In An Offensive Dominated Era, Defense Still Wins the Games That Matter
All the critics picked the teams with high-powered offenses to come away with the Ws this past weekend. This is a trend that never seems to fail no matter how many times it has been proven otherwise to the contrary. All season long both the Packers and Saints enjoyed stellar seasons from high-octane offenses led by Probowl QBs. Yet as we enter the championship games for both conferences, it’s the teams that were known more for their defensive prowess that came away with victories from both of those contests. The only team left that hasn’t been as impressive on that side of the ball all season is the Pats. I believe they will meet their demise at the hands of the Ravens this weekend as well.
Every year the media gets excited about teams that light up the score board throughout the regular season only to be disappointed once the playoffs start. You’d think some people would get the hint on what really works as far as winning championships in the NFL, but this is just a classic example of how easy it is for people to fall in love with the glamour side that offenses bring. As for me, I’m an old school kind of guy who still appreciates good, hard-hitting defense played by smash-mouthed football teams. The Niners shocked the world by beating a team in the Saints that was dropping 40 points a game on opponents over the last 4 weeks and avgd 34 pts a game for the season. The same held true for the Giants as they went into one of the most difficult venues in sports history and pulled off perhaps this weekend’s biggest shocker against the reigning SB champs. While this may have been a surprise for some, this wasn’t in the least bit for me. I went 4 for 4 in my predictions this weekend, and did it by sticking to the old adage that “defense wins championships.” We have seen this scenario played out entirely too many times to keep missing the point of this reality.
Over the years defensive Coordinators have gotten smarter, and more exotic with their schemes and packages in order to deal with the explosive, variations of the west coast, pass happy offenses of today's league. This is why there is a disturbing trend taking place by the NFL as far as steps it is taking to “protect” what it deems as “defenseless players.” In reality their ultimatum is to increase scoring. Hence the fact that no steps have been taken to protect defensive players from the dirty play of offensive players at all. In spite of the recent trends of today's league, it is my hope that Ryan Grigson and company will still take an old school approach when it comes to fixing the needs of the Colts as they embark on a new direction.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.
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Defense wins theory
is almost as bad as the “quarterback wins” statistic
I beg to differ.
You must not have seen the games this past weekend. Both “offensive” teams with all the hype aren’t in the playoffs anymore.
Really?
Because New England still lives.
by James Broschat on Jan 19, 2012 5:09 PM EST up reply actions
For the moment.
They’ll meet their demise this weekend.
So what if they do?
That doesn’t prove your theory. Giants are one of the top passing teams in the league as well, and their defense is in the bottom ten. So, what we have is two very good passing teams and two very good defensive teams. Doesn’t look like much of a trend to me.
by James Broschat on Jan 19, 2012 7:39 PM EST up reply actions
Actually it does prove my theory
My theory has been proven time and time again throughout the history of the NFL. Last year the Pats had the top seed in the AFC again as well as one of the top offenses in the league. I didn’t do them much good against the Jets did it? The Cardinals were one of the top teams in the NFC in offense the year they went to the SB but that didn’t do them much good agains the Steelers did it? The Rams “greatest show on turf” was anything but against the Pats in the SB (Who had a top 12 defense then). In fact, the Rams were in the SB because of a blown call against the Bucs who were kicking their ass all over the field up to that point as they fielded the #1 defense in the NFC. The Bucs held the rams to 12 points.http://bleacherreport.com/articles/275762-throwback-tales-1999-nfc-championship-game-bucs-vs-rams-controversy The Rams were the highest scoring team in the league that year and were held to less than half their point total. Yeah. I think that does prove my point.
So, 3 games in NFL playoff history proves your theory? I don't think so.
How about the entire 09 playoffs? Arizona beats Green Bay’s 2nd ranked defense, Colts and Saints meet in the SB, Colts kill the Jets and Bal to get there, Dallas beats Philly and their top 10 D, and six of the top 10 defenses don’t even make the playoffs.
There’s no magic formula for NFL teams. There’s multiple ways to win a football game.
by James Broschat on Jan 20, 2012 2:26 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, but magical formulas make deywalka's theory work, and you can win teh gamez without D, son
I am a veteran of the Internet - I will suffer fools gladly. And then mock them. And then post cat pictures.
by BoilerUp1982 on Jan 20, 2012 4:13 PM EST up reply actions
Yet you are the one
with the Toys R Us Halloween wand in your hand trying to make “sense” where there is none Boiler1982. You just can’t stand to be wrong. BTW you haven’t provided any substance whatsoever to validate your claim either.
Dude I don't have the time
nor the desire to pull up “every” example out there to prove my point. You’ve heard of the saying: “offense wins in ball games, but defense wins championships.” Where do you think that came from? That saying has been proven for over two decades. The number of teams that were known for there defense that won a SB FAR outweighs the number of teams that won which were known for their offense. The Buffalo Bills during the Jim Kelly era boasted one of the best offenses in the league, but they lost every SB they went to. Do the math. Better yet, sit down and learn something son.
Meh
The Bills played the Cowboys in back to back years….when the Cowboys were top 10 in both defense and offense.
Your choice of an example is really bad, because the Redskins were pretty much a middle of the pack team in both offense and defense….thus again disproving your theory.
The 2009 team would have the Colts and Saints playing in the SB, two of the best offenses in football, while all the top defenses got beat out. The same thing happened in the Colts 2006 SB win…as they would play 3 of the top 10 defenses and win….
by DevilsReject on Jan 21, 2012 7:53 PM EST up reply actions
Also want to point out
That the phrase defense wins championships really more or less applies to the old days prior to free agency/salary cap era…..as back then it really did matter.
by DevilsReject on Jan 21, 2012 7:54 PM EST up reply actions
Defense
Funny you mention the 2006 COLTS. Yes they played 3 of the top 10 defenses, BUT they played like the #1 defense!!! That’s why they made the SB. And that is why they won the SB!
Right
But if you look at the game against the Ravens… our offense is what put us in place time and time again against a stellar defense to kick FG’s…
The game against the Patriots turned into an offensive slugfest….
by DevilsReject on Jan 22, 2012 4:34 PM EST up reply actions
But they got to the Super Bowl 4 years in a row...
What, do offenses just not work once they get to the Super Bowl? Is the Super Bowl the only game that “matters”? The games that get teams there are of no consequence? Is it magic or what?
No.
Football is a game which the outcome is largely based on luck, especially in one-n-done style tournaments. You can put your best team together multiple ways, but having a dominant defense is no guarantee. Just ask the Ravens, who haven’t been to a Super Bowl in a decade, despite having one of the top defenses every year.
by James Broschat on Jan 22, 2012 9:07 PM EST up reply actions
Sure helps!
But then again. How did we win in 06? Colts ST have always been horrible!!

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