In a way was our defense slightly exposed last night?

[FuFuLamePoo]

I'm not truly concerned about them, especially the front 7 but Pittsburgh clearly had a plan for success and they executed it almost perfectly.  they started out with short passes which opened up the run and eventually longer passes down the field.  in the first half though especially they were nickel and diming us.  it's time for our coaches to adjust.  i'm not worried about the front 7 but the secondary has issues

[TheRumGone]

when i see Star getting pushed back i know it was just not our night

[General_Purr]

Bell is a great RB no doubt. But He made us his bitch. D line. L backers. D backs.

[chknwing]

um, carolina molded its team after the steelers, you dont think the steelers know how to beat their own system?

[Peppers90 NC]

without Hardy, we are not the defense people say we are, especially when  CJ isnt disruptive like he has been in the past.  They just utilized screens almost every play, they took the ball out of their QB's hands and put it in playmakers hands and they had decent enough blocking.  We will see much more of that this year until we figure it out.  On the big 80 yard run, Luke had to pick a hole, problem was, Harper who was behind Luke, also tried to fill the same hole instead of stuffing the one Bell took.  Mental mistakes kilt us.

[mbarbour21]

Question:

Does anyone know why our corners (specifically White) were playing so far off the receivers?

I mean Ben was taking about 1.5 seconds or leas to get rid of the ball. Wouldn't we have benefited from pressing/bumping them?

[AceBoogie]

Yes

[FuFuLamePoo]

Question:

Does anyone know why our corners (specifically White) were playing so far off the receivers?

I mean Ben was taking about 1.5 seconds or leas to get rid of the ball. Wouldn't we have benefited from pressing/bumping them?

I noticed this too. I had no idea what he was doing.  When they're consistently throwing short quick passes and beating us with them I would think it only makes sense to play up.  Buttttt I've never played NFL CB so what do I know

[OnlyPantherFaninMaine]

I noticed this too. I had no idea what he was doing.  When they're consistently throwing short quick passes and beating us with them I would think it only makes sense to play up.  Buttttt I've never played NFL CB so what do I know

 

Yep it was clear as day. There was a 3rd and 6 at one point and Melvin White was at least 12 yards off Antonio Brown who picked up the first with an easy pitch and catch. I think we were just scared of getting beat over the top but I'm growing tired of the space we give receivers off the line. I'm afraid it won't change until we get a really talented young corner that can press and run with the faster receivers in this league.

[CRA]

I don't think we got exposed. I think we simply played the run poorly....LBs especially. Bell is unique and they handled it wrong. Overshot plays into gaps. He waited on them instead of the other way around.

As far as the pass rush. Same stuff happened last year when teams went to quick pass.....see Philly in preseason, Bills, etc. It forces you to play D with your back 7. Everyone knows if you take our front out our D is different. Nothing our pass rush can do there

[Who Said What?]

I noticed this too. I had no idea what he was doing.  When they're consistently throwing short quick passes and beating us with them I would think it only makes sense to play up.  

 

 

Yep it was clear as day. There was a 3rd and 6 at one point and Melvin White was at least 12 yards off Antonio Brown who picked up the first with an easy pitch and catch. I think we were just scared of getting beat over the top but I'm growing tired of the space we give receivers off the line.

 

This pissed me off, especially since we didn't play like this against Detroit or Tampa Bay.  I believe their weapons are just as dangerous as Pittsburgh.  The first two weeks, we played aggressive and re-directed WRs.  Last night we played loiter ball.  Sometimes McDermott does that with the game plan taking keep the play in front of you to the max.  What is the point of getting 6 feet tall corners and not letting them be physical?

[teeray]

On a couple of the CB plays we were trying to disguise our coverage. We were up on the guy but dropped back just before snap. Just good reads by Ben.

And I know fans hate this, but it is better to get beat underneath than over the top

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

bell kind of winds his way up to the line, picks his gap, and explodes.  him and lesean mccoy will be the two best running backs we see this season.

[Davidson Deac II]

We were not exposed and we really don't need to look too deep to determine why we got whipped last night.  In our first two games, we controlled the line of scrimmage and won the turnover battle.  Last night, Pitt reversed both of those.  They pushed our tackles back and opened holes to run through.  And they took advantage of two unforced turnovers while not turning the ball over themselves.

 

Football can be a very simple game.  Control the line of scrimmage and don't turn the ball over, and you are going to win 99 times out of a 100.