Steeler defense

Michael David Smith, on footballoutsiders.com:

Safety Troy Polamalu had an unnecessary roughness penalty and a roughing the passer penalty against Jacksonville, but he also played a big role in Pittsburgh’s defense that day. Coaches get furious when players pick up penalties, but Polamalu demonstrates how calls often go against the most aggressive players. Having a safety like that is worth a few 15-yard penalties.

He is a good one. A lot of attention has been focussed lately on the Steelers' running game and occasional passing. But Steeler football is predicated on getting the defense off the field. You can't dominate the time of possession battle without wearing out the other team's defense. Likewise it's not so easy to run on a defense with fresh legs.

I'm not sure how many points the Steelers will score in Green Bay, but I do think we can expect the defense to more or less shut down Green Bay's offense -- unless, of course, the offense can't get a first down. Any defense left on the field for too long will begin to break down.

Getting the run game going is just half of Steeler football. The other half is shutting down the other team's offense and getting our defense off the field. The more you run, the greater the advantage for the defense. The more you stuff the other team's attack, the greater the advantage for the run game. Those two things feed off each other.