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Tomlin knows what the Steelers need

Here's one you did not expect. Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun has a very good column on how the RAVENS need to spice up their offensive play calling. I like the article for it's content on how to attack cover 2 defense. Preston is dead on when speaking about the vulnerability of cover 2 when you attack across the middle. The Steelers have been atleast a step ahead in that department as they have been attacking cover 2 with a moderate amount of routes that exploit the 'just don't get beat deep' mantra of cover 2 and shell coverage schemes. IMO though, it's not just about attacking certain open zones that unvail themselves as the defenders fall back into their cover areas. Seeing players like Ward and Wallace run up into the holes and sit down makes my stomach turn. Yea, their open- for about half a second- as the defender behind stands ready to jump on them as soon as Ben releases the pass. The key to me is getting the rec. lost in the coverage. Send them dragging, cutting, breaking, or slanting across the field. this is hard for a zone defender. He doesn't want to follow a man out of his zone for fear that their is a man coming behind that will be there as well. That's why the QB allowing the rec. to get to the opposite hash or numbers is so successful. The rec. covers three zone areas but never gives a certain defender the feeling he's 'the guy'. I've seen Ben look away from Hines in the past, when if he waits just a tad longer, Hines is outside the defenders and can have a substantial catch and run play. Another good reason to play heavy east-west travel is if the defender has you in man coverage and simply has the jets to stay on top of you vertically. Push him up the field, get his hips turned, then break it off and barrel across or slant behind to get the angle the QB needs to see.  (3 hrs ago | post #4458)

Sports

Tomlin knows what the Steelers need

Something I think BA does do is get to concerned about how 'good' a play worked. It looks like, based on how often certain plays are called, that he or atleast somebody of note, has a certain expectation for some plays. Play A should be able to gain 7- 10 yards or more. Play B should be able to gain 5- 15. Play C should be 10- 25. I say this because the Steelers have run plays, especially on first down, where they gained 3 to 7 yards and then they get put away for a long time or never brought back during the game. No team, IMO, has shown they can play gap tight 6-7 man fronts and still be able to protect the fringes against Pittsburgh. When the box is tight- they should 'think' and play outside the box. A 'bad' perimeter play is a 3-4 yard gain. A good play is a 5- 15 yard play. I'll take that anyday over watching the QB go down in a heap or a running back get stoned for a 3 yard loss. Get Rashard outside the hashes and let him run with a couple blockers and some space for instance. I think he gained 3 yards the one time they threw to him out on the edge. More importantly, it was atleast a modest gain and he was inches away from breaking the tackle which would have led to big yardage. I like his odds better out there than running into a 6-7 man blitz in the gaps.  (6 hrs ago | post #4457)

Sports

Tomlin knows what the Steelers need

I would like to see Ward running a shallow cross a few times a game. It's becoming more prevelant as teams are learning more and more that beating cover 2 is easier when you run against the flow of the defense then with it. I would like to see the Steeler coaches spend some time going over tape of some of the recent Wes Welker and Dallas Clark highlights to see where Ward could perform the same type routes. Being a rec. in the slot is a big advantage when facing cover 2, as long as your running strong slant, cross, and dig routes. As we saw in the K.C. game, it's very easy to get lost underneath and when the QB can hit you in full flight, it can lead to monstrous yardage payoffs. I still can't figure out as well why they don't keep using Tone on the quickouts as well. Even when the defender gets up on him, he still makes the first guy miss. When you do something well, you should do it until the defense tells you they will not allow it any longer. At which time you should be able to attack the resulting adjustment that's been made.  (19 hrs ago | post #4455)

Sports

Tomlin knows what the Steelers need

There is so much talk on PG Plus about play calling and running and passing in the Steelers offense. Many, I guess because the lost, want to the Steelers to become conservative and simply pound the rock. I, for one, would love to see the Steelers POUND the rock. I have not seen them do that for 2 1/2 years. IMO, they don't do it because they can't. I watched the Miami offensive line last week against the Panthers and it looked like the Steeler team from about 4 years ago. The Center and both guards, in an obvious running situation, slammed their defenders backwards at the snap of the ball. It looked almost odd to me for one reason. I have not seen 3 Steeler linemen do that with their defenders on a running play since Jeff Hartings retired. I've seen all the current Steeler linemen make good blocks, but simply not blow defenders off the ball. There are running plays they can run and be successful. I love the counter plays with Rashard, but there simply isn't enough pure talent on this line to be a run first football team against most/good defenses. Rashard is able to make some nice runs but with this line, he is by no means even a hint of a power back. What we have seen though is that they can mix plays in that work together to form good drives. Throwing the quick out to Rashard- which is essentially a very smart running play, or the flat routes to him as well, can be a part of the new Steeler 'running/short passing plays' they need to keep defenses off balance.  (Tuesday | post #4454)

Sports

Tomlin knows what the Steelers need

That's exactly why when you decide not to offer a player a contract, you better be looking at what that player means to the team in more than just a pure skill level view. Somebody needs to be the Porter/Lewis type of leader that doesn't just tell you what you need to do, but lights a fire under you before every game.  (Monday Nov 23 | post #4444)

Sports

Tomlin knows what the Steelers need

should be every OUNCE you've got- not once.  (Monday Nov 23 | post #4440)

Sports

Tomlin knows what the Steelers need

I had the same feel about it all game long. That's why it's so hard to repeat just from the competitior stand point. If your a good team, you give every once you've got because you need to prove you've arrived. The Steelers game this year is your game of validation. If your not having a good season, it may be the last chance you have to salvage something. I'ts your season saving game. The defending champs in football will face 100% all out, everything in, do or die mentality every week. Thus, the counter feeling from the champs needs to be about going out and puting the hammer down on the opponent. They need to relish the challenge and play more determined and ferocious than the next man that steps up to challenge the throne. Tomlin's plan to pretend last year did not happen is smart when trying to keep the teams egos in check, but it's simply not practical because the teams you play each week won't let them forget it. They now need to elevate their game into the do or die mode as well. Joey Porter would be a great influence in the lockerroom right now. He could turn them into raging beasts after a game like this. Maybe even after the Cincy game.  (Monday Nov 23 | post #4439)

Sports

Tomlin knows what the Steelers need

As soon as you see the home team underdog return the opening kick for a TD, it's gonna be a bad day at the least. With the ST blunders mounting by the minute, plus the loss of Troy taking the defense down a notch, the offense simply has to perform much better to offset the difference. Combine this with taking the opposing teams best shot of the season every week, and it now becomes time to hit the energy button if they have any intentions of making the playoffs.  (Sunday Nov 22 | post #4431)

Sports

Tomlin knows what the Steelers need

How bout this as a variation for those that want Rashard to have a chance to bust one: Hines and Heath line up in a 2 bunch set on the left side, Tone and Wallace on the right. Rashard out of the one back set, goes in motion ans sets up behind Ward and Miller. Ben takes the snap from the shotgun and throws it out Rashard. Hines and Heath block the corner and in all likely hood Rashard after getiing quickly past the line is one man away from a huge gain. Seven defenders are out of the play at the snap and Rashard has two blockers on outside defenders, plus the angle to the side line. It's a pass that's really a long pitch but it gets the back out in space against cover 2.  (Saturday Nov 21 | post #4430)

Sports

Tomlin knows what the Steelers need

John Harris of the tribune has been on a role for a while now. Today he talks about how the cover 2 is affecting the the Steelers offense since the Minnesota game. When you hear what Hines and Tone have to say, it makes you understand that burning the defense with the quick outs and bubble screens can take serious advantage of the two deep zone. Do it till they bleed I say.  (Saturday Nov 21 | post #4429)

Sports

Tomlin knows what the Steelers need

Looked over the schedules and came up with an early playoff pick: Division winners: Indy 15-1 Cincy 12-4 N.E. 12-4 S.D. 12-4 Wildcards: Pit 12-4 Balt 10-6 Note: I have Hou. at 10-6 as well but I think Balt would get the tie breaker.  (Friday Nov 20 | post #4427)

Sports

Tomlin knows what the Steelers need

Ron Cook of the Post Gazette has a peice about all the negative vibes that come out of Steeler nation towards Arians. He points out that it all comes down to execution (players). I'm not one to be included as simply blaming anybody. I am one though, that feels the Steelers unit has not yet been getting the bang for it's buck. The 2nd half against Denver IMO, should be the norm, not the exception. Ben, Hines, Tone, Heath, Mike, Rashard, and Mewelde should be puting 30 somethings up on the board on a good day and 20 somethings on a bad day IMO. I say this because as I look around the league, I only see a few teams that boast this kind of talent that can be put on the field at one time. They live in 30 land and seldom hang out out in the teens when it comes to scoring. When you watch those teams and you keep asking yourself, "Hey, we have that kind of talent and team makeup, why don't we do that?", some of it (not all) has to fall on who is holding back the team. I don't claim to know who it is, but I do hope they will start being more creative in helping their stars succeed.  (Friday Nov 20 | post #4420)

Sports

Tomlin knows what the Steelers need

Your right about the ineffectiveness of the offense but I believe the passing offense played poorly combined with Cincy playing a great game. I wish I did not feel this way, but I simply don't believe the 09 Pittsburgh Steelers are going to go into the playoffs and run the ball down anybody's throats on their way to victory. I believe that playing a team like NE, they will have to play good defense and still score a lot of points to win. I don't see them beating the Pats or Indy in a 16-13 game of power football. That being the case, I believe if they tune their offense to be more pass effective, they certainly can put up the points while allowing the running game to be more potent as well. The offensive line played poorly last week and the routes the Steelers ran were to basic IMO. If they start using all of their options in different ways they can be exceptional. They might be able to run til the cows come home against poor defenses but that's not who they are going to face in the playoffs. I believe in order to beat Brady, and this year's Manning, you have to win a track meet. The Steelers can do that if they use all of their weapons creatively.  (Thursday Nov 19 | post #4419)

Sports

Tomlin knows what the Steelers need

Maybe they should run more on the first 3 possessions to get a feel for how well the running game is going but they need to run from the unbalanced line set IMO. Against a good rush defense, they simply can't play straight up runs and try to give Mendenhall his choice of holes. There not there. Another thing to consider is that when a team is ranked 2nd against the run and 25th against the pass it is logical to attack the weaknesses of the defense. If teams were totally committed to get a power running game going against the Steelers over passing, the Steelers would cream every opponent they faced. They might not allow a single first down! Think about that. Every team that faces the Steelers knows they have to atleast have moderate success passing to have a chance to win, but the Steelers should just keep plugging away on the ground, regardless of the results because at sometime they MIGHT hit pay dirt. Against KC they can afford to waste some possessions in trying to find some running holes. Against better run stopping teams, they have to do whatever it takes to score points every time because they may not have alot of chances to score in the game, IMO.  (Wednesday Nov 18 | post #4416)

Sports

Tomlin knows what the Steelers need

They should run more against KC, and if they do, run more of the unbalanced line predicated on power runs setting up counter plays. The only thing bad about what you get from a game against a team with a weak defense though, is that it can lead to believing that the team can be successful at doing something against any team they face, which we usually find out is not true.  (Wednesday Nov 18 | post #4403)