View topic - Pro Football Focus' grades the 2012 Steelers (a must read)

[zapunto Profile]

I decided to post this after Keenan Lewis tweeted about wanting to come back to the #1 pass defense in the league -- a flawed stat at best. So I wondered: using Pro Football Focus' intense research, how do the Steelers' different units rack up as viewed by someone that grades every player on every play? The results are not shocking, but they are definitely eye-popping as to how mediocre this team really is.

For each rank, I've put in where the Steelers rate league-wise, the league leader and league laggard, and the team closest to zero in their rankings (except for special teams, where they don't use a positive/negative scale):


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Offense: 11.0 (23rd)
#1: SF (238.7)
#32: Arizona (-188.6)
Zero: Philadelphia (4.6, 26th)

Passing: 40.2 (11th)
#1: Denver (101.9)
#32: Arizona (-67.1)
Zero: Cincinnati (2.1, 21st)

Rushing: -5.3 (29th)
#1: Seattle (33.3)
#32: Jacksonville (-9.4)
Zero: Atlanta (-0.4, 22nd)

Pass Blocking: 6.6 (20th)
#1: Denver (82.7)
#32: Arizona (-56.2)
Zero: Miami (0.3, 24th)

Run Block: -34 (31st)
#1: SF (142.4)
#32: Arizona (-62.9)
Zero: Miami (-0.1, 21st)

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Defense: 15.9 (14th)
#1: Denver (114.5)
#32: NO (-93.7)
Zero: NY Jets (1.6, 18th)

Run Defense: 34.9 (9th)
#1: Denver (74.1)
#32: Indianapolis (-56.6)
Zero: NY Giants (2.5, 17th)

Pass Rush: -43.6 (32nd)
#1: Philadelphia (48.6)
#32: Pittsburgh
Zero: St. Louis (-0.5, 16th)

Pass Defense (20.0, 12th)
#1: Seattle (55.9)
#32: NO (-40.8)
Zero: Atlanta (-1.3)

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Special Teams: 23.2 (22nd)
#1: Baltimore (66.4)
#32: Houston (6.8)

Note that special teams wasn't graded on a postive/negative scale.

[Pommah Profile]

Dead last in pass rush. Perhaps a correlation to lack of turnovers, no? Hence my comment in an earlier thread about ditching the 3-4.

[SoCal Stiller Profile]

Nice post Zap.

Look at it this way... The pass rush can only get better, right? McLendon and Heyward should replace Hampton and Kiesel. Woodley either needs to lose 25 lbs and play LB or gain 25 lbs and play DE. I think this guy could have been a great LB had he just worked to be in shape. How many hammies has he had already? Tomlin needs to sit his fat ass if he doesn't come in to camp 30 lbs lighter. We must find an impact player along the defensive line as our first pick!

[LenSherwood Profile]

Yes mediocrity all over the place for this team. The offensive grades are really putrid when you consider how easy that schedule was (which the Steelers still managed to blow.) I dunno, there are so many needs on this team that it is hard not to see a complete collapse before it gets better. If they are keeping the 3 4, they simply have to find linebackers in the draft. I don't know about Heyward because he didn't play that much, but the tandem of Hood and Woodley has to go on the left side. Teams ran right over them this year. Hood is a steep drop off from Smith and now he is all there is. This is overall a very mediocre team at the salary cap limit also--another troubling feature.

[PsychoWard86 Profile]

Denver's defense rated number one, huh?

Seattle's pass defense rated number one, huh?


Well, Denver gave up 38 points to Baltimore and got TORCHED by Joe Flacco (331 yards and 3 TDs!!! Including a last second hail mary!).

Seattle gave up 30 points to Atlanta and got TORCHED by famed playoff failure Matty Ice (250 yards and 3 TDs!!!).

Had either of those been Pittsburgh's defense, people here would have called for Lebeau's head.

Still waiting for someone to point out all these elite defenses that people here seem to think exist in the NFL. Cause I'm not seeing them.

[LenSherwood Profile]

You have a point psycho in that I don't think defense can stop the elite offenses now in the NFL--it isn't the 1960s or 70s where you could knock receivers on their asses or harass them up and down the field. I would say that LeBeau's defensive concepts are probably not effective now because offenses know them so well. The 3 4 as devised by him, Capers and Cowher is no surprise to anyone at this point. San Fran tore it up Saturday with Capers guiding the Packers. If you look at New England, they have started using multiple fronts.. really odd formations for the pros to confuse and eliminate predictability. I think LeBeau has to go back to the drawing board if he stays on as DC and they are going to need to hit some homeruns in the draft very soon or it will be really ugly in the upcoming seasons.

[Ohio Profile]

Denver's defense rated number one, huh?

Seattle's pass defense rated number one, huh?


Well, Denver gave up 38 points to Baltimore and got TORCHED by Joe Flacco (331 yards and 3 TDs!!! Including a last second hail mary!).

Seattle gave up 30 points to Atlanta and got TORCHED by famed playoff failure Matty Ice (250 yards and 3 TDs!!!).

Had either of those been Pittsburgh's defense, people here would have called for Lebeau's head.

Still waiting for someone to point out all these elite defenses that people here seem to think exist in the NFL. Cause I'm not seeing them.

Could not agree more. But and is a big but.. . The Patriots were dominant against Houston ( and expect to be more against Baltimore ). I mean today's defense have to be able to make the other team kick FG. Especially in the Red Zone. And they seem to have to be able to take the passing game out of the equation. For sure the Steelers didn't look this part against anybody. While some of the teams you mentioned did ( at least most of the time ).

[PsychoWard86 Profile]

Denver's defense rated number one, huh?

Seattle's pass defense rated number one, huh?


Well, Denver gave up 38 points to Baltimore and got TORCHED by Joe Flacco (331 yards and 3 TDs!!! Including a last second hail mary!).

Seattle gave up 30 points to Atlanta and got TORCHED by famed playoff failure Matty Ice (250 yards and 3 TDs!!!).

Had either of those been Pittsburgh's defense, people here would have called for Lebeau's head.

Still waiting for someone to point out all these elite defenses that people here seem to think exist in the NFL. Cause I'm not seeing them.

Could not agree more. But and is a big but.. . The Patriots were dominant against Houston ( and expect to be more against Baltimore ). I mean today's defense have to be able to make the other team kick FG. Especially in the Red Zone. And they seem to have to be able to take the passing game out of the equation. For sure the Steelers didn't look this part against anybody. While some of the teams you mentioned did ( at least most of the time ).

Wait, what?

I mean, the Steelers D got off to a bad start, for sure. But once Mundy was benched, we completely suffocated every passing attack we faced, save for the Dallas game when half our secondary was out or hobbled.

Cin - 105 (1 TD)
Was - 177 (1 TD)
NYG - 125 (0 TD)
KC - 154 (0 TD)
BAL - 164 (0 TD)
CLE - 158 (1 TD)
BAL - 188 (1 TD)
SD - 200 (3 TD)
DAL - 341 (2 TD)
CIN - 278 (0 TD)
CLE - 204 (1 TD)

Look at that. In this day of age, that's sickening. We only let up over 204 yards in 2 out of 11 games. We didn't give up a single passing TD in 4 out of 11 of those games. We gave up one or less passing TD in 9 out of 11 games.

9 out of 11 games of giving up one or less passing TDs?!?! How much more could they possibly "look the part"?

Joe Flacco has yet to throw for less than 3 TDs in the playoffs (which included the supposed "#1" defense in the NFL in Denver, and New England, who Ohio predicted would dominate Baltimore). He threw a grand total of 1 TD in two games against us. Flacco threw for 331 yards against Denver, and 240 yards against New England. He threw for 352 yards against us...in TWO games!

So again, I'll ask, what defense in the NFL played better than us?

[Ohio Profile]

Denver's defense rated number one, huh?

Seattle's pass defense rated number one, huh?


Well, Denver gave up 38 points to Baltimore and got TORCHED by Joe Flacco (331 yards and 3 TDs!!! Including a last second hail mary!).

Seattle gave up 30 points to Atlanta and got TORCHED by famed playoff failure Matty Ice (250 yards and 3 TDs!!!).

Had either of those been Pittsburgh's defense, people here would have called for Lebeau's head.

Still waiting for someone to point out all these elite defenses that people here seem to think exist in the NFL. Cause I'm not seeing them.

Could not agree more. But and is a big but.. . The Patriots were dominant against Houston ( and expect to be more against Baltimore ). I mean today's defense have to be able to make the other team kick FG. Especially in the Red Zone. And they seem to have to be able to take the passing game out of the equation. For sure the Steelers didn't look this part against anybody. While some of the teams you mentioned did ( at least most of the time ).

Wait, what?

I mean, the Steelers D got off to a bad start, for sure. But once Mundy was benched, we completely suffocated every passing attack we faced, save for the Dallas game when half our secondary was out or hobbled.

Cin - 105 (1 TD)
Was - 177 (1 TD)
NYG - 125 (0 TD)
KC - 154 (0 TD)
BAL - 164 (0 TD)
CLE - 158 (1 TD)
BAL - 188 (1 TD)
SD - 200 (3 TD)
DAL - 341 (2 TD)
CIN - 278 (0 TD)
CLE - 204 (1 TD)

Look at that. In this day of age, that's sickening. We only let up over 204 yards in 2 out of 11 games. We didn't give up a single passing TD in 4 out of 11 of those games. We gave up one or less passing TD in 9 out of 11 games.

9 out of 11 games of giving up one or less passing TDs?!?! How much more could they possibly "look the part"?

Joe Flacco has yet to throw for less than 3 TDs in the playoffs (which included the supposed "#1" defense in the NFL in Denver, and New England, who Ohio predicted would dominate Baltimore). He threw a grand total of 1 TD in two games against us. Flacco threw for 331 yards against Denver, and 240 yards against New England. He threw for 352 yards against us...in TWO games!

So again, I'll ask, what defense in the NFL played better than us?

Seems to me that you are picking only what you want for your argument. Go back and SEE the teams you are mentioning. See the games that you are talking about. I give one or two dominating games for our pass defense. And no doubt I would pick Seattle's D or New England's D against ours. NO DOUBT.

Then again they got torched against Baltimore. But shit happens. New England came unprepared in the second half. Don't know what happen. What I know is that a shitty Team like the Ratbirds have reached the Bowl. Go figure