Defense wins championships

[Landshark]

I've been seeing a lot of posts to the effect of, "It's a passing league"  "The new rules are designed for offense"  and most importantly, "Defense wins championships is a thing of the past"

If that's the case, then how come three of the four teams that are still playing are known for their defenses?

Discuss

[MikeO]

Giants offense is a big play-pass happy offense. That team has a better offensive unit than defensive.

SF got 3 gift turnovers inside the 10 yard line giving them 3 scores and still needed to comeback to win. Plus their defense got lit up by NO and it was SF's offense that came through and won that game, not the defense

[masterfins]

I think its more you won't be as successful with a great defense and an average offense.  Contrarily you will be more succesful if you have a powerful passing offense and an average defense.  If you look at NO, NE, and GB they are high winning percentage teams that also give up alot of yardage on defense.  Upsets are always possible though, and seem to be happening alot in this years playoffs.

[Landshark]

Giants offense is a big play-pass happy offense. That team has a better offensive unit than defensive.

SF got 3 gift turnovers inside the 10 yard line giving them 3 scores and still needed to comeback to win. Plus their defense got lit up by NO and it was SF's offense that came through and won that game, not the defense

The Saints-Niners game was a defensive battle until the final three minutes of the fourth quarter.  And I don't see the Giants offense as big play and pass happy.  You're talking about Green Bay or New England there.  I see the Giants as having the most balanced attack of the four teams left.

[MikeO]

You do realize that the Giants were 8th in the NFL in Total Offense this year and 27th in Team Defense. And 25th in scoring defense

That is an offensive team through and through

[Landshark]

You do realize that the Giants were 8th in the NFL in Total Offense this year and 27th in Team Defense. And 25th in scoring defense

That is an offensive team through and through

Scoring defense?  What was their rank in total defense?  That defense shut down one of the top offenses in the league today.

[MikeO]

Scoring defense?  What was their rank in total defense?  That defense shut down one of the top offenses in the league today.

I just gave you the stats. 27th in Total defense 25th in Scoring defense. That's not good! Only 7 teams in the entire league gave up more points.  And the Total Defense stat sucks too. But they are 8th in total offense. That is a pretty clear gap of what kind of team they are.

Yeah they had a good game today on defense. 1 good game. It's just 1 good game, that doesn't make them a team known for their defense!

[bsfins]

All stats not guaranteed accurate,stats cherry pickedfrom Profootballreference.com,I'm up past my bedtime,prone to make mistakes,and my eyes are crossing.

I've always thought these type of statements are half truths...."Defense wins championships"


*for entertainment purposes only... none of this means shit 

[MikeO]

thanks for the work. That only takes the final 2 teams of the year into account and not all the playoff teams in a given year, but its good to show how back in the 90's it was a defensive league where the top defense always won and now since 2006 its pretty much been offense offense offense. There will always be exceptions here or there but that's the trend.

Which does line up about right with all of the rule changes and the "enforcement" of the rules and how they are called. The bottom line is it's a league where if you can't sling it and put up points when needed you can't win. For as much as SF is a defensive team, their defense got lit up and it was Alex Smith, Vernon Davis, and the offense that won them that game this week.

[Sunstroke]

I've always thought these type of statements are half truths...."Defense wins championships"

That's because you only got half of the statement. The whole statement is:

"Defense wins championships...as long as it's the 49ers defense."

[EKnight]

Say what you want, but I can't remember a D hitting as hard as the 49ers were this weekend. Every play it looked like they were going to kill someone. If the Ravens and Niners end up in the SB, I envision several ambulances driving onto the field to pick up players, a la Techmo Bowl. -EK

[Landshark]

That's because you only got half of the statement. The whole statement is:

"Defense wins championships...as long as it's the 49ers defense."

How ironic would it be to see the Harbaugh brothers battle it out for the Lombardi trophy?  That's what I'm actually hoping for.  A football game doesn't have to be a 41-38 contest to have value.  A smash mouth, grind it out, 14-10 defensive battle where teams are clawing away at each other for yards and first downs is great football, IMO.

[MikeO]

  A football game doesn't have to be a 41-38 contest to have value.  A smash mouth, grind it out, 14-10 defensive battle where teams are clawing away at each other for yards and first downs is great football, IMO.

Yeah that was called the BCS National Title game and it put people to sleep...lol

I agree, I don't need 41-38 for it to be a great game. But for a 14-10 game to keep peoples attention it needs to be at a high level and not just boring run and punt football.

[Pappy13]

SF got 3 gift turnovers inside the 10 yard line giving them 3 scores and still needed to comeback to win.

I'm pretty sure it was the defense/special teams that caused all those turnovers. I wouldn't exactly call them gifts. The first turnover I saw the guy was out on his feet from a ferocious hit. The 2nd turnover I saw was just plain ol' good coverage.

Why is it that only QB's can make plays in this league? I'll say it again, they get FAR too much credit when the team wins and FAR too much blame when the team loses.

[el diablo]

Which gives way to the endless media debate of who is/not an elite QB. IMO the rule changes are killing the NFL. You don't need a dominant defense anynore. Just one capable of making key stops. As opposed to not needing a dominant offense. But needing to make key plays.