Troy Polamalu (1 Viewer)

[brindrod]

I was the first to draft a DEF off the board and picked up the Steelers. I was watching the Steelers - Bears matchup yesterday hoping that despite the loss of Troy Polamalu, The Steelers DEF could be viable against weak offenses. While they may be NFL worthy, I am starting to believe that they are now nothing but a mid-level fantasy DEF.

Looking at their next five matchups (Bengals, Chargers, Lions, Browns, Vikings), can they still rack up decent points or do they become the football fantasy version of the 2005 Ravens DEF where Baltimore also had to do without some key elements?

 

[Godsbrother]

The Steelers defense is still pretty good although losing Polamalu was a huge loss. His replacement is Tyrone Carter who is a big hitter but doesn't have anywhere near the speed, hands, and coverage skills as Polamalu.

Fantasy wise it is hard to say how many yards/points Polamalu accounts for but I think it is safe to say they lose 1/2 turnover per game.

 

[5-ish Finkle]

The Steelers defense is still pretty good although losing Polamalu was a huge loss. His replacement is Tyrone Carter who is a big hitter but doesn't have anywhere near the speed, hands, and coverage skills as Polamalu.Fantasy wise it is hard to say how many yards/points Polamalu accounts for but I think it is safe to say they lose 1/2 turnover per game.

They practically stopped blitzing yesterday as well. That's the bigger rub, in my mind, but I wouldn't expect that to continue.Not sure what they were hoping to achieve, but the Bears had a field day completing stuff in front of the safeties/just behind the LBs. Cutler had way too much time on a great many of the plays when he dropped back. Doesn't make sense, since when they DID blitz they were getting into Cutler's kitchen. Dunno if it was just the fact Troy was out and they were attempting to protect Carter/Mundy, or if it was that coupled with all the rain, but they certainly seem to have taken their "foot off the pedal on" of the blitz yesterdat.

 

[Godsbrother]

The Steelers defense is still pretty good although losing Polamalu was a huge loss. His replacement is Tyrone Carter who is a big hitter but doesn't have anywhere near the speed, hands, and coverage skills as Polamalu.Fantasy wise it is hard to say how many yards/points Polamalu accounts for but I think it is safe to say they lose 1/2 turnover per game.

They practically stopped blitzing yesterday as well. That's the bigger rub, in my mind, but I wouldn't expect that to continue.Not sure what they were hoping to achieve, but the Bears had a field day completing stuff in front of the safeties/just behind the LBs. Cutler had way too much time on a great many of the plays when he dropped back. Doesn't make sense, since when they DID blitz they were getting into Cutler's kitchen. Dunno if it was just the fact Troy was out and they were attempting to protect Carter/Mundy, or if it was that coupled with all the rain, but they certainly seem to have taken their "foot off the pedal on" of the blitz yesterdat.

They were dropping Harrison and Woodley back in coverage quite a bit, I guess to help the secondary. Cutler wasn't going deep so I am not sure why the corners were giving so much cushion.

 

[Maroney=Sped]

I think the more noteworthy aspect of Polamalu's loss is that the Steeler defense is no longer an imposing matchup for your offensive players, especially RB's. He has a huge presence on the field that IMHO created a lot of options and opportunities for other players. I don't think you consider benching your top players against the Steelers while he's gone unless you have a markedly better matchup with one of your other players.

 

[Godsbrother]

I think the more noteworthy aspect of Polamalu's loss is that the Steeler defense is no longer an imposing matchup for your offensive players, especially RB's. He has a huge presence on the field that IMHO created a lot of options and opportunities for other players. I don't think you consider benching your top players against the Steelers while he's gone unless you have a markedly better matchup with one of your other players.

On the other hand Forte had 29 yards on 13 carries...

 

[SSOG]

Pittsburgh's defense was more likely to regress than anyone gave it credit for even BEFORE Polamalu went out, because defensive performance is far less consistent from year-to-year than offensive performance. If you look through Pittsburgh's recent defensive finishes, you'll find a lot of AMAZING defenses... interspersed with a bunch of simply good or even borderline mediocre defenses.

Pittsburgh's still a very good defense, but it's hard to expect back-to-back elite performances from any defensive unit, injuries or no injuries.