Defense wins champion...wait what?

The rules make it near impossible to play defense anymore

Too hard with the new rules to play D against these spread offenses. Even what appears to be good stops get negated by defensive holding, pass interference, and illegal contact penalties on a routine basis.

Even if a team puts together a killer D, with free agency and coach attrition it's tough to keep it together. Gotta score in the new NFL

If you can’t rush the passer you have zero shot at a championship.

Rams are not ranked top ten, but that D is legit I think. The NFL must soften enforcement of pass interference and holding penalties. This alone would bring better balance back in the game and also improve the flow of the game.

In comment 14262656 rocco8112 said:

Quote:

Rams are not ranked top ten, but that D is legit I think. The NFL must soften enforcement of pass interference and holding penalties. This alone would bring better balance back in the game and also improve the flow of the game.

Defensive holds, allow more physical pass coverage

.

In comment 14262659 rocco8112 said:

Quote:

In comment 14262656 rocco8112 said: Quote: Rams are not ranked top ten, but that D is legit I think. The NFL must soften enforcement of pass interference and holding penalties. This alone would bring better balance back in the game and also improve the flow of the game. Defensive holds, allow more physical pass coverage

They already soften those rules when teams are playing Beckham.

In comment 14262640 eli4life said:

Quote:

The rules make it near impossible to play defense anymore

This. But we Were are also told but the Stat PPF morons RBs shouldn't be taken early. You don't need a tubing game. Both NO and the Rams need used their running games. You need to be a complete as
Possible. Period. How you get there isn't easy.

New Orleans wasn't close to getting back for a while w one of the best QBs
Of all Time until the upgraded the D

Stats Can be twisted a 100 Ways without context. But people use tune like that alway. Getting boring and makes for stupid discussions. How
Ddnthe Giants D with their D bing shit the second half of
The year even w The O getting Better.

But hey let's draft more RBs WRs And ignore the D again. Whatever

In comment 14262646 WillVAB said:

Quote:

If you can’t rush the passer you have zero shot at a championship.

This x100

In comment 14262646 WillVAB said:

Quote:

If you can’t rush the passer you have zero shot at a championship.

There was one sack in last year's super bowl.

There were 93 drop backs. one sack. not many more pressures, hurries, hits if you watched the game.

of all the teams who excelled at rushing the passer this year (led the league in sacks - and you can research hits and hurries on your own)...

Of the top 10 teams in sacks, two do remain, but 6 of the 10 missed the playoffs.

Patriots tied with the Giants for 31st in the league with second fewest sacks.

will put a top 5 healthy team in the playoffs if the Saints win.

One thing people need to look at is how frequently the Wild Card and borderline playoffs seeds are in terms of health.

Last year, the healthiest teams in the league were the Falcons, Rams, Bills and Titans. All playoff teams.

meant in the SB. A Top 5 healthy team has participated in every SB except two since 2000.

Still holds true, you need to be able to defend the pass (whether its with a pass rush or top defensive backfield) and you need to be able to throw the ball.

There was this narrative floating around BBI for quite some time that the franchise qb is dead, and you can win with any qb. Last year's final four was used as the base evidence. Well, it looks like last year (as many of us thought) was an outlier. Foles gone after a mediocre at best 2019 playoff run, Keenum 6-10, Bortles 5-11 and benched. Two of the best to play the game and two young rising star qbs are left. Two years ago, you had 4 top qbs in the final four (same three years ago).

I think the better way to communicate these stats is to say if you cannot score points in this league, you do not have a chance. That's not to suggest a team needs to score 50 every week, but over the course of a season its critical to put points on the board.

In comment 14262696 FatMan in Charlotte said:

Quote:

meant in the SB. A Top 5 healthy team has participated in every SB except two since 2000.

Agreed, health is a major factor as well.

which would not be a description of the Giants defense in the second half of 2018. You have to be able to make an occasional stop in the 4th quarter. That was beyond our grasp.

"defense wins championships" and I think now it's "offense wins championships, but defense can lose them".

By that I agree with others in that your defense can't be non-existent, but with an opportune defense, bend don't break, whatever you want to call it, can certainly help, but more often than not in this era, it's the offense that carries the team.

that doesn't mean you can't have an '86 Giants, '85 Bears, '00 Ravens who dominate and carry the team - like the Broncos, but even that team had a lot of talent on offense and I consider them a rarity these days.

And I agree 100% with FMiC - health matters. I don't think it should be an excuse for failure unless it's crazy, but health can make a difference in the plus column.

yesterday

seem to compete for championships.

Everything else is debatable...

have not allowed more than 28 points (it would have been 22 if not for a garbage time Chargers TD yesterday).

Had that TD not happened, all of the victorious teams would have given up less points than what the Giants defense averaged per game this past season.

All of the 4 teams that won this weekend and led the league in scoring each turned into high quality defensive performances. You will have at least 1 game where they have to do that for you in a postseason to win the chip.

If the Giants think they can win a title with a super hyped up offense and the exact level of defense they have now, they are mistaken.

For the last few years and I think it's exactly right.

Pats don't think they'll blow people out. They expect every game to be close and believe their edge comes in capitalizing on mistakes and making a few game changing plays on defense. They're aiming to win every game by a score. They don't care if you move up and down the field as long they stay in striking distance.

Sounds simple..but that's the modern NFL. You don't need to build a lock down D. You need playmakers in the back 7 and pass rushers that force mistakes. Ability to stop the run is helpful, but not critical if you have a top shelf offense that can keep pressure on the opponent.

the teams that won also played good defense this weekend.

In comment 14262723 EricJ said:

Quote:

the teams that won also played good defense this weekend.

^ This

In comment 14262712 gidiefor said:

Quote:

yesterday

Damn straight! Didnt give up a single yard!

haha.

But they still need to make plays. It's not about shutting the offense down all game --it's about making the key stops when you need them, and drive ending plays with sacks or game changing plays with turnovers.

it seems like the team that doesn't commit a defensive penalty on 3rd down has a good chance of winning. Or I should say "called for" a penalty.

So many of them seem to be phantom calls.

and ask yourself how -those teams- do in the playoffs ...and, most importantly, do we want to watch that?

Give me top 5 or 6 D and top 20 O for a year than 5/7 or what have you.

Chiefs and Patriots looked pretty damn good defensively though.

In comment 14262773 FatMan in Charlotte said:

Quote:

it seems like the team that doesn't commit a defensive penalty on 3rd down has a good chance of winning. Or I should say "called for" a penalty. So many of them seem to be phantom calls.

I feel the same way.