Comments on: Arizona Passing Game vs Steelers D

By: Lance Williams

Lance Williams — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 06:10:18 +0000

I agree with Steelhead. I think the Steelers will be okay with rushing four or five. With Warner you can’t sit and play coverage exclusively because he will kill you. If you blitz, he will kill you. You have to get pressure quickly through the A gaps because he is getting rid of the ball in less than 3 seconds, and you have to upset the rhythm of the routes, and the timing of the passing game.

With Warner you have to get near him and make him move his feet, and put licks on him. The Steelers depth at corner is very good. I think Arizona has the advantage, but I think the Steelers Nickle and Dime packages match up okay against Arizona.

Hopefully, Lebeau will play a lot of Nickle and we will see a lot of Timmons and Townsend. I would rather see Edge get 150 than let there passing game get out the gate.

By: Steelhead

Steelhead — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 02:06:15 +0000

The Steelers have been able to get pressure with 4 rushers all year. They’ll be fine. Everyone looks at the Eagles, but without that insane 9 sack game earlier in the year, the Eagles pass rush is fairly ordinary. So, the Steelers will get to Warner. How Warner handles it is THE key factor in the SB.

By: SteelMohawk

SteelMohawk — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:44:29 +0000

Keisel and Smith offer near OLB coverage skills in DL bodies. This means that they don’t have to rush the passer all the time, allowing for a more confusing 4 man rush. The confusion helps with creating pressure. THey can also come off the block and pick up a TE or RB that releases, so in effect they may never rush, but they have to be accounted for, and take up an opposing blocker.

By: roethlisbergh

roethlisbergh — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:10:43 +0000

if i had the offensive weapons ‘zona does (like arians), and i were smart (unlike arians), i’d come out with 3wr and edge. then i’d just run a hurry-up for most of the day. motion wr’s to get good match-ups and hike the ball early to not let pittsburgh setup their blitzes.

am i crazy but wouldn’t this hurt us badly? i can’t remember right now who ran a hurry up against us (except at the end of games). i believe we’d have trouble with this.

one of the things troy does well is to move around to disguise his assignment. if i were haley/whiz, i’d hike it early in the count and try to tire out troy and the rest of the D quickly. then i’d run them into the ground once they are gassed…

i’m scared.
here we go, steelers! here we go!

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:38:17 +0000

I wouldnt say you are wrong, but i would say that in nickel situations i think aaron smith often commands a double team so i think he should be fine as far as occupying the extra blocker. Also, i wouldnt be surprised to see Harrison or Woodley get double teamed if the steelers are only rushing 4.

By: Sir Spicious

Sir Spicious — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:40:08 +0000

I’m I wrong in thinking that Hampton should get more snaps that Keisel. IF you can have him eating up 2 blockers, then even with a 4 man rush, everyone else is 1-on-1.

By: BadMa'afala

BadMa'afala — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:35:37 +0000

The big difference between our defense this year and last year is Woodley. If we go 2-4-5 or 2-3-6, Woodley-Smith-Keisel-Harrison is a hell of a 4 man rush. All 4 of those guys are capable of winning 1-on-1 matchups, esp the OLB’s. Haggans was invisible last year. If we use substitions to match their personnel well, they’re not going to find tons of matchup problems. They can still out-execute us (e.g. throw jump balls to Fitz), but if their execution is less than perfect, they’ll have a hard time moving the ball with any consistency.

By: Still Mill

Still Mill — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:15:56 +0000

Superb analysis. Very impressive. Well done.

For a very related analysis of the spread vs. the Stiller base defense, see this article:

http://www.stillers.com/articles/2390.aspx

By: SteelMohawk

SteelMohawk — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:52:18 +0000

Getting playmakers on the feild is going to be key. Having as many guys who can either blitz or drop into coverage on the feild at the same time. Like has been said on a few other message boards, that is going to mean Casey Hampton and Larry Foote are going to be on the Pine to bring in Timmons and or more DBs. Woodley and Harrison are good enough to get real pressure when they only have two other guys rushing with them. So a four man rush should be ok for the majority of plays, the key is can we get the other 9 players on the feild that will provide the best mix of coverage skills, run-stuffing, and pass rushing.

I think we have the personnel, with Timmons, Keisel, Smith and our DBs, the question is how many snaps will LeBeau have Hampton, Foote and even Farrior see?