The NFL is playing flag football...

[RosettaStoned]

IDK, there are teams (San Fran, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, etc) that seem to still play solid defense even with the rule changes. The rule changes shouldn't be an excuse for poor defensive play.

Watching all these teams, honestly as a Steelers fan, and as someone who has to watch the Ravens a lot.. even those defenses aren't the same.

That Steelers defense is the worst I can remember seeing in years.

[killgod]

Watching all these teams, honestly as a Steelers fan, and as someone who has to watch the Ravens a lot.. even those defenses aren't the same.

That Steelers defense is the worst I can remember seeing in years.

It's funny because in many stat areas (yards, points against, conversion rates) they are dominating.

Perhaps the areas they are very poor in, sacks (35 - 17th in NFL), fumbles (2 - dead last) and interceptions (11 - 8th worst), are what's giving that perception. The "big exciting play" that gets thrown all over the TV and gets people excited, the turnovers and points.

I haven't been impressed by them either, but perhaps it's because they've been effective but essentially boring?

[RosettaStoned]

It's funny because in many stat areas (yards, points against, conversion rates) they are dominating.

Perhaps the areas they are very poor in, sacks (35 - 17th in NFL), fumbles (2 - dead last) and interceptions (11 - 8th worst), are what's giving that perception. The "big exciting play" that gets thrown all over the TV and gets people excited, the turnovers and points.

I haven't been impressed by them either, but perhaps it's because they've been effective but essentially boring?

Nah, I like boring... They just don't stop teams like they have in years past. I can remember them going up against teams leading the league in rushing and giving up like 52 yards rushing a few years ago. This year Foster raped us. Couldn't get off the field against a Manningless Colts JV Squad. Couldn't stop Alex fucking Smith from dinking and dunking us.

Not the dominant Steelers defense of the last 10 years.

[Houston]

Larry should add this to his list:



"Patriots gave up the most passing yards in a season in NFL history: 4,753"

[Aso]

Bill Belichick is ahead of the curve. He realizes if doesn't matter who is playing DB which is why Mathew Slater and Julian Edelman are getting significant playing time.

[DSpydr84]

Larry should add this to his list:



"Patriots gave up the most passing yards in a season in NFL history: 4,753"

The fact that New England plays against Mark Sanchez twice a year makes this stat even worse.

[RainboUnicorn]

Does anybody else think the lockout had something to do with this? I don't really know what effect it could have had off the top of my head. Wasn't week 1 ridiculous in regard to passing stats?

[FirstTimer]

The fact that New England plays against Mark Sanchez twice a year makes this stat even worse.

And they played Tebow

[Tailback U]

It's all about the flags.

I'd like to see how much yardage was gained coming from flags that turned a 3rd down into an automatic 1st down and extended a drive that ultimately led to more points/yards.

Probably impossible to keep track of, but it'd be interesting to see.

[NAHSTE]

It's all about the flags.

I'd like to see how much yardage was gained coming from flags that turned a 3rd down into an automatic 1st down and extended a drive that ultimately led to more points/yards.

Probably impossible to keep track of, but it'd be interesting to see.

Not to mention how much extra yardage has been gained from defensive players pulling up and allowing a catch in fear of a flag, or just playing softer in coverage and allowing more open receivers.

[killgod]

Bill Belichick is ahead of the curve. He realizes if doesn't matter who is playing DB which is why Mathew Slater and Julian Edelman are getting significant playing time.

In today's NFL you need DB's who will catch interceptions, everything else is irrelevant because it's probably a penalty.


NFC seed #1: 31st Pass Defence, 1st in Interceptions
AFC seed #1: 32nd Pass Defence, 2nd in Interceptions

/shrug

[Tailback U]

In today's NFL you need DB's who will catch interceptions, everything else is irrelevant because it's probably a penalty.


NFC seed #1: 31st Pass Defence, 1st in Interceptions
AFC seed #1: 32nd Pass Defence, 2nd in Interceptions

/shrug

Or hall of fame quarterbacks.

/shrug.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

It's all about the flags.

I'd like to see how much yardage was gained coming from flags that turned a 3rd down into an automatic 1st down and extended a drive that ultimately led to more points/yards.

Probably impossible to keep track of, but it'd be interesting to see.

Not impossible to keep track of at all...I just ain't paying a service to have those kind of numbers available to me.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

The game has changed but it doesn't render this shit meaningless (the non cheating football things, baseball is it's own story).

You just can't compare what Brees is doing now to what Marino did 25 years or whatever ago fairly, but to say what Brees has done this year doesn't mean a damn thing?

That's a bit dramatic.

Not really...its the same thing..."rule changes"...in the NFL, its on the field rule changes. In baseball, its off the field rule changes.

In the NFL, they cracked down and took away a defenses ability to, well, play defense physically. The end result was the NFL going to spread, passing offenses and numbers skyrocketed quickly.

In baseball, they cracked down on amphetamine use. The end result was baseball going to HGH and steroids, power and run production numbers skyrocketed quickly.

[Senser81]

It's funny because in many stat areas (yards, points against, conversion rates) they are dominating.

Perhaps the areas they are very poor in, sacks (35 - 17th in NFL), fumbles (2 - dead last) and interceptions (11 - 8th worst), are what's giving that perception. The "big exciting play" that gets thrown all over the TV and gets people excited, the turnovers and points.

I haven't been impressed by them either, but perhaps it's because they've been effective but essentially boring?

Some of it is that their division contains some of the worst offensive coaches in the NFL...Harbaugh is a total idiot, Marvin Lewis is deadly dull, and Fritz Shurmur's kid doesn't even know how to read the scoreboard.

Another part of it is that people don't realize how good the Steelers defense has really been. If you look at standard deviation stuff and how they compared to the rest of the league, the Steelers defense in 2008 was arguably the best in NFL history. People bring up the 2000 Ravens, but there were several other teams in the NFL that year having monster defensive years. The Titans defense in 2000 was nearly as effective as the Ravens.

So I think people expect more from the Steelers defense, and they don't realize that even though they now play a much more timid style and aren't as good as they were in 2008, they are still one of the best in the NFL. It just doesn't seem that way.