Bringing back the sack

[BlitzburghRockCity]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_482462.html

The protection issues the Steelers are groping with heading into this afternoon's game against Tampa Bay include solving it as well as providing it.
Yes, the Steelers gave up nine sacks last Sunday while losing, 27-0, in Baltimore. And yes, they're going to have to shore up their pass blocking if they hope to keep quarterback Ben Roethlisberger alive, let alone upright and functioning against the Buccaneers.

But an equally frustrating, albeit less painful aspect of that 27-0 pounding the Steelers absorbed at the hands of the Ravens revolves around how many times the Steelers got quarterback Steve McNair on the ground.

They never did.





That snapped the Steelers' NFL-high streak of recording at least one sack in 27 consecutive games.

For an afternoon at least, "Blitzburgh" became a quiet, sleepy little hamlet in which it was perfectly safe for an opposing QB to drop back into the pocket.

Or was it?

"We had pressure in the game (at Baltimore), it's just that McNair is such a good quarterback he was going 'one-two-three, gone'" defensive end Brett Keisel said. "That's the way it's been with all the quarterbacks.

"It seems like we're there, but it's not quick enough."

It was especially that way against McNair and the Ravens.

"(Linebacker) Joey (Porter) hit him like four times right when he released the ball," Keisel said.

Falling behind 17-0 after two quarters and 24-0 midway through the third limited the Steelers' opportunities to stalk McNair.

The Ravens attempted just 10 passes in the second half.

As for the 17 they tried in the first half, few beyond the double-move, 20-yard TD pass McNair executed to tight end Todd Heap required any significant time to be spent in the pocket.

"We didn't really have that many drop-back situations," linebacker Larry Foote said. "If they'd have been trying to pass, we would have had pressure."

The Steelers have had pressure this season, but they haven't been able to generate it on a week-to-week basis.

Our pressure on the QB has been so inconsistent this year it's just amazing. Ive never seen us either get so close and never get a sack or never even get close to touching the QB.

[PITT23]

We should get some but also focus on not giving them up on the other side of the ball

[AZ_Steeler]

The lack of pressure on the QB is probably why Ike has been burnt so much this year! That pressure is a must for any efense to have a chance and get off the field on third downs!

[BlitzburghRockCity]

especially a 3-4, because we run so many blitzes, our guys are all over the field but Ike has been designated as our top cover guy and last year we didnt hesitate to let him go 1 on 1 against any WR in the league. Now this year he's getting burnt more than a poptart in a cheap toaster.

[Iron City South]

I don't dislike the 3-4 ... however it seems that we've done nothing to update some of our blitz schemes over the past few years so the element of surprise is gone. Teams that have played the Steelers this year even said, "we know exactly what the Pittsburgh Steelers do on defense" and "we knew what to expect from them"

Hell, how bad is it when Chad Brown, who hasn't played for the Steelers in like like 11 years comes back and says, "It didn't take me lone to get familiar with what the Steelers do on defense, it hasn't changed much."

Time for some fundimental changes on defense ...