weaker when Santonio was shipped to New York and right tackle Willie Colon went on IR. As a result, we've got a good shot of containing their offense, though we'll need better play on offense to get the W.

[hiwaygal]

Originally Posted by DawgFan

It was the 2nd game in which Rubin started.

I am not saying Rubin is better than Rogers, but what I "AM" saying, and what has been said by numberous people in the know is that Rubin is much more likely to stick with his assignment of clogging up the middle and taking on 2 guys...and Rogers is much more likely to improvise and run himself out of the play.

With Rubin staying in position...and Ryan KNOWING he would do it....Ryan was able to amp up the LB/CB/S blitzes without worrying about getting caught by a cutback.

Sometimes (read ALWAYS), doing what you are SUPPOSED to do in a team sport leads to positive results.

I heart Rob Ryan.

Originally Posted by Alo

We were able to shut down Pittsburgh because:

1. Hines Ward was playing hurt and was minimally effective
2. The weather was crappy, which hampered their passing game
3. Those two factors allowed the team to send a bunch of exotic blitz packages at Roethlisberger, and they were very effective

In order to replicate our success in that game, we needed to bolster our cadre of cornerbacks. There's no way you can blitz the house and leave Brandon McDonald is on an island against a healthy Hines Ward or Mike Wallace.

Fortunately, we were able to add Sheldon Brown & Joe Haden. Also, the Steelers' offense got weaker when Santonio was shipped to New York and right tackle Willie Colon went on IR. As a result, we've got a good shot of containing their offense, though we'll need better play on offense to get the W.

Wasn't pollyneedsahaircut also out that day?