Is defense overrated in today's NFL?

[dlunc3]

Tebow went for 316 and 2 tds leading his offense to 29 points last week vs the leagues #1 defense. They allowed maybe the worst passing qb of all time to drive the field almost at will killing them with deep balls

Brees went for 462 and 4 tds putting up 32 points yesterday vs the leagues 2nd best defense. He scored b2b tds vs this d in a matter of minutes in the 4th quarter when the "great" d was supposed to stand up.

Today, the leagues 3rd best d, has already allowed a rookie qb put up 13 in a quarter and a half of football.

On the other side of the ball, the leagues 4th best d allowed Flacco to throw for 2 tds and lead his team to 17 points in the first quarter..

These are the leagues top 4 defenses. When it matters, it seems a good offense beats a good defense these days. The last teams standing are teams putting up points in a shootout, not teams playing lock down d, as that doesnt appear to be possible anymore. Things used to be different... obviously the nfl rule changes completely changed the shape of the nfl.

[paco]

Offenses win championships now adays.

That's what the Patriots will prove again this year.

[dlunc3]

Yea... I think its says a lot that the two sb favorites have the leagues bottom two deffenses

[Blutarski]

San Fran may have something to say about that.

[ephi408]

San Fran didn't win because of defense.

San Fran may have something to say about that.

[dlunc3]

San Fran may have something to say about that.

sf allowed 32 points and close to 500 yards... and thats with their special teams taking 2 possessions away from brees

brees drove down and scored two tds on that defense when it mattered late in the game..

I hate to say it and have always trashed the guy... but alex smith won that game-- his d needs to thank him for bailing them out

[Blutarski]

The D is what got them there. Loved the fact Alex Smith carried the team that game.

[PAULYPOKER]

Offenses win championships now adays. That's what the Patriots will prove again this year.

Wrong, number 1 and 2 defenses were in the Superbowl last year...........

[MHawk]

Betting the under used to be my favorite thing in the NFL. Ravens, Steelers D has made me some good money in the past. With every team passing so heavily in last couple seasons, I rarely if ever will place a bet on the under

[k13]

San Fran didn't win because of defense.

Actually they did, you just won't understand it.

[k13]

What most of you don't get out of those 462 yards passing is he attempted 63 passes which equals 7.3 y/p

which is far below his season average

more pass attempts = more passing yards

but that obviously goes over the head of most SBR posters

[k13]

Did you guys know the Top 3 QB's in passing yards are also Top 3 in pass attempts....

[paco]

Wrong, number 1 and 2 defenses were in the Superbowl last year...........

And gb offense prevailed over Pitt D.

Game was high scoring also

[81_84]

Needless to say , todays NFL is much different than 15-20 years ago. I hate to , but the rule changes are turning this league into a joke. Combine that with fact that you have absolute freaks running around like CJ ,Gronk , Graham etc. who are almost impossible to cover. Today's athlete is much bigger , faster , stronger. Offenses do have much more of an advantage. A great offense will always beat a great defense in todays league. No team has won a playoff game with defense this year. If you want to win , you have to put up 25-30 points. That will not change this weekend either.
One other point I want to make is that people are looking at the wrong stats , in terms of measuring a defense. Again not to sound cliche , but the only stat that matters , certainly the most important one , is points allowed. Stopping the run , 3rd down conversion etc. are still very important as well. It's a new day boys. And its only gearing more towards the offenses.

[dlunc3]

What most of you don't get out of those 462 yards passing is he attempted 63 passes which equals 7.3 y/p

which is far below his season average

more pass attempts = more passing yards

but that obviously goes over the head of most SBR posters

What about the 32 points allowed? And thats with special teams errors keeping brees off the field two more times..

[k13]

What about the 32 points allowed? And thats with special teams errors keeping brees off the field two more times..

The key number is # of possessions, Niners did not control the clock and scored quickly off the turnovers that gave the Saints 15 possessions which is a high number and they scored on 5 of them.

"stopping" Brees 10 times out of 15 does not sound so bad does it?


The league average is around 11.xx drives a game

Here's an interesting statistic. SF allows 1.19 points per drive. Lowest in the NFL.


Patriots D is also a bit underrated for all the yards they give up.

One of the most overlooked statistic is average Starting Field Position per drive on both sides of the ball.

[thebestthereis]

U turn it over u lose, period.

[dfish]

Needless to say , todays NFL is much different than 15-20 years ago. I hate to , but the rule changes are turning this league into a joke. Combine that with fact that you have absolute freaks running around like CJ ,Gronk , Graham etc. who are almost impossible to cover. Today's athlete is much bigger , faster , stronger. Offenses do have much more of an advantage. A great offense will always beat a great defense in todays league. No team has won a playoff game with defense this year. If you want to win , you have to put up 25-30 points. That will not change this weekend either.
One other point I want to make is that people are looking at the wrong stats , in terms of measuring a defense. Again not to sound cliche , but the only stat that matters , certainly the most important one , is points allowed. Stopping the run , 3rd down conversion etc. are still very important as well. It's a new day boys. And its only gearing more towards the offenses.

Spot on my friend.
Plus the fact the NFL knows 14-10 games don't appeal to the casual fan,the rules favor the offense.

[PAULYPOKER]

And gb offense prevailed over Pitt D. Game was high scoring also

G-Bay had the #1 defense

[81_84]

Spot on my friend.
Plus the fact the NFL knows 14-10 games don't appeal to the casual fan,the rules favor the offense.

Exactly , their too concerned with getting fukin soccer moms etc. LOL Fukin Madonna at the superbowl.
They don't understand that hardcore fans are fed up with this bullshit.

[dlunc3]

G-Bay had the #1 defense

Gb was #5 in total yards and #2 in points against last year, behind pitt in both... not sure what you are smoking tonight

[PAULYPOKER]

Gb was #5 in total yards and #2 in points against last year, behind pitt in both... not sure what you are smoking tonight

you must of got them stats from fantasy land..........

G-bay 15.8 ppg
Steelers 16.1 ppg

[dlunc3]

Sorry pal... stop living a fairy tail

Points Per Game Leaders
RK TEAM YDS YDS/G PASS P YDS/G RUSH R YDS/G PTS PTS/G
1 Pittsburgh 4429 276.8 3425 214.1 1004 62.8 232 14.5
2 Green Bay 4945 309.1 3107 194.2 1838 114.9 240 15.0
3 Baltimore 5102 318.9 3599 224.9 1503 93.9 270 16.9
4 Chicago 5029 314.3 3588 224.3 1441 90.1 286 17.9
5 Atlanta 5319 332.4 3625 226.6 1694 105.9 288 18.0
6 NY Jets 4664 291.5 3210 200.6 1454 90.9 304 19.0
7 New Orleans 4900 306.3 3103 193.9 1797 112.3 307 19.2
8 New England 5864 366.5 4136 258.5 1728 108.0 313 19.6
9 Tampa Bay 5323 332.7 3216 201.0 2107 131.7 318 19.9
10 San Diego 4345 271.6 2845 177.8 1500 93.8 322 20.1


GB #5 in total yards, and #2 in ppg

http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/total/position/defense/year/2010/seasontype/2