Interesting Trend About Defense...

[Flugel]

As I was driving home yesterday, former Oiler Al Smith who is on a sports talk radio show here in Nashville brought up an interesting point. He said that heading into THIS weekend, the top 4 Defenses out of 32 teams in overall yardage yielded reside in the AFC North. Before giving you hearsay today, I thought I'd research, verify and confirm. Turns out, I found the same thing he did as cut and pested below.

Interestingly enough the team that is 3-3 has the 4th best defense in the division for those that think its ONLY about the passer. That game Monday Night was decided by the better defense as 2 very talented RBs with a fine reputation of NEVER fumbling couldn't hold onto the ball to save their lives. It also reminded us of how grossly overrated Joey Bottaflacco continues to be. If anyone thinks Jax won BECAUSE of Blaine Gabbert - you HAVE to share this and we'll give you an A for courage. Anyway, here's the top 16 teams in overall yardage yielded as of today:

NFL Defensive Rankings/2011-2012/Reg Season

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Team Yards Rush Y/R Pass QB Sack 3rd% Poss. Pts. 1 Baltimore 272.7 85.8 3.28 186.8 62.89 19 29.9 29:48 13.8 2 Cincinnati 278.5 89.5 3.31 189.0 81.80 14 35.7 29:37 18.5 3 Pittsburgh 279.0 107.1 4.49 171.9 78.89 17 38.3 27:27 17.4 4 Cleveland 291.0 119.0 3.90 172.0 77.82 16 34.5 28:05 20.0 5 San Diego 297.3 121.7 4.74 175.7 85.77 10 43.9 26:04 22.7 6 Jacksonville 299.7 103.4 3.98 196.3 79.87 14 37.4 29:42 19.9 7 Dallas 300.5 69.7 3.34 230.8 78.00 17 42.0 26:58 21.3 8 Houston 302.9 99.3 4.48 203.6 69.12 19 31.7 26:44 18.7 9 N.Y. Jets 323.6 126.9 4.23 196.7 58.60 18 31.9 30:47 21.7 10 Detroit 334.0 129.4 5.03 204.6 72.97 17 31.2 31:20 19.6 11 San Francisco 335.7 74.7 3.58 261.0 75.57 17 31.3 29:22 16.2 12 Washington 335.8 117.5 4.61 218.3 75.85 21 30.8 29:50 19.3 13 Philadelphia 341.2 123.8 4.82 217.3 85.96 18 34.2 27:52 24.2 14 New Orleans 349.3 115.7 5.36 233.6 82.07 15 38.9 26:53 22.6 15 Seattle 354.7 105.0 3.15 249.7 84.57 13 36.6 36:00 21.3 16 Tennessee 358.0 124.5 4.06 233.5 88.94 11 47.7 33:21 22.5

If I just jinxed us, you can let me have it as necessary...

[DawgFan]

While I know we have faced less than stellar QB's, we also are the proud owners of the #1 PASS DEFENSE! And that was with Haden out/injured for a while.

[Vegasdogg]

OH NO! Green Bay and New England are not on this list!!!!

I think the numbers for the Browns may be a little deceiving just because of the teams we have played (13-25 combined, with two winless teams included). But the point is we have made bad teams look bad which is the sign of a good defense. I don't think TEN is all that offensively I just think they matched up well with us because of the QB and the TE/RB's in the passing game.

Unfortunately I think the 49er's are a tough matchup problem with a better RB/TE passing game, but not as good of a QB. What I think is important is we don't allow them to pound the ball and get the playaction game going. There really is no LB we have that can keep up with their TE's, or their RB's for that matter (Hunter and Gore are both speedy), and that is our weakness.

I am not sure how to play these guys with Fujita and Gocong in coverage on these TE's and Gore, but it will have to be the scheme that slows them down, because our guys cannot beat them alone.

Can we pressure with the front 4? That would help. It sounds cliche but you need to control the LOS with the big men up front to slow these guys down and force mistakes, because if any QB over the last 5 years has proven to be mistake prone, it is Smith. This team is not good because of Alex Smith. It is good because they've stopped allowing Smith to carry the load and turned him into a game manager. Once he has to make plays he loses, it is that simple.

I said it days before the TEN game and it is true for this game, the TE's and RB's in the pass game worry me. And I am not sure how to play them.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Vegasdogg

OH NO! Green Bay and New England are not on this list!!!!

I think the numbers for the Browns may be a little deceiving just because of the teams we have played (13-25 combined, with two winless teams included). But the point is we have made bad teams look bad which is the sign of a good defense. I don't think TEN is all that offensively I just think they matched up well with us because of the QB and the TE/RB's in the passing game.

Unfortunately I think the 49er's are a tough matchup problem with a better RB/TE passing game, but not as good of a QB. What I think is important is we don't allow them to pound the ball and get the playaction game going. There really is no LB we have that can keep up with their TE's, or their RB's for that matter (Hunter and Gore are both speedy), and that is our weakness.

I am not sure how to play these guys with Fujita and Gocong in coverage on these TE's and Gore, but it will have to be the scheme that slows them down, because our guys cannot beat them alone.

Can we pressure with the front 4? That would help. It sounds cliche but you need to control the LOS with the big men up front to slow these guys down and force mistakes, because if any QB over the last 5 years has proven to be mistake prone, it is Smith. This team is not good because of Alex Smith. It is good because they've stopped allowing Smith to carry the load and turned him into a game manager. Once he has to make plays he loses, it is that simple.

I said it days before the TEN game and it is true for this game, the TE's and RB's in the pass game worry me. And I am not sure how to play them.

VERY well said Vegas! I'm gonna piggyback here with stuff I totally agree with. You are sooo right about SF matching up well with the areas we've had the most trouble with to date (TE and RB). Harbaugh uses Lindy Infante's offense that he had his best years as a pro with heavily featuring the TE and RB.

I think back to the year Ben Rape'n started 15 or 16 games as a wide eyed rookie - they had a top 5 running game, with an elite defense that scored and limited scoring with the best of them. They also scored on alot of gadget plays while Ben ran the QB draw and constantly scrambled for 1st downs. I also think back to a Ratbird team that WON a SB with Trent Dilfer at QB with a 2000 yard rusher and the same kind of defense. The REASON winning was possible for BOTH new QBs to their perspective AFC North teams? Defense kept them in every game or in both cases scored enough points to win the game while keeping the opponent to low scores. That's a margin of error alot of QBs joining NFL teams don't always have the luxury of.

NOW, relating that to our division today - as we witnessed first hand on Monday Night Baltimore isn't going to win games BECAUSE of Joey Bottaflacco. AND, truth be told, Cincy was NOT going to beat us BECAUSE of Andy Dalton. That's why they NEEDED Bruce Gradkowski to no huddle us when our defense was in the huddle. It wasn't a terrific pass by any means during the only reception of the game for AJ Green. I felt bad for Haden because he totally shut that cat down.

I look at SF's team this year like a watered down version of Ratbird SB Championship team. They got a Dilfer at QB and a physical specimen at TE as well as a RB that can perform elitely. But that DEFENSE held Cincy to 8 points and somebody else to 3 points. They're pretty freakin good! That defense also tamed the Lions like a Silver Bullet Band in Nutbush City. When you can keep your opponent to 3 points you only need to score 4 points like Shurmur said in the locker room to the Browns after the game last week. I had to remind somebody in a previous debate that when SF's D held Cincy to 8 points, their Dilfer only led them to 13 points. McCoy would have gotten blasted for such a performance. In fact, McCoy erased a deficit in the 2nd quarter against Cincy and I'm pretty sure we scored more than 13 points that day. People are quick to forget Cincy swept our division just 2 years with a good defense so this isn't smoke and mirrors as much as it is gettign some guys back healthy.

Anyway, I just think the first 4 teams on that list remind me what the AFC North is all about. And those that think you can just show up to a team that hasn't won a playoff game since 1993 and ace the first 16 starts as a young QB need to understand where we reside and what we're up against with bad draft volumes from 99-08. While we can't make too much of the defensive stats at this time, it's just nice to see something positive for a refreshing change. We need to start getting good news like this while we have 2 first round picks on deck for 2012.

It's kind of interesting where SF ranks on the list because they probaly have one of the most impressive defenses I've seen this year from front to back. This would be really surprising if they were the opponent our passing game snaps out of it against seeing that they only surrender 74 yards a game vrs the run. This is one of our best opponents we face this year IMO.

[hiwaygal]

Originally Posted by Flugel

If I just jinxed us, you can let me have it as necessary...

Quoted just in case... LOL

Originally Posted by Vegasdogg

OH NO! Green Bay and New England are not on this list!!!!

OH NOES!!!!

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by hiwaygal

Quoted just in case... LOL



OH NOES!!!!

Uh-oh! Anyway, let's hope we matchup well with this team today. As Vegas pointed out, TN beat us with running game and TEs. That's where SF seems strongest beside the reality they have 2 first round OTs, 1 first round OG. Their TE ran 4.3s and plays like it while Gore plays RB at an elite level (on top of being a really good receiver).

My worry is we don't have a BIG margin of error if our QB doesn't get protected or makes mistakes. When SF beat Detroit, Alex Smith was their biggest hurdle with a fumble and INT making it all much more difficult than it needed to be. What we can't do is GIVE them a lead so they can just pin their ears back and watch McCoy struggle to see who the goto guy is here.

I like the way Dawgfan has buffered my outlook though. I NEED that sometimes usually the other way. I usually overrate what we're going to do. I was quietly thinking McCoy was going to light it up last week until I saw that light at the end of the tunnel was the headlamp of an oncoming train. Even worse, that had several oncores due to the Raggedy Andy twins playing Guard. Actually, I like Pinkston quite a bit better than Lauvao; and think he's going to turn into a good one. When Greco came in, he seemed to provide a little spark that McCoy appreciated. Another thing about Lauvao is he saves too much energy for nonsense after the whistle that sent 2 different first downs back 15 yards this year.

Swing pass the outside...

[Jax Dawg]

Since everbody is talking about how great the pass defense is in this thread, Ihave to sneak something in here...Joe Haden is good he makes people in Cleveland wish they hadn't burned all those #23 jerseys ahwile back. It is OK to wear a #23 jersey again as long as it says Haden on the back and not that other guy...

[Enigmatic Evil]

Haden has played above and beyond what I would have expected this season. I knew he started hit his stride last year and that's why we were starting him (Mangini would have been crazy not to.) I've said it before and I'll say it again, I can't think of another corner in the NFL who is playing at as consistently high a level as Haden is for us.

I think we desperately need an OLB to replace Fujita, we need to be faster on the outside, even when we were in the 3-4 we needed more speed at the OLB positions. We need to replace Sheldon Brown two... If ONE of those two were starting again next season, I would be worried. TWO... I will be extremely concerned for our D. We need to replace at LEAST two starters next year to keep progressing. We need to start beefing up against the run, that starts at the D-line and we are better than years past though still soft against the run. With improved LB play, we will see improved run stoppage.

[TheBestPlayersPlay]

Sorry but I am not buying that our defense has improved by the leaps & bounds people seem to want to believe. In fact, I am having a hard time believing they have improved at all, being that there is really no evidence stating as much.

Our defense has been abused by very average offenses this year, but we sure have looked great against teams that couldn't field an offense against a college team.

Sanfran marched through us at will, and should have been up 24 or at the very least 21-3 at half. I didn't see any adjusting in the second half, I saw a complacent, or perhaps conservative Sanfran offense that didn't do much of anything until they needed to ...and when that need arose, they marched right through us and scored.

One would expect some improvement, as it's Hadens 2nd year, and the defensive personnel is practically twice as good as it was last year.

Compared to the defense from the last 6 games of last season, you've added Fujita, DQwell, Phil Taylor, and Jabaal Sheard. Call every other change a wash.

But let's see how this defense fairs against better than average teams before we start anointing them as a top 10 defense. Only then can we really say with any authority that this defense has indeed improved. (it should on roster alone)

[Masters]

People see what they want to see. If's and butts. Guess those guys making a goal line stand counts for nothing in your eyes.

I'll take this D over that poor talent filled D down in Dallas that under the same system that was being run in CLE which is giving up more points, more passing yards, and has only 3 more sacks than CLE.

Oh, and SF didn't march through CLE to score in the second half. Hell they only got the FG due to a facemask penality. When you need a penality to keep your drive alive you aren't marching through anyone.

[OzDawg]

our new D kept this from being extemely embarrassing

[TheBestPlayersPlay]

Originally Posted by Masters

Guess those guys making a goal line stand counts for nothing in your eyes.

Why would you guess that? Did I say that?

Originally Posted by Masters

I'll take this D over that poor talent filled D down in Dallas that under the same system that was being run in CLE which is giving up more points, more passing yards, and has only 3 more sacks than CLE.

Who has Dallas played this year? Details, details.