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GroundPounder
Yes the defense is fun to watch but if we delve into other numbers we may get another perspective -
Giants 31st in Total Offense, 5-8 record, Win for us
Was - 30 6-7 Win
Chi - 28 6-7 Win
Mia - 27 8-5 Loss
Phi - 26 4-8 Win
NE - 24 6-7 Win
TB - 17 8-5 Win
SF - 16 5-8 Loss X 2
Dal - 12 4-9 Win
Buf - 10 10-3 Loss
Sea - 6 9-4 Win
Ariz - 4 7-6 Win
This week we get the Jets...0-13 with the 32nd ranked offense. Will only pad our defenses stats as our schedule has already. Fun to be #1....but more to it than meets the eye in my opinion. Not ready to put them up there with the '85 Bears quite yet.
I'm glad saw this before I posted because it's at the heart of how I see this.
This defense has been pleasingly consistent and that's nothing to sneeze at. It's certainly been good enough to be counted on in the regular season. Nevertheless, the rankings are misleading due to more than just the competition.
While the Rams defense has been good against the deep pass and much of that has been by design, they've also been lucky. There have been several times that open receivers have busted past the D but the QB either missed the pass or the opportunity. There have also been times the defense has simply looked willing to allow 5-7 yard gains as they await opportunities to get a big play.
What I'm saying is that this defense has taken a wise approach and while that's working, I fear it may not work well enough against offenses that execute well in the playoffs. The approach is rarely aggressive. It's smart, not dominant. That's not a complaint, it's an observation. I'm grateful. Frankly, there are no dominant defenses in today's NFL. This may be as good as it can get with the way the rules and officials dictate how the game is played. We have two guys who are physically and mentally dominant. We have a coordinator who wins chess matches. The other 9 defenders are just pretty good at their assignments. As Meatloaf would say, "don't be sad, cuz two outta three ain't bad."
