Is this the greatest defense in the 16 game era

[Vindicate]

According to my Vindicate Eye Test, with a staggering 75% margin of error, it seems the run defense got coached up after the bye pretty well. Patriots did a great job of forcing Dak to throw last night. Elliot came out with 86 yds on 21 carries, but it didn't feel like his runs were game changing.

Anyone agree?

 

[RobertWeathers]

Pats need to allow less than 9.4ppg over the next 5 to better 2000 Ratbirds.

If they can keep KC and HOU in the teens they have a shot.

I'll be really tough but w/ CIN, BUF and MIA on the schedule its possible.

 

[BradytoMosstoGronk]

Dallas is a bogus #1 Offense who got exposed this Defense couldn't stop Jackson and that Raven two headed rushing attack. The owned us in Time and possession 37 to 22 too I think the Ravens are the real #1 Offense.

Nothing bogus about dallas except their head coach. Arguably the best offensive line in football, top 3 running back, good-great receivers with 2 solid tight ends, and their QB has had a really, really good year.

They got "exposed" because they played the best defense in football. They're still a really good offense.

 

[Uptown]

FWIW..

 

[mgcolby]

Pats need to allow less than 9.4ppg over the next 5 to better 2000 Ratbirds.

If they can keep KC and HOU in the teens they have a shot.

I'll be really tough but w/ CIN, BUF and MIA on the schedule its possible.

I think Cincy will be a shutout, a FG at most. Buffalo will be in the 10-13 range and Miami will be in the Cincy realm. If they can hold Houston and KC in the teens they have a real shot at it. I hope they do it just to watch the haters do their mental gymnastic routine to explain why it isn't real, or is overrated etc... We will have played (at the current moment) 4 top 10 scoring offenses, Ravens played 1 (Jax twice), the rule changes that significantly favor the offense etc...but they will find a way to justify it to themselves.

Houston has averaged 20 ppg over the last 4 with Baltimore holding them to 7. My picker has them scoring 18 on us. So we will see.

 

[Soliel]

I believe this defense is among the elite. Gilmore is just crazy. I don’t know why teams even throw at him

 

[condon84]

Probably the best secondary I've ever seen.

The fact we don't have a dominant pass rusher that teams have to game plan for yet we still dominate pass defense speaks volumes.

 

[luuked]

Yesterday was not normal conditions. Dallas played well on defense holding Brady to 181 yards passing and the RBs to 101 yards. Their defense didn't lead to a ton of points on our part, just 1 TD and 3 FGs (could have been a few more, I realize).

The point was that you can definitely score without accumulating a lot of yards. Points will always be more reflective of how good a defense is than yards.

 

[1960Pats]

They were number 1 in DVOA by a good margin

Stats are meaningless when teams play a different schedule.

I'd much rather play the Dallas offense than KC's or Baltimore's. Probably the Niners too.

 

[luuked]

Stats are meaningless when teams play a different schedule.

DVOA at least attempts to adjust for that by having a model that compares against the league average. From all the crap metrics that are around DVOA is at least somewhat robustly comparable across different teams and divisions.

Not saying its some kind of perfect model or anything. The reweighing alone is pretty problematic if you ask me but with the limited amount of games in the NFL it really is not easy to do much from a statistical POV.

 

[PatsFan2]

Nothing bogus about dallas except their head coach. Arguably the best offensive line in football, top 3 running back, good-great receivers with 2 solid tight ends, and their QB has had a really, really good year.

They got "exposed" because they played the best defense in football. They're still a really good offense.

A really good Offense who haven't beaten a Team over 500.

 

[1960Pats]

Remember all the consternation and hand wringing when BB broke the bank over Stephon Gilmore... that all seems a tad shortsighted.

The equalizer is BB and his defensive mensa society...

I missed Gilmore at my favorite North End restaurant by a few hours. He did take a pic with my favorite bartender though. He closed the place so he must have enjoyed it.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

The point was that you can definitely score without accumulating a lot of yards. Points will always be more reflective of how good a defense is than yards.

I can't think of too many defenses that lead the league in points allowed but give up few yards. I suppose it's possible if your offense keeps turning the ball over in your own end and if the special teams is awful...but it's rare.

 

[luuked]

I can't think of too many defenses that lead the league in points allowed but give up few yards. I suppose it's possible if your offense keeps turning the ball over in your own end and if the special teams is awful...but it's rare.

On the other hand, I can think of a couple defenses that were not particularly great in yards allowed but were leading the league in points allowed.

My point is arranging anything by yards is absolutely meaningless.

 

[Vindicate]

I think Cincy will be a shutout, a FG at most. Buffalo will be in the 10-13 range and Miami will be in the Cincy realm. If they can hold Houston and KC in the teens they have a real shot at it. I hope they do it just to watch the haters do their mental gymnastic routine to explain why it isn't real, or is overrated etc... We will have played (at the current moment) 4 top 10 scoring offenses, Ravens played 1 (Jax twice), the rule changes that significantly favor the offense etc...but they will find a way to justify it to themselves.

Houston has averaged 20 ppg over the last 4 with Baltimore holding them to 7. My picker has them scoring 18 on us. So we will see.

Let me prep you for those mental gymnastics:

"Houston doesn't have a good defense anymore, making it difficult Watson to catch a breather. Their O-line sucks."

"Chiefs have been injured all year. Mahomes is playing on a bum leg. Tyreek hasn't looked himself."

"The Bengals are winless. Period."

"Dolphins have been tanking."

Now that we got all that out of the way, I don't wanna hear it for the rest of the season.

 

[Tunescribe]

The 1985 Bears defense is tough to top.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

On the other hand, I can think of a couple defenses that were not particularly great in yards allowed but were leading the league in points allowed.

My point is arranging anything by yards is absolutely meaningless.

And I think points allowed, while a better indicator of a teams likelihood of winning, can be misleading. If opposing offenses are consistently killing the clock on long drives (7-8 min drives) but settle for FGs, it shortens the game considerably and puts a big onus on the offense. This is a sign of a solid defense, but not an elite one...

 

[luuked]

And I think points allowed, while a better indicator of a teams likelihood of winning, can be misleading.

Winning is the only thing that matters.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Winning is the only thing that matters.

Of course, but we are talking about elite defenses in this thread, are we not? At the end of the day it's better to have a bend-but-don't break defense if it leads to more wins. For example, a defense that allows a lot of yards in between the 20s but causes a lot of turnovers in the red zone is better than a defense that doesn't give up many yards but allows a lot of touchdowns (for example because the offense consistently turns the ball over in their own end). But more often than not a team that gives up fewer yards won't allow many points and will hand things over to the offense rather quickly.

 

[Ring 6]

Games aren’t won on yards. They have given up 50 points more than the Pats

But that’s what they were referring to when they made the comment.