The Pittsburgh Steelers have been built on defense for decades. Some NFL teams are known for producing historically great position groups like the Chicago Bears linebackers or the Denver Broncos secondary. The Steelers have produced legendary defensive players at every level of the defense.
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Steelers DT Cam Heyward and LB TJ Watt celebrate a sack in their Week 12 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Pittsburgh has Hall of Fame defensive linemen, linebackers, and in the defensive backfield. An entire NFL All-Time team would need help matching the All-Time Steelers' defense in overall quality and depth. Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin have coached defensive players who either have a bust in Canton, OH, or will at some point. The current version of the defense has four legitimate candidates for the Hall of Fame: Cam Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Patrick Peterson, and the best defensive player in football, TJ Watt.
On Thursday, The PM Team w/Poni & Mueller entertained the buffoonish stylings of Pro Football Focus writer Steve Palazzolo. Palazzolo has the thankless job of defending highly suspect grades. His weekly appearances have debunked the theory that the organization hopes to be football’s equivalent of Bill James. James was a brilliant mathematician, and PFF is a candle in the wind by comparison.
"Garrett's pass rush grade is on pace to be the best ever that we've ever given an edge rusher," Palazzolo told Andrew Fillippoini. "Our grade incorporates how quickly he's winning, the million times we state not all stats are created equal. I think it's ridiculous to look at 14 vs 14 or whatever the number is. We're looking at every single stat. Garrett has been as good as we have ever seen on a snap-by-snap basis."
The big issue is that the NFL is not MLB, and the analytics crowd has a lot of problems justifying ever-shifting football metrics. The most controversial subject for fans of the black and gold is the inexplicable love affair with Cleveland Browns' Myles Garrett. Wins above replacement in baseball over time have become a significant counting stat fans can understand. It's tangible.
USA Today
Steelers left tackle Dan Moore Jr. has held his own against Browns star Myles Garrett in their meetings over the past two years.
Pass rush win rate is a statistic used to overrate Garrett. Comparing Garrett to Lawrence Taylor and Reggie White favorably is ludicrous. It is possible that "history" goes back to 2006 when PFF started grading players. Even in that period, it is a dubious conclusion that Garrett is the best defensive player in a single season. Watt tied the single-season record for sacks, which Garrett is not on pace to do in 2023, but is projected to grade higher. Chris Mueller followed up by asking if they factored in the quality of the opposition.
"No, we're not going to adjust for that, for various reasons," Palazzolo contined. "I think when you go back and look, maybe it's part of the context. It's interesting that you mention Trent Williams because Myles Garrett had a lot of success against Trent Williams. I think if you do want to use the quality of players, left tackles are generally better than right tackles."
The pretzel logic is enough to make the average fan howl with frustration. Within a brief answer, the PFF representative says they don't factor in the quality of opposition, but then lays out a case for why they should, if they did, which they don't except for sometimes. Follow? If so, please report for the inevitable reboot of The Pink Panther because this is an answer that only the great Inspector Clouseau could follow.
Gene Puskar / AP Photo
Former Steelers defenders, Mel Blount and Dwayne Woodruff defend Cris Collinsworth.
Cris Collinsworth's organization of PFF fancies itself as analytics gurus, but the grading is not transparent and is wildly inconsistent. They would expect you to believe that two plus two equals whatever gets their favorite players rated higher. James was not associated with baseball, and his methodology was not readily accepted. Collinsworth is an ex-Cincinnati Bengals player who freely admits he was beaten mercilessly by Steelers defenders during his career.
Isn't it odd that the analytics crowd founded by Steelers rivals for Steelers haters consistently downplays Watt's accomplishments in favor of the less productive Garrett? He may be a phenomenal talent, but PFF has done more to tarnish Garrett than enhance his reputation. Fans laugh off the pass rush win rate as a meaningless made-up stat; it isn't. PFF uses the ever-shifting criteria to sell NFL teams why their grades are crucial for talent evaluation.
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Analytics based on faulty data turn what are purported to be well-reasoned mathematical decisions into coin flips. Brandon Staley is a big fan of analytics. Ask Justin Herbert and the rest of the Los Angeles Chargers how that has worked out for them. There is a place for analytics and math in the NFL, but the clowns at PFF who have been accused of selling grades by Travis and Jason Kelce should not be the basis for it.
It may not be a job for NASA, but it shouldn't be arbitrary. James' theories held up and were eventually embraced because of the lack of inherent bias. His methodology was impartial. Those who disagreed with his conclusions could not dispute how he arrived at them. PFF can't explain its methods on a weekly basis. It explains why certain NFL head coaches keep losing coin flips with a double-sided coin.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Are you shocked that PFF would try to justify Garrett getting the highest grade in its history? Please comment below, or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq.
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