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Steelers SS
Lee Flowers
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After the Steelers’ Week 10 game at Tennessee, Pittsburgh’s defense ranked
first in the NFL in yards allowed per game, yards allowed per play, rushing yards allowed
per game, sack percentage and yards allowed on first down.
A rundown of the various other second- and third-place rankings would be superfluous.
Suffice to say, the Steelers’ defense is, well, pretty darn good, and here are five
reasons why:
1. The know-how
The coaches can coach, and the players can play. But which came first?
"You mean the chicken or the egg?" defensive coordinator Tim Lewis asked.
"Obviously, it takes players, and we have very good and talented players.
They’ve shown the ability to learn all of what we do and then go out and execute it
with a very nasty demeanor. Those things combined — attitude, toughness, speed, the
ability to learn and the coaches doing a great job — have made them good."
Lewis replaced Jim Haslett two years ago and has had the same assistant coaches —
Mike Archer, John Mitchell, Willy Robinson and Lou Spanos — under him both years.
Said head coach Bill Cowher: "There are no egos. They accept input, and they want
input from the other coaches. It is a good group. It is a cohesive group. They work so
well together, and Tim has done a very good job."
Of course, Lewis couldn’t do so without a willing crop of players, and they set
the foundation of their willingness this offseason, reporting en masse for every coaching
session through minicamp.
"Honestly, I think we are just smarter," said ILB Earl Holmes, the
team’s leading tackler. "By that I mean we’re gap-sound this year."
And what does Holmes attribute that to?
"Coaching. We all came in during the offseason to really understand what the
3-4’s all about. Guys understand where they fit now, and there’s a lot of
unselfishness going on. The coaches made sure of it."
2. The elements
In the age of free agency, it’s difficult for a particular unit to develop
chemistry, but the Steelers seemingly have achieved that state of football grace.
Said DE Aaron Smith: "Everybody plays so hard because everybody likes each other.
There’s not a person here who I can honestly say I don’t like. I think that
makes a big difference."
Not too long ago, the Steelers were perceived as having the same type of chemistry, and
that chemistry paid off in a Super Bowl appearance. What’s different?
SS Lee Flowers believes it has to do with the attitude of the players.
"There are more people who are starting from scratch and are coachable,"
Flowers said. "Their attitude is coming off the head coach’s attitude. How he
acts, we act. That wasn’t the case in the past. You couldn’t coach some of those
guys, and you probably shouldn’t have. They knew what they were doing. But now, here,
there are guys who are hungry to reach a certain goal.
"I don’t think people in here are selfish or concerned about personal
accolades. When you have so many All-Pros like we had a few years ago, there tends to be
selfishness. But there’s none of that going on in this locker room right now."
3. The propulsion
The Steelers possess the type of shutdown cornerbacks who make their pressure work.
Here’s the X’s and O’s of it all. After the Steelers fell behind 9-0
against the Browns and their rhythmic passing attack in Week Nine, Lewis adjusted,
switching to bump-and-run coverage and an all-out assault on QB Tim Couch. The Browns
gained only 58 yards and scored three points throughout the second half and overtime as
the Steelers rallied to win.
For a team that’s made the zone blitz famous, playing bump-and-run coverage was a
giant leap of faith.
"We’ve actually played more man coverage this year than in any year since
I’ve been here," said Lewis, who joined the staff in 1995. "It’s been
primarily because of those two guys."
"Those two guys" are CBs Chad Scott and Dewayne Washington, who are playing
at Pro Bowl levels. Scott, in particular, would rather play man-to-man coverage.
"It’s just you against him," he said. "You don’t have to worry
about passing stuff off and trying to zone off different areas of the field. You
don’t have to hesitate and wait and read."
Washington seemed a little more practical about playing man.
"Well, it’s fun, but you’d better get pressure on the quarterback,"
Washington said. "For the most part, you don’t have to cover the whole route
tree. But if they’re back and they’ve got all day, well, you’re
scorched."
Which brings us to the next point.
4. The chemical reaction
Pittsburgh’s ability to pressure the opposing quarterback is what has put its
defense in such a dominant position. The Steelers have perhaps their fastest group of
linebackers in the Cowher era.
When Holmes had his first sack of the season in Week Seven, he was mobbed by teammates
as if he were the student manager scoring a basket at the end of a 40-point blowout. But
it’s easy for Holmes to be viewed as nothing more than a run stuffer. His fellow
’backers — Jason Gildon, Joey Porter and rookie phenom Kendrell Bell — have
combined for 22 of the team’s 41 sacks. The Steelers had only 39 sacks in each of the
last two seasons.
"Ray Lewis made the comment that the Ravens have the best linebackers in the
league," Tim Lewis said. "Right now, I think I’d take ours, and
they’re bound and determined to prove they can play."
The Steelers also are getting pressure from their linemen, a rarity in a 3-4 alignment.
Smith and Kimo von Oelhoffen have combined for 10 sacks. Lewis will tell you, though, that
rookie NT Casey Hampton has been the catalyst.
"In the 3-4 scheme," Lewis said, "the bottom line is, you need a nose
that can take on a double-team, and now we do."
5. The accelerator
The Steelers lead the league in rushing offense. That has allowed the defense to
significantly minimize the number of snaps it has taken this season.
Understandably, it’s a point that few of the defensive members wanted to discuss.
"I have felt a little fresh this season," Gildon admitted. "But you have
to realize it’s not always going to be that way. When it’s not, we’ll have
to go out there and play."
Jim Wexell covers the Steelers for pittsburgh.com. |
