Great NFL defenses

[Harlan Huckleby]

I'm drawing a blank

[MJZiggy]

Steel Curtain?

[Harlan Huckleby]

I'm thinking of 2011. I haven't been impressed with a defense yet. Maybe the Ravens?

[King Friday]

NFL has cut the balls off the defenses...there probably won't be a great defense again as we once knew them to be.

[Freak Out]

I was going to say the Ravens....but they don't deserve that title....at least not at this time. Who just lit them up..? The Cards?

[Joemailman]

The days of the dominant defense are probably over. You can't really hit the QB, and they've taken away the fear of receivers going over the middle. What the Packers did last year: Stop the run, intercept a bunch of passes, and give up about 15 PPG is probably the new definition of a great defense.

[ThunderDan]

I was going to say the Ravens....but they don't deserve that title....at least not at this time. Who just lit them up..? The Cards?

Not really, punt return for TD and Flacco fumbled at his own 2 in that game for the Cards. Cards had 250ish yards in total offense.

[pbmax]

Defense - Pfffffffffffffffffbbbpppppttttttttttt!

[gbgary]

ravens i guess for this year so far.

[Guiness]

Charger's D has been carrying them a lot, hasn't it?

Denver hung 20+ on them though, and KC just put up 23 on them, so I guess not.

[Fritz]

The Lions' front seven deserve mention. That bunch makes the back end look better. Tough to score on them.

[Brandon494]

49ers are looking good this season.

[Pugger]

In the past the league kept changing the rules in favor of the offense but sooner or later the defense caught up and new rules had to be put in place to increase scoring. It will be interesting to see if this continues now.

[hoosier]

LSU.

[Brandon494]

^ Alabama 55 points allowed all season

[Upnorth]

I think in this era of football you need to look at efficencey. Some teams give up more yards per point than others, some get more turnovers. The ability to consistently create fumbles is underrated in terms of traditional stats. Off has so much on their side now a defense with 'specalties' seems more effective. Greenbay gives up a ton of yards, but have more ints than anyone else. 49ers dominate on the run def which plays to their ball control off. I maybe way off on these but it seems to be the trend this year.

[vince]

I agree Upnorth. We still have a tendency to think of dominant defenses as those who can't be run on, but those day are gone. Today's "dominant" defenses stop teams from scoring through the air and create turnovers.

Here are the top 10 efficient defenses vs. the pass. Many of us can't wait to dismiss the Jets defense, and it looked early lke we would be able to do that, but they're still the best.

Rk Team Rate
1 New York Jets 60.5
2 Baltimore Ravens 65.5
3 Houston Texans 65.9
4 Detroit Lions 72.3
5 Buffalo Bills 76.3
6 Kansas City Chiefs 77
7 Oakland Raiders 77.9
8 San Francisco 49ers 78.3
9 Green Bay Packers 79.3
10 New York Giants 79.5

[3irty1]

The 49ers have had the best D in football so far this year IMO.

[Upnorth]

The texans and Lions having a def passer rating below 100 is suprising from recent history. A great deal of their improved record is likely due to this.
Also I think the 49ers have the best ball control defence. They remind me of a grinding defence where you need sustained excellence to out toghether a td drive.

[mraynrand]

The 49ers have had the best D in football so far this year IMO.

Yeah, they made the right choice taking Aldon Smith. TEams can't run on them and they generate turnovers. I thought they would take Amukamara because their pass defense was shaky, but they improved their defense quite a bit by bettering the line. And you knew Hairball would be self-confident enough to think he could improve that offense without major personnel changes.

When you look at the top defenses like - Raven, Lions, 49ers, even Texans, it just goes to show that it really helps to have a solid line.

[Harlan Huckleby]

When you look at the top defenses like - Raven, Lions, 49ers, even Texans, it just goes to show that it really helps to have a solid line.

you should be on TV, dude

[mraynrand]

you should be on TV, dude

I assume you are being sarcastic. I thought I just stated the obvious. Plus, I have a face made for radio.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I thought I just stated the obvious.

that was my point.

as to your radio-friendly face, you can always market yourself as ruggedly handsome.

[MadtownPacker]

The only great NFL defenses left are the league lawyers.

[mraynrand]

that was my point.

as to your radio-friendly face, you can always market yourself as ruggedly handsome.


But to the point, and specifically addressing the niners, they chose line over secondary, so generally speaking should D-line lead over secondary in building a defense? Probably so, but I bet you could get people to debate it.

[hoosier]

But to the point, and specifically addressing the niners, they chose line over secondary, so generally speaking should D-line lead over secondary in building a defense? Probably so, but I bet you could get people to debate it.

I bet you couldn't.


:-)

[Harlan Huckleby]

nobody puts baby in the corner

[Harlan Huckleby]

here's the only stat that means shit - points allowed



http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjWcapR6I/AAAAAAAAABQ/fnqYWY3cY7A/s144/49ers.gif49ers (http://gridironrank.com/49ers.html) 15.3 1
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzj_f5Y8lI/AAAAAAAAACs/QlTVzX54fqw/s144/ravens.gifRavens (http://gridironrank.com/ravens.html) 15.7 2
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzkIgAAGuI/AAAAAAAAAC8/0pT6KewRHmA/s144/steelers.gifSteelers (http://gridironrank.com/duplicate-of-steelers.html) 17.4 3
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzn4xO4RSI/AAAAAAAAADQ/SNblO_lLfaM/s144/bengals.gifBengals (http://gridironrank.com/bengals.html) 17.6 4
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzkI5GTtwI/AAAAAAAAADA/zhbS3N5hOSw/s144/texans.gifTexans (http://gridironrank.com/texans.html) 18.1 5
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjxyAVANI/AAAAAAAAACY/Rv91nAFhouE/s144/lions.gifLions (http://gridironrank.com/lions.html) 19.4 6
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzj_a_pPDI/AAAAAAAAACw/FIoToFoyEw8/s144/redskins.gifRedskins (http://gridironrank.com/redskins.html) 19.9 7
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjdf697pI/AAAAAAAAABk/sLaFfmIA_gU/s144/browns.gifBrowns (http://gridironrank.com/browns.html) 20.0 8
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjyGEisQI/AAAAAAAAACc/LKLM2dTe3_E/s144/packers.gifPackers (http://gridironrank.com/packers.html) 20.1 9
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjxOE8aNI/AAAAAAAAACQ/8Osh7apy8DI/s144/jaguars.gifJaguars (http://gridironrank.com/jaguars.html) 20.4 10
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzkIzkRM0I/AAAAAAAAADE/QFQFg3tsHdg/s144/titans.gifTitans (http://gridironrank.com/titans.html) 20.7 11
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjWxMPO-I/AAAAAAAAABc/hf5J7VoXdto/s144/bills.gifBills (http://gridironrank.com/bills.html) 21.0 12
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjxdoxYlI/AAAAAAAAACU/tl5VnEgNT50/s144/jets.jpgJets (http://gridironrank.com/jets.html) 21.4 13

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjWut9cjI/AAAAAAAAABU/0grFyFN8ZQI/s144/bears.gifBears (http://gridironrank.com/bears.html) 21.4 14
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjm_O7SFI/AAAAAAAAACE/s3A_7HmWgDg/s144/eagles.gifEagles (http://gridironrank.com/eagles.html) 21.7 15
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjd9Y3vqI/AAAAAAAAABw/sWoEppCuUkc/s144/chargers.gifChargers (http://gridironrank.com/chargers.html) 22.7 16
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzXibUcL_I/AAAAAAAAABA/cEUzWz4n8VM/s144/patriots.jpgPatriots (http://gridironrank.com/patriots.html) 22.9 17
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzkIDWBukI/AAAAAAAAAC4/W80P8xaKCcg/s144/seahawks.gifSeahawks (http://gridironrank.com/seahawks.html) 23.1 18
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjmnKZcYI/AAAAAAAAAB8/ypZkLIO-jpo/s144/cowboys.gifCowboys (http://gridironrank.com/cowboys.html) 23.1 19
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjne1Do5I/AAAAAAAAACI/ny7xtsUIIU0/s144/falcons.gifFalcons (http://gridironrank.com/falcons.html) 23.3 20
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjw1I8AqI/AAAAAAAAACM/6Xw1IGxpdlY/s144/giants.gifGiants (http://gridironrank.com/giants.html) 23.4 21
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzkIKbqj0I/AAAAAAAAAC0/w_nv_7_VTKg/s144/saints.gifSaints (http://gridironrank.com/saints.html) 23.6 22
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjmsGhGeI/AAAAAAAAACA/T7Q6tGIyYHs/s144/dolphins.jpgDolphins (http://gridironrank.com/dolphins.html) 23.7 23
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjdusj3aI/AAAAAAAAABo/MU3bML9ONTE/s144/buccaneers.gifBuccaneers (http://gridironrank.com/buccaneers.html) 24.1 24
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjePS_VAI/AAAAAAAAAB0/o1k-LYwocP4/s144/chiefs.gifChiefs (http://gridironrank.com/chiefs.html) 24.3 25
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzkW-GBWyI/AAAAAAAAADI/AT3ccFqHhag/s144/vikings.gifVikings (http://gridironrank.com/vikings.html) 24.9 26
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzj_H8IPpI/AAAAAAAAACk/A1C9aq5aTQ8/s144/raiders.gifRaiders (http://gridironrank.com/raiders.html) 25.4 27
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzj-73NZuI/AAAAAAAAACg/8JO0dWAHh0s/s144/panthers.gifPanthers (http://gridironrank.com/panthers.html) 25.9 28
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjd4N0mQI/AAAAAAAAABs/FqHvU78Dr1M/s144/cardinals.gifCardinals (http://gridironrank.com/cardinals.html) 26.1 29
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzj_c7Fc8I/AAAAAAAAACo/B5B1gdLW--s/s144/rams.gifRams (http://gridironrank.com/rams.html) 27.4 30
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjXNP9fsI/AAAAAAAAABg/Jl05RLnY2_o/s144/broncos.gifBroncos (http://gridironrank.com/broncos.html) 28.6 31
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ETq2MoYpAqY/TQzjmv00AII/AAAAAAAAAB4/x5q3Jkz_GP4/s144/colts.gifColts (http://gridironrank.com/colts.html) 31.5 32

[vince]

That's tough to argue with, because it's obviously the bottom line. However, you can argue that offense and special teams play varying roles in how many points a team gives up, as they can significantly impact field position and time of possession.

It's not perfect, but I think the measure which best isolates a defense's contribuion to winning in today's game is defensive passer rating. Points are generally scored through the passing game, as defenses will bring as many people up as they need to to stop the run. Stopping the pass isn't so simple because defenses have to have both a pass rush and a secondary working together.

[3irty1]

PPG doesn't even mean shit on its own. Defenses can't stop points scored by opposing defenses or big special teams plays. Offensive schemes play into it a lot too. Some teams like the 49ers, Bengals, Vikings, and Falcons have offenses that almost completely consist of running and checkdowns. These strategies boost their defenses ppg simply by making the game shorter.

[Upnorth]

What impresses me the most is the Pack being ranked 9th. If we can keep that ranking for the rest of the season I would argue we have a great defence. The up coming teams are much tougher than our first half schedual, with an average ppg of 23.7.

[Harlan Huckleby]

It's disgraceful to explain a joke, but it occurs to me that a "Dirty Dancing" reference is probably a little too gay for this crowd. I was trying to make fun of MrAynRand's defensiveness, not sure the joke works, but it sounds right.


nobody puts Baby in the corner
Made famous in Dirty Dancing when Johnny gets Baby for the final dance. She's sitting in the corner with her parents, who were mad at her.

Now used when proper attention is not given to a situation but the situation turns out OK anyway. Plus, Fall Out Boy revived it's cult status with their song, "Nobody puts baby in the corner."

My ex and I were at the bar at the same time for at least 2 hours and he managed to talk to everyone there but me. Of course, I have a date with the hot bartender and my ex saw me give him my number. Nobody puts Baby in the corner!

[Harlan Huckleby]

However, you can argue that offense and special teams play varying roles in how many points a team gives up, as they can significantly impact field position and time of possession.

Maybe special teams. But passing offenses that score quickly and often keep kicking the ball back. For instance, the Packers have not dominated time of possession, I don't think.

I think points is a relatively clean stat.

[MJZiggy]

nobody puts baby in the corner

That's the second time I've read those words in the last 10 minutes.

[MadtownPacker]

It's disgraceful to explain a joke, but it occurs to me that a "Dirty Dancing" reference is probably a little too gay for this crowd.

Mfer everything you say is too gay for this crowd.

[mraynrand]

I was trying to make fun of MrAynRand's defensiveness

I was being very defensive. Isn't that what the thread is about?

[mraynrand]

here's the only stat that means shit - points allowed

You should be on TV, dude.