Defense Wins Championships?

[Hoosiernsavga]

6 hours ago, BOTT said:

Really?  I remember tom Brady putting on a show and then Seattle marched right down the field and had a brain fart near the goaline.

Call it what you want, it all came down to the Pats interception that won the game. Like I said the Pats had a top 10 defense last year. 

[King Colt]

1985 Bears one example-the reason defense wins is when offenses cannot move the ball with their original game plan they must switch to another and when that does not work they have to switch again and they are then grasping for a solution that will be better than their original plan and that has never worked because there is no such strategy known as "desperation".  How often do we hear about great offenses versus great defenses? When great defenses lose a game it is often to another great defense not a great offense.

[Blueblazes]

It depends on the period of time you want to ask about. If you are talking the very latest trends (the past 6 SB winners--not just SB teams, but winners) then the answer is not the same as it used to be. Certainly defense is huge, however it does not carry the same weight as it did 30 years ago or even 10 years ago. So if you said that balance is the key, then you are more correct.  The facts below show this:

 

last year's winner and defensive rank = Pats (13th in defense)

year before= Seahawks (1) --the #2 team was the Lions and went nowhere

year before= Ravens (17th--yes Ravens were 17th in D)

year before= Giants (27th)

year before= Packers (5th)

year before = Saints (25th)

 

So while a defense certainly is important, you do not need a great defense to win the SB in the current era. Yes, I want a good defense in Indy, but the last 6 years show that you don't need to have one. Of these 6 SB winners, 4 had top notch QBs, 3 had more than average defense). 4 had at least very good O lines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BOTT]

7 hours ago, Hoosiernsavga said:

Call it what you want, it all came down to the Pats interception that won the game. Like I said the Pats had a top 10 defense last year. 

Pats defense 13th

Pats offense 11th

 

looks pretty balanced

 

and if defense won championships Seattle and their #1 defense would have won.  

[chad72]

18 hours ago, BOTT said:

Pats defense 13th

Pats offense 11th

 

looks pretty balanced

 

and if defense won championships Seattle and their #1 defense would have won.  

 

True dat. You need the D to get stops and keep the game close. However, the QB has to finish it. In the current era of pass defense, pass rushers and secondary coverage is what the focus has been. Most teams are 60-65% pass anyways. There is however a strong correlation between SB winners and pass defense. That is a discussion point for another day, passer rating differential.

 

Like you said, get the marquee QB and a good OL, they will make any WRs look good, look at the early Brady years and recent Cam Newton case. Then get an opportunistic D that will keep the game close and get key stops. That is why you will see more and more teams go away from focusing on skill position players early unless they are rebuilding and the cupboard is dry.

 

Heck, Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton are part of an explosive offense and none of them were drafted earlier than round 3, which is why it blew my mind when we had gems drafted in Moncrief and T.Y.Hilton in round 3 as to why we went the Dorsett route. The NFL dynamic has changed. While Polian kept drafting skill position players in round 1, other teams drafted for the trenches and won more in the playoffs once they had a QB worth their weight in salt.

 

 

[Blueblazes]

1 hour ago, chad72 said:

 

True dat. You need the D to get stops and keep the game close. However, the QB has to finish it. In the current era of pass defense, pass rushers and secondary coverage is what the focus has been. Most teams are 60-65% pass anyways. There is however a strong correlation between SB winners and pass defense. That is a discussion point for another day, passer rating differential.

 

Like you said, get the marquee QB and a good OL, they will make any WRs look good, look at the early Brady years and recent Cam Newton case. Then get an opportunistic D that will keep the game close and get key stops. That is why you will see more and more teams go away from focusing on skill position players early unless they are rebuilding and the cupboard is dry.

 

Heck, Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton are part of an explosive offense and none of them were drafted earlier than round 3, which is why it blew my mind when we had gems drafted in Moncrief and T.Y.Hilton in round 3 as to why we went the Dorsett route. The NFL dynamic has changed. While Polian kept drafting skill position players in round 1, other teams drafted for the trenches and won more in the playoffs once they had a QB worth their weight in salt.

 

 

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner! Several homeruns hit (or TD's scored) in this post. Especially the part about QB's and O linemen. Those are the cornerstones along with 2 good pass rushing DE's or OLB's. Very few teams with above average QBs and very good  O lines struggle. If you know football history, the truly great teams ('60s GB Packers, 70's Dolphins and Steelers, 80's 49ers and 90's Cowboys did not have just good Olines, they had great O lines.)

[FanFromtheWasteland]

On 1/30/2016 at 2:03 PM, Smonroe said:

 

Yes, but there's not going to be another 85 Bears.  The rules won't allow it.

 

With a top offense, a top 16 D could be good enough.

As long as that top offence doesn't have an off game. Then I personally don't think a top 16 D would be good enough to compensate. 

[ÅÐØNϧ 1]

On 1/30/2016 at 11:49 AM, ColtRider said:

 

In this day and age with all the prolific offenses of superstar QBs & WRs & the ilk, it begs the question. Does it or doesn't it?

 

 Yes it does just ask Trent " Who " Dilfer ..

[Smonroe]

41 minutes ago, FanFromtheWasteland said:

As long as that top offence doesn't have an off game. Then I personally don't think a top 16 D would be good enough to compensate. 

 

Sure, there are a ton of factors that could help a team that's mediocre on one side of the ball win or lose a championship.

 

I think we had the worst run defense in the league in 06 and were in the bottom third overall.  The most important factor is when the defense starts having it's 'good' games that even out the bad ones. 

 

I just don't think you have to have a dominant D if your offense is great.  Last year Seattle's D was statistically better than the Pats.  You could say the Pats D won the SB.  But I'd say Pete Carroll's offense lost it. 

[ColtRider]

4 hours ago, Blueblazes said:

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner! Several homeruns hit (or TD's scored) in this post. Especially the part about QB's and O linemen. Those are the cornerstones along with 2 good pass rushing DE's or OLB's. Very few teams with above average QBs and very good  O lines struggle. If you know football history, the truly great teams ('60s GB Packers, 70's Dolphins and Steelers, 80's 49ers and 90's Cowboys did not have just good Olines, they had great O lines.)

 

60's Packers, 70's Steelers & Dolphins, 80's 49ers, 90's Cowboys, 2000's Patriots.

 

They all had very good defenses. Especially displaying that in the Playoffs to their Championship runs. The bottom line is a well balanced football team, obviously. However, bringing that to the forefront, a very good defense will take you a lot farther in a Playoff run to SBs than offense. 

 

Hence the term, "Defense Wins Championships!"

[ColtsBlueFL]

I think think this will be the 8th time in SB history the #1 Defense will play the #1 offense.  Last time was Peyton's #1 offense vs. Seahawks #1 defense.  That time, and 5 of the other 6 games before, the defense won.  That's 6 wins for the D, 1 for the O. Now Peyton is back two years later with the #1 D on his side,  and Cam has the #1 O.  So history favors the Broncos.  But Peyton will hear chirping that he didn't win the SB, the D did.  Even though it happened 6 out of 7 time before as well; should it go down that way.

[NewColtsFan]

On January 30, 2016 at 11:03 AM, Smonroe said:

 

Yes, but there's not going to be another 85 Bears.  The rules won't allow it.

 

With a top offense, a top 16 D could be good enough.

 

I doubt top-16 gets the job done.

 

But I think top-10/12 should do the trick.....

 

p.s. -- I wouldn't object to better.....

[RollerColt]

All three phases need to compliment each other. The defense gives the ball back to the offense, who keeps the ball on the field to allow the defense to recharge, whilst special teams work field position to the benefit of all.

 

This is how franchises are able to be stable and consistently win championships.