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ABQRam

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dzrams
Because by some measurements, they've had a top 10 D several times since AD was drafted.

Are you measuring by yards, points allowed, or by some other metric?

Total yards allowed, passing yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, points allowed. And no, we haven't had a top 10 D several times since AD has been here. As R2K pointed out I did miss 2016 when we were 9th total yards, 10th against the pass and 10th against the pass...we still sucked in yards allowed rushing and points allowed. The other three years we weren't top 10 in any of those categories.

I ask because everyone has their favorite metric. Personally, I measure a defense the same way I measure an offense: points allowed or points scored.

2016 is a perfect example. Yeah, they did well in total yards allowed but they didn't keep points off the board. They were 16th in Offensive Points Allowed (which excludes points scored by offensive turnovers (e.g. pick 6's) and opponent ST scores)

Conversely in 2015 they were 9th in Offensive Points Alllowed and 4th in 2014. In GW's scheme he wasn't concerned about giving up yards; he prioritized keeping points off the scoreboard.

The reason I don't look at all of those metrics to judge a top 10 D is because it's rare for teams to be consistent in all of those categories across the board. In fact, when a team is good across the board, they have an elite D - top 3, not just top 10.

In 2016, only Seattle and Baltimore ranked in the top 10 in all four categories. In 2015, it was 4 teams - Seattle, KC, Denver, and Carolina. In 2014, it was 2 teams - Seattle and SF.

Clearly, if we're requiring greatness in all four categories we're not measuring a top 10 D, we're measuring a top 3 D.

Every one is free to weight whatever metric they deem most important higher. I choose Points Allowed because that's the bottom line IMO.