View topic - New Article: LeBeau's Folly - An analysis of pass rush vs TN

[StillMill Profile]

http://www.stillers.com/articles/2368.aspx has been posted by Still Mill at Stillers.com.

[indysteel Profile]

Well said.

Every one keeps talking like the "D" more or less came out and did a sleepwalk.

NO! They (a) got their ass whipped; and (b) Tricky Dick was outcoached.

Let's hope they get their crap together against Cleveland so they at least have some positive note heading into the postseason.

[rifraff Profile]

Well we have a good idea what doesnt work. I sure hope that game was a fact finding mission without showing our best stuff. We gotta put some pressure on Collins Mix and need the Ole run D back. Hopefully, if we get there, a good ass whompin the week before between Tenn vs Balt should help soften em up!

[zapunto Profile]

Nice breakdown, StillMill. Reading your article and recalling the one from Greg Cosell at the SportingNews made me wonder:

The best unit in the NFL is the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense. It includes a base 3-4 front that smothers the run game in normal and distance situations. Then, in long yardage, it morphs into a 2-4-5 personnel package that often bewilders both pass protection schemes and quarterbacks. Dick LeBeau is the NFL's best defensive coordinator when it comes to pressuring quarterbacks without compromising coverage. That's the underlying foundation of LeBeau's blitz concepts -- attack the quarterback while playing safe but sophisticated zone coverage schemes to avoid giving up big plays.

While I agree with you that Dick needs to blitz more, more, more - especially up the middle against statuesque QBs like Collins - I am convinced his defensive package versus the Titans wasn't terribly different from any other big game this season. It's almost as if the Steelers have 50 sacks this season in spite of Dick's blitzes, and moreso due to the individual efforts of Timmons, Woodley and Harrison. Dick pulled the same stunt in the Cowboys game - lots of 3-man rushes, and the Romo to Owens fling was also a 3-man rush gaffe.

Amazingly enough, Collins has only been sacked EIGHT times in 413 dropbacks, which is an amazing number. By comparison, Eli Manning has been sacked 26 times in quite a few more dropbacks - and everyone sucks the Giants' line's dicks. And it's not like the Titans don't face good edge rushers - they've seen Mario Williams twice, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, Jared Allen, and so on. So it's possible Dick deduced that his best shot was to zone up against a dominant pass blocking line. The only sack the D got was an amazing hustle play on behalf of Harrison.

I guess my main problem is if Dick drops many people as he does on passing downs, has Fisher found weaknesses in our zone? The Titans attacked the deep middle and intermediate sideline routes with ease. I can see Dick adjusting to the deep middle problem, but quite frankly the only way to take away the intermediate sideline stuff is to blitz someone. No coordinator is going to sacrifice the sideline for the middle of the field, unless he's defending a two minute drill. Plain and simple.

I also agree with you that the secondary needs to mix up playing off the LOS and on the LOS. Playing your secondary in bump coverage allows them to also be blitzers as well. And it's not like you go into the Titans' game fearing their receivers...

My two cents.

[jstallworth82 Profile]

I think blaming Dick we should blame players who simply could not get the job done but maybe it was by design. If I were Tomlin I would have played to see what they were going to do. Kind of what New England has done to us numerous times. I do not think we really pressed the issue. Even the player interviews seemed too subdued. I do not think for 1 minute he got outcoached by Fisher and company seeing that the Jets D stumped them and our Defense is way better than the Jets. We have 1 bad defensive game in 15 and now Dick is an idiot. I love this analysist, but what more to expect from a know it all. Every week it was someones fault but you never hear certain names mentioned. Harrison got manhandled Woodley got his clock cleaned but it was Dicks fault . Farrior doesn't post Hall of Fame stats and he is a bum, but others put up worse stats and it is someone else's fault. And no I'm not saying Farrior is great just picked 1 guy that he rides as an example. What I can not undertand is that if Tommy Maddox or Charlie Batch was at the helm we would be calling for thier head but not a word said about the most overhyped over rated QB in the league

[TallyStiller Profile]

Duplicate post. sorry.

[TallyStiller Profile]

Gotta believe he kept the good stuff for a potential playoff rematch, probably at the behest of the new head man... kinda the way Belichick used to toy with the ex - head moron er... coach here back in the early part of the decade.

[isfry Profile]

"Rushing yards the defense surrendered in first 11 games: 66.5
Rushing yards the defense surrendered in past four games: 111.5"

I would just point out that three of those teams in the "past four games" (Pats, Rats, and Tits) are in the top ten rushing O's in the league (6th, 4th, and 7th). The fourth team (Girls) I felt we allowed more rush yards simply to focus on their arguably potent air attack, which we did. Stats don't always tell the whole story. Moreover, when the offense plays as ineptly as it did for those four games, and trails until halfway through the 4th quarter, opposing teams are more apt to get higher rush totals, since they had a lead most of the way. IMHO.