Analyzing & Improving the Stillers Defense

The Stillers formerly vaunted defense has been left in shambles the first 2 games.� As I wrote on our message board to NebraskaSteeler last Tuesday, the opponent has thought outside the box, using the spread offense, quick/short drops, etc.� It is time for the Stillers, despite being led by a dullardly head coach, to do the same, and react with their own out-of-the-box countermeasures.� If your enemy has 31 flavors, you can't rely on the same bland vanilla as the solution.�

Suggesting tactics without understanding the battlefield is never prudent, so before I make recommendations, we must first understand some of the problems that have created the situation in the first place.� The key to solving a problem is to fully understand it.���

1.� The biggest dilemma facing DC Tim Lewis is this: His best coverage LB (Joey Porter) is also either his #1A or #1B best pass rushing LB (along with KenBell).� Conversely, his worst coverage LB (Jason Gildon) is also his weakest pass rusher.�� So Lewis has a large trade-off that must be made for virtually every play -- does he send his best pass rushing LB and keep his worst coverage backer back in coverage, or does he use his best coverage backer in coverage (losing that man's pass rush, however), and rush his worst rushing-LB?

2.� The 2nd dilemma facing Lewis is that his franchise has lived and died with the 3-4 defense, and as such, their defensive lineman are primarily players who can control gaps and plug holes, not attack the QB.

3.� The third dilemma is that Cowher and company have employed this softee CB coverage ever since Rod Woodson departed, and this kind of softee coverage invites the easy slants and crossers that have bedeviled the Stillers.� Even dating back to 1997, the Jaguars toyed with Randy Fuller and company on MNF by playing pitch-and-catch.�

4.� In using a base 3-4, the coaching staff actually thinks that, by sending just one extra man, a 4-man rush constitutes a "blitz".��

Understanding this, the Stillers need to consider the following:

1.� Remove Jason Gildon from all pass coverage chores.� To be sure, Gildon -- the team's softest LB -- has done nothing more than play Punch The Clown as a pass rusher in '02, but relatively speaking, he does the team less harm as a rusher than he does as a pass defender.� Most often, Gildon sits in a little zone covering the flats, which adds nothing in terms of breaking up the plethora of passes that have been killing the Stillers.� Matched up against any back or receiver that doesn't have concrete feet, Gildon is at such a disadvantage that he ought to receive full entitlements from the Americans with Disabilities Act.� On top of that, Gildon is the worst tackler among the starting 4 LBs, so he's an immense liability in terms of limiting RAC yardage.�

2.�� The follow-on to #1 must be that either KenBell or Joey Porter rush the passer on at least 70% of the plays.� Frankly. I don't care which angle they come from, and for that matter, it would be best if it were unpredictable.� The reality is, a pass rush of Jason Gildon plus 3 linemen is simply not going to harass anybody in any league beyond the high school level.� Either Porter or KenBell must rush (if it's a pass), with the other man back in pass coverage.�� Of course, this does not rule out having both Bell and Porter rush simultaneously.� This allows the team to use the athleticism and superb cover skills of the Porter/Bell duo, while also using their pass-rushing skills.� No question, this is a difficult quandary for Lewis, because it's a difficult opportunity cost with each of these fine LBs.� If Porter rushes, then you lose his outstanding coverage skills; but if he drops back in coverage, you lose his strong rushing skills.�� Ditto for Bell.� Lewis must weigh this and get the maximum benefit and effectiveness.��

3.� The wild card unknown is James Farrior, who came here amidst great fanfare for his supposed speed, quickness, and pass coverage.� He's played in two games, in which the other teams have thrown a combined 110-some passes, and he's yet to break up or defend a pass.� Granted, Farrior has been sitting during a good bit of these passes.� I'm not overly fond of sitting Farrior and using 6 or 7 DBs, because the good teams will simply run the ball down our throats instead of pass the ball down our throats.� Farrior, if just half as good as advertised, should be able to help defend the run and help out in pass defense, as well as rush the QB.� No reason he can't join in the pass rush as the 5th rusher from time to time.��

4. As I mentioned to NebraskaSteeler last Tuesday on our old message board, Mike Logan is the key to bolstering the pass defense.� Logan has been splendid thus far, and was in '01.� Remember, the guy was brought in specifically because he was faster than Brent Alex.� In some respects, I'd merely start Logan in place of Brent, based on Brent's sub-par play the past 2 games.� But that would only be a band-aid, because teams could still spread and knife us to death with our current vanilla scheme.� Under my plan, Logan could play on 90% of the downs as a 5th DB, playing somewhat close to the LOS and helping with the run as need be (he is, after all, a solid run stopper for a DB).� Thus, on "running downs" on 1st & 10, we could use the 5-DB look, which would far better help against the pass, while not leaving the D exposed to the run.� An alternative to this idea is to insert Logan as the starting SS, and use Flowers as an extra DB up near the LOS.� Flowers is rugged and more suited to run stuffing than pass coverage.� The concern, though, is that teams are not beating us "over the top" on deep plays, but rather than 8-15 yard slants, etc.� Logan, not Flowers, would be better at playing near the LOS and defending those 8-15 yarders. �Logan is quick enough to be able to play either up on the LOS and either cover a 3rd WR one-one-on, or at times just give a chuck and drop into a zone; or perhaps roam and play some sort of different zone from time to time.�� What we don't need is a cookie-cutter course of action where we devise a new defense that gives the same vanilla look play after play.�� We can use Logan -- and other good athletes like Porter and Bell -- in different alignments to disrupt the opponent's decision cycle.�

5.� In order to accommodate Logan, who comes off the field?�� Frankly, because he's the absolute least versatile LB in the starting lineup, Jason Gildon would be the logical pick, but Cowher wouldn't allow that to happen in 100 years.� If Cowher won't remove Gildon is a 30-point shellacking of Detroit, he won't remove Gildon any other time, either.�� The player who thus needs to sit is the NT, Casey Hampton.�� Casey is a fine football player, but his very existence is for one task:� to jam up the run.� And as we've seen, the run isn't what is hurting us; it's the pass.� Unlike what others have claimed, Hampton is a virtual waste in the passing game.� While he is capable of consuming 2 blockers on running plays, the same does not apply on passing plays.� Any 315-pound center can gain a stand-off with the 330-pound Hampton, one-on-one, with relative ease.� You'll occasionally hear babble about "pocket push", but in the past 2 games, with over 110 passes thrown, what has "pocket push", if any, by Hampton accomplished?�� Answer: Jack shit.� And because Hampton carries around the belly of a pregnant female in her 34th week, Hampton lacks the stamina required for continual pass rushing, which is far more strenuous than run-stuffing.� Furthermore, if we face a mobile QB, Hampton is slow afoot and not much of a threat to haul down a running QB.� This does not mean that Hampton would rot the entire game.� Rather, he could, along with Rodney Bailey, give Smith and Kimo a rest from time to time.� However, it makes no sense to use a fat, squatty run-stuffing NT when the opponent has abandoned the run and is passing 50-plus times per game.�� Sure enough, there will be cries of �But what about run support�?��� Numerous teams have won the Super Bowl without a fat, squatty, 330-pound lineman playing every down.� Furthermore, Farrior came to Pittsburgh advertised as a �tackling machine� � and �the man who led the AFC in tackles�.� Excellent.� Now is the chance for Farrior to strut his stuff.� If the opponent runs, then Farrior, along with his fellow mates, should be able to bottle the run adequately.�

With these moves accomplished, the Stillers would have more of a bastardized 4-3 look, without a NT and with the extra DB helping near the LOS.� I hate to even �name� this defense with any moniker taken from alignment, such as �4-3�, etc.�� Quite the opposite, I want to avoid getting into a bland, cookie-cutter alignment, and instead have 11 versatile, multi-skilled players on the field at all times who can rapidly adjust and change formations and schemes from play to play.� On obvious passing downs, another DB could be inserted, with either Gildon or Farrior sent to the bench, and perhaps with Haggans subbing in to give a D-lineman a rest on pass-rushing chores.� At any rate, the �front 6� of this �base� defense would be comprised of 4 LBs and 2 D-linemen, along with a �hero back� kind of player in Logan who would either be part of the �front 7� or lined up a bit deeper &/or wider in case of 4-5 WR, spread offensive formations.� Obviously, in goal-line & short-yardage situations, and against teams with strong rushing attacks but weak passing attacks, the more conventional short-yardage defense and 3-4 �D� would be used.�

6.�� Institute tighter coverage.� This is a no-brainer, although we are dealing with a coach who has no brains.� Playing softee invites the easy completions.� Playing it virtually every down gives the QB confidence, a groove, and rhythm.� It's high time Cowhead mix it up with a variety of man; man supported by deep help, and so on.�� Playing the same softee vanilla of 10-yard cushions on virtually ever down is sheer madness that has been easily exploited.�� Utilizing Logan in the role I have described -- especially if his alignment (left, middle, or right; slot or wide) is totally unpredictable -- is a simple step that can greatly decrease the easy predictability that opponents have had thus far.� Sure, there will be beatings -- few CBs go an entire season without getting beat deep.� But the added pressure and associated tighter coverage, chucking, and unpredictability should take away most instances of a QB standing unfettered for 5 seconds and then heaving an accurate bomb 53 yards downfield.�

7.�� Rush the passer.� No need to belabor the obvious of this one.� Every time Chad Scott blitzed last week -- and it was only about 4 times -- he caused enough harassment and havoc to force the QB into a hurried, off-target throw.� 4 rushers should be the bare minimum, but 5 rushers should be used as a minimum the vast majority of the time, and 6 & 7 man rushes should be cleverly used on occasion as well.� Allowing a QB to stand, totally unfettered, and pick apart the secondary without ever being hit or blasted is sheer stupidity at its worst.� This defense needs to harass, hurry, disrupt, and punish opposing QBs.� That hasn't come close to occurring the first 2 games.� Also note that, unlike the major Pittsburgh media, I haven�t said a peep about �sacks�.�� Sacks are not the concern here; rather, the paramount concern is harassment, disruption, and pounding on the QB.�� I�ll gladly take a �hurry� on a QB that results in a hideous INT, as opposed to a Dong Sack that results in a 5-yard loss after the QB sits unfettered in the pocket for 6 seconds on a 2d down and 4.�� A� classic example of this was the first series in the divisional playoff game last year versus Baltimore, in which Porter vaulted over the RB and forced Grbac into a wounded quail of a pass that was easily picked off, setting the table and the tempo for the Stiller rout.�

Bottom line is this:� changes must be made.� What has been tried -- the same old vanilla -- clearly is not working.� The Stillers must get their best athletes on the filed and put them in tasks in which they are best suited to helping the defense get off the field, not merely doing a task in the same old manner for the sake of "this is the way we've always done it".�� We absolutely must use our best versatility to disrupt the opponents' decision cycle and create doubt, confusion, and unpredictability; not the easy predictability that has been present thus far.� The league has studied, learned, and progressed.� It's high time Cowher did the same.

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