the pinjockey 0 Report post Posted December 1, 2004 Again, I am not saying the D has no problems and I am not saying they are the best in the league. All I am saying is that they are not a liability to the point where they are going to get romper stomped by any competent offense come playoff time. They can hold their own. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly Report post Posted December 1, 2004 The Steelers and Patriots? The Steelers already won that matchup. I'm not saying that they would necccesarily do it again, but they have the bragging rights right now. If the Patriots win home field advantage in tyhe playoffs, I could easily see them beating the Steelers in the playoffs. Roethlisberger has a good record, but football is a team sport. He can have a mediocre game and still get the win because he's not being depended on to win games for his team. I don't see the Steelers beating the Patriots in a January game on the road with bad weather. As far as run defense goes, Mike Martz does more to shut down Marshall Faulk on Sunday afternoons than any defensive coordinator. The Packers have slow linebackers and they were exposed as that against the Giants this year. The Giants came into Lambeau Field and beat the Packers and the Giants are NOT an elite team. I won't give the Packers any credit until they actually beat somebody worth a damn, namely the Eagles this Sunday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vitamin X Report post Posted December 1, 2004 Culpepper also fumbled one on the 1 yard line that game. And Minnesota always sucks in big games. And let's not forget the T.O. non-catch... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vitamin X Report post Posted December 1, 2004 As far as run defense goes, Mike Martz does more to shut down Marshall Faulk on Sunday afternoons than any defensive coordinator. The Packers have slow linebackers and they were exposed as that against the Giants this year. The Giants came into Lambeau Field and beat the Packers and the Giants are NOT an elite team. I won't give the Packers any credit until they actually beat somebody worth a damn, namely the Eagles this Sunday. Holy shit, what game are you watching? The Packers have an undersized linebacking corps built specifically for SPEED. They're among the fastest in the league. They got run over by the Giants because Grady Jackson wasn't taking up the bulk on running downs and the entire front seven was getting pushed around. Let's not forget that Brett Favre hadn't played half that game, either. The 1-4 Packers i.e. the ones you saw in the 4 game losing streak and even the ones that beat Carolina, are a completely different team than they've been in the past 6-7 weeks. This is in part due to injured players coming back (namely Grady Jackson who was the biggest difference in the defense), due to Sherman calling the plays instead of Tom Rossley, and limiting their turnovers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly Report post Posted December 1, 2004 Holy shit, what game are you watching? I was watching a game where the Giants beat the Packers asses. The 1-4 Packers i.e. the ones you saw in the 4 game losing streak and even the ones that beat Carolina, are a completely different team than they've been in the past 6-7 weeks. They still wear the yellow helmets with the big G on them right? This is in part due to injured players coming back (namely Grady Jackson who was the biggest difference in the defense), due to Sherman calling the plays instead of Tom Rossley, and limiting their turnovers. What excuses will you have when the Eagles beat up on them this Sunday? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Salacious Crumb Report post Posted December 1, 2004 The Packers 4 early losses were mostly due to the constant blitzing the team was doing. They don't have a good defense by any means but they were running a horrible system when they played the Giants. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KingPK 0 Report post Posted December 1, 2004 Stats can be awfully overrated in football, weren't the Patriots stats in 2001 around the middle? Actually not really. According to pro-football-reference.com, they were 6th in the NFL in points scored, and 6th in points allowed which, along with red zone offense and defense, and average PPG surrendered (which I couldn't find, but they held 11 out of 16 teams under 20 points that year), are really the best stats to look for when deciding if a team is good. But yeah, you really can't look at stats alone in the NFL nowadays. You also have to look at the coaching. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the pinjockey 0 Report post Posted December 1, 2004 How much are they paying Belichek? Just curious to see where he compares to the almighty legends (Parcells, Gibbs) who are returning for millions and doing jack. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KingPK 0 Report post Posted December 1, 2004 I think he's only getting something like 1-2M/yr. Weis is only getting $500,000, which is the minimum for co-ordinators, I think. I don't know where I would look that up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vitamin X Report post Posted December 1, 2004 Stats can be awfully overrated in football, weren't the Patriots stats in 2001 around the middle? Actually not really. According to pro-football-reference.com, they were 6th in the NFL in points scored, and 6th in points allowed which, along with red zone offense and defense, and average PPG surrendered (which I couldn't find, but they held 11 out of 16 teams under 20 points that year), are really the best stats to look for when deciding if a team is good. But yeah, you really can't look at stats alone in the NFL nowadays. You also have to look at the coaching. Furthermore (Again, Yahoo's NFL section is fantastic for this stuff), the Pats were 9th in the league in the passing game, and 27th running the ball, which has obviously changed this season much, much, much more for the better now with Corey Dillon, which is what makes this Patriots team so scary good. They were 17th in the league on offense, as well. Defensively, the Pats were 4th against the run, and 15th in the league against the pass, for the 7th overall defense. And that's not even counting how many points were scored against them. It's my personal opinion that run defense is quite possibly the most important stat in football, aside from turnover margin. Usually the team that can stop the other from sustaining a drive wins football games (duh), but run defense is infinitely more important to 1. Force them into 3rd and long, and 2. Minimizing the opposition's time of possession. It's run defense that wins championships in football. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly Report post Posted December 1, 2004 I think rushing offense is more important than run defense. If you're behind in a football game, you're not going to have alot of oppurtunities to rush the ball if you want to win. Here's where I place the stats. 1)Turnovers You can't make mistakes and expect to win 2)Starting field position It's easier to drive down a shorter field. 3)Yards Penalized See number 1. 4) Tie between rushing yards and time of posession. Time of possesion is only good when you're showing that the other team is getting three and outs. If the other team is scoring quick TDs and you're dragging ass up and down the field, you're probably losing the game anyway. If you're rushing the ball, chances are that you aren't trying to catch up to the other team and you're also taking time off the clock. If you're winning and limiting the time that the other team has to score, your chances of winning are high. Also refer to Dr. Tom's weekly NFL recap. The stats regarding rushing and winning are telling. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vitamin X Report post Posted December 1, 2004 Time of possession is extremely helpful when you have a pisspoor defense that needs to be well-rested to play at its best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
