Steelers' defense making splash plays in tight situations

Steelers' defense making splash plays in tight situations

By WILL GRAVES
Dec. 17, 2015



PITTSBURGH (AP) — Every Pittsburgh Steelers practice on Thursdays and Fridays start with the same drill. They call it "Seven Shots."

The ball is placed at the 2 and offensive coordinator Todd Haley and defensive coordinator Keith Butler get seven snaps to outsmart each other.

There is nothing on the line but daily bragging rights and the chance to get better in 2-point conversion situations. Which side has won more often is up for debate.

Linebacker Vince Williams insists the defense is "definitely up" on the season. Fullback Will Johnson allows there was a stretch when starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sidelined with a sprained left knee that the defense may have had the advantage, but no longer.

Either way, the results have been spectacular. The Steelers have already set an NFL record for 2-pointers this season, breaking the mark of six when a surprised Johnson caught one from Roethlisberger during a 45-10 demolition of Indianapolis two weeks ago. Johnson has the ball in his locker, all prepped and ready for whenever he gets a man cave to call his own.

Yet the constant focus on those short-field situations has produced another far less-hyped byproduct. While Pittsburgh's revamped defense is susceptible to giving up massive chunks of yards, opponents getting into the end zone is another matter entirely.

The Steelers (8-5) moved into a tie with the New York Jets for the NFL lead in red-zone takeaways (six) when defensive end Stephon Tuitt stepped in front of a screen pass in the first quarter of last Sunday's victory over the Bengals. The pick was also the 12th time this year Pittsburgh ended a goal-to-go situation on defense with something other than a touchdown.

Those kind of momentum-shifting stops have kept Pittsburgh in the thick of the AFC playoff race despite a series of injuries that could have derailed its season before it really started.

"It's mostly because of our offense," Tuitt said. "We know if we can get stops against them in practice, we can get stops against anybody. Our offense can score whenever it wants, really. When they don't against us, it builds up our confidence when we're playing other teams."

It's also why Butler can live with the mistakes of a pass defense that is 31st in yards allowed. When space gets tight, his players have found a way to win as many tussles as they lose. A renewed commitment to the blitz helps. So has Butler's ability to confuse opposing quarterbacks. Pittsburgh baffled 40-year-old Matt Hasselbeck two weeks ago, with the 16-year veteran admitting there were times when he wasn't sure what was coming because it never appeared on tape.

"We've got to be able to change things up in the red zone, come up with stuff that maybe they haven't seen on film from us," Butler said. "Sometimes, we have to rush them and sometimes we have to drop (into coverage)."

Against the Colts, outside linebacker Jarvis Jones came up with his first career interception when he appeared ready to blitz from the edge, only to backpedal at the snap. He snared Hasselbeck's slightly underthrown pass to prevent Indianapolis from taking an early lead. It was an athletic play by Jones that was the result of executing a heady game plan.

Tuitt's stunning stop against the Bengals was more the byproduct of some quick thinking. When Cincinnati running back Gio Bernard made a weak attempt at blocking the 310-pound Tuitt to disguise the screen play, Tuitt instantly pivoted and stepped in front of Andy Dalton's low dart.

"I don't know if that's coaching," Butler said. "I think that's more instinct than anything else."

Dalton's mistake became magnified a split-second later when Dalton fractured the thumb on his right (throwing) hand while trying to tackle Tuitt, perhaps altering the course of the season for both clubs.

Tuitt has no intention of looking that far ahead. Facing the AFC West-leading Denver Broncos (10-3) on Sunday is problem enough for now...

to read rest of article:

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/beebf6a11cdd4429bf078628f7fb0a38/steelers-defense-making-splash-plays-tight-situations

Although it is frustrating at times to see opponents move the ball on us, I do like how this year's defense forces sacks and turnovers, something that's been missing since 2010. I feel a lot of it is due to Butler's philosophy, seems more focused on takeaways than yardage allowed (drafting ball hawks this year compared to tackling corners)

All the takeaways this year are a welcome surprise. I remember us failing to get an interception until like Week 8 a few years back.

We have ranked at the bottom of the league in takeaways for the past couple seasons. Getting turnovers now is getting back to what a Steelers defense should be. Having the 2nd worst passing defense is not what Steelers defense should be.

Missed draft picks have hampered a lot. Have to start up front during the rebuild and they have (Heyward, Tuitt, Shazier, Dupree, Jones). Even Golson pick was a start, but really need more secondary talent.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

We have ranked at the bottom of the league in takeaways for the past couple seasons.  Getting turnovers now is getting back to what a Steelers defense should be.  Having the 2nd worst passing defense is not what Steelers defense should be.

Missed draft picks have hampered a lot.  Have to start up front during the rebuild and they have (Heyward, Tuitt, Shazier, Dupree, Jones).  Even Golson pick was a start, but really need more secondary talent.

I agree, we need to add another quality safety and CB or two either through the draft or via free agency...

Hawaii 5-0 wrote:

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

We have ranked at the bottom of the league in takeaways for the past couple seasons.  Getting turnovers now is getting back to what a Steelers defense should be.  Having the 2nd worst passing defense is not what Steelers defense should be.

Missed draft picks have hampered a lot.  Have to start up front during the rebuild and they have (Heyward, Tuitt, Shazier, Dupree, Jones).  Even Golson pick was a start, but really need more secondary talent.

I agree, we need to add another quality safety and CB or two either through the draft or via free agency...

I think S is more of a 'need' pick. Allen is getting long in the tooth and I haven't seen enough from Golden that makes me think he's going to be someone we should rest a season's hopes on at SS. Shamarko is a bust.

At CB, if we can keep Gay & Cockrell, we still have Golson and Grant in the wings & I'd like to see what we can do with them. Re-signing Gay is going to be huge, I'd also like to keep Boykin as well.

Either way I wouldn't complain, but I do think safety is our least 'deep' position on the roster.

People get hung up on our yardage stats (which aren't good at all, not going to try and sugar coat it), but possibly the Steelers defense isn't as bad as they get credit for?

Despite the yardage, this is an opportunistic defense that does make a lot of splash plays. They are in the top 10 of a lot of categories that are potentially game-swinging plays.

#11 in points allowed
#1 in redzone takeaways
#5 most sacks
#6 most interceptions
#7 in recovered fumbles

In my honest opinion, the defense has gone through a rebuilding process in the last couple years, and right now they're starting to gel. We overall have a young group that needs to work on being more consistent, but when they're on, they're on. If opponents don't score on us and we take the ball away, they're doing their jobs.

Fire Arians wrote:

People get hung up on our yardage stats (which aren't good at all, not going to try and sugar coat it), but possibly the Steelers defense isn't as bad as they get credit for?

Despite the yardage, this is an opportunistic defense that does make a lot of splash plays. They are in the top 10 of a lot of categories that are potentially game-swinging plays.

#11 in points allowed
#1 in redzone takeaways
#5 most sacks
#6 most interceptions
#7 in recovered fumbles

In my honest opinion, the defense has gone through a rebuilding process in the last couple years, and right now they're starting to gel. We overall have a young group that needs to work on being more consistent, but when they're on, they're on. If opponents don't score on us and we take the ball away, they're doing their jobs.

Those stats show me 2 things. 1. Steelers defense is getting to the QB better than the past couple seasons. 2. They are opportunistic (getting INT's off the pressure and looking to cause fumbles).

The notion that giving up huge amounts of yardage isn't that big of a deal is delusional. It means that fundamentally, the Steelers cant defend the pass very well. If you cant play one aspect of defense, it eventually gets exposed and beats you, just like in Seattle. We all know it, the pass defense isn't that good, the talent level in the secondary as a whole isn't that good.

It's a start, revamping the defense was something that's going to take over a year to happen. The arrow is pointing up

Fire Arians wrote:

It's a start, revamping the defense was something that's going to take over a year to happen. The arrow is pointing up

Agree.

Fire Arians wrote:

It's a start, revamping the defense was something that's going to take over a year to happen. The arrow is pointing up

True, but the start of revamping has been going on for a few years now. Jarvis Jones, Shamarko Thomas, Cortez Allen, Shazier, Tuitt were all drafted to replace aging players. So far, only Tuitt is filling the role at an above average level.

The arrow pointing up is really due to some patchwork done by hopefully filling some gaps with guys like Harrison, Will Allen, Moats, Mitchell, Gay....until some of the new young guys establish themselves and hopefully some rookies next year step in and help. Butler changing approaches with the mediocre talent he has is a big thing IMO. Heyward and Timmons are the true core defenders in this unit, but even Timmons best days may be behind him.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

Fire Arians wrote:

It's a start, revamping the defense was something that's going to take over a year to happen. The arrow is pointing up

True, but the start of revamping has been going on for a few years now.  Jarvis Jones, Shamarko Thomas, Cortez Allen, Shazier, Tuitt were all drafted to replace aging players.  So far, only Tuitt is filling the role at an above average level.

The arrow pointing up is really due to some patchwork done by hopefully filling some gaps with guys like Harrison, Will Allen, Moats, Mitchell, Gay....until some of the new young guys establish themselves and hopefully some rookies next year step in and help.  Butler changing approaches with the mediocre talent he has is a big thing IMO.  Heyward and Timmons are the true core defenders in this unit, but even Timmons best days may be behind him.

To be honest, I'm not sure if we're going to see the mid 2000's defenses for a really long time. This team is invested more in the offense and lives & dies by it. The defense just needs to be good enough