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With the recent resurgence of our defense I went back and looked how things have progressed throughout the year. There is a dramatic split between the first three the games (OAK, CAR, PIT/when Harrison went down) the proceeding 8 games (SD thru KC), and then again in the last 3 games. I think everyone has had a sense that this was the case, but looking at the numbers it's even more pronounced than I ever imagined.
Here are the stats from the Middle 8 games vs. First 3/Last 3. After each stat, in parentheses, is where that number would rank in the NFL overall.
Talk about night and day, in the mid-8 game stretch we were essentially the worst defense in the NFL, in the first 3/Last 3 we have been essentially the best defense in the NFL.
One of the amazing things is just how striking the splits are when you break it down. Literally, after the third game everything fell appart and after the 11th game everything came together. Look at the yardage totals per game, in order:
Buffalo (394 yds, week 8) was only 6 yds away from giving us 8 straight games of allowing 400 yds or more. San Francisco, the worst defense in the NFL, is allowing 399 ypg on the season. In the other six games, only Oakland (351 yds, week 1) gained more than 300. It truly has been two (or three, really) different teams throughout the season.
BTW, as a preemptive strike, I don't want to hear a peep about the competition in the first 3/last 3 segment. There were 3 playoff caliber teams and an overall strength of schedule of .464, which is about the same strength of schedule of the Colts and Bengals.
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BTW, as a preemptive strike, I don't want to hear a peep about the competition in the first 3/last 3 segment. There were 3 playoff caliber teams and an overall strength of schedule of .464, which is about the same strength of schedule of the Colts and Bengals.
Additionally, while the last three may not (OK, are not) strong offensive teams, if you look at their season averages and compare those to what they did against us, we totally dominated them relative to their normal below average offensive output.
With the recent resurgence of our defense I went back and looked how things have progressed throughout the year. There is a dramatic split between the first three the games (OAK, CAR, PIT/when Harrison went down) the proceeding 8 games (SD thru KC), and then again in the last 3 games. I think everyone has had a sense that this was the case, but looking at the numbers it's even more pronounced than I ever imagined.
Here are the stats from the Middle 8 games vs. First 3/Last 3. After each stat, in parentheses, is where that number would rank in the NFL overall.
Talk about night and day, in the mid-8 game stretch we were essentially the worst defense in the NFL, in the first 3/Last 3 we have been essentially the best defense in the NFL.
One of the amazing things is just how striking the splits are when you break it down. Literally, after the third game everything fell appart and after the 11th game everything came together. Look at the yardage totals per game, in order:
Buffalo (394 yds, week 8) was only 6 yds away from giving us 8 straight games of allowing 400 yds or more. San Francisco, the worst defense in the NFL, is allowing 399 ypg on the season. In the other six games, only Oakland (351 yds, week 1) gained more than 300. It truly has been two (or three, really) different teams throughout the season.
BTW, as a preemptive strike, I don't want to hear a peep about the competition in the first 3/last 3 segment. There were 3 playoff caliber teams and an overall strength of schedule of .464, which is about the same strength of schedule of the Colts and Bengals.
Wow. When you put it that way it does look impressive. But could it be simply that teams figured out how to beat the pats (take shots down field) and the last three teams just are not capable of doing it?
Personally, it looks likes the base 3-4 can shut down the run and pressure the QB, that makes it easier for the secondary to function.
Wow. When you put it that way it does look impressive. But could it be simply that teams figured out how to beat the pats (take shots down field) and the last three teams just are not capable of doing it?
That is a possibility, but considering the likes of Matt Schaub, Gus Frerotte and Kelly Holcomb were torching our defense, you'd figure just about anyone could, especially Simms who has been connecting with Galloway for big plays on a regular basis.
Frerotte has been playing fairly well, not to mention how he burned us the last time we faced Miami. It will be interesting when we play Miami again if we continue with our total domination. Forget the weather conditions, if we totally dominate I think that will be quite telling.
Frerotte has been playing fairly well, not to mention how he burned us the last time we faced Miami. It will be interesting when we play Miami again if we continue with our total domination. Forget the weather conditions, if we totally dominate I think that will be quite telling.
I agree. Brooks Bollinger (sp) played well against Miami last week so it will be interesting to see how he does against us this time.
This is a fine example of ONE reason why this board is so great.
Son, who is an IT maven, is home for Christmas. I just had him come read over my shoulder ... and i pointed out what you're doing here. Dad said, you don't see this kind of data mining in the Herald or the Globe or on Bob Lobel, do ya?
Fine innocent lad replied, Maybe those media outlets should log on and read this site for their leads. "They do, my son, they do!"
Our Amazing Defensive Turnaround
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