NFL teams
Matt Williamson, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Exposed by the Patriots, Pittsburgh's defense should get better

NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers

As the world saw Thursday night, the Steelers' defense is a major concern. This really isn't surprising. The defense was very poor through the preseason and everyone who pays attention knows that Pittsburgh will have to outscore its opponents with its superb offense (an offense that will only get better and better as the suspensions of Le'Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant expire and Maurkice Pouncey returns mid-season). As a 42-year-old who has basically lived in Pittsburgh my entire life, this is an odd time for the Black and Gold, who are known for superb defenses more so than possibly any other team in the NFL.

But times have changed. Dick LeBeau was here for the past 11 years and in that time had one of the top six scoring defenses in the NFL seven different times, and until last season never once was below league average in that category. That said, things were trending in the wrong direction. LeBeau is now in Tennessee, and his two-gapping and zone-blitz principles weren't taking Pittsburgh's opponents' by surprise any longer. Pittsburgh played a lot of off-coverage and with today's rules, opposing quarterbacks could nickel and dime their way down the field. And worst of all, Pittsburgh's once-daunting defense simply wasn't producing big plays, particularly turnovers and more specifically, interceptions.

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