Who has the better Defense? NE or Dallas

[Zays]

Im having this debate with a friend

Who has the better defense? New England or Dallas?

IYO, who is the better defensive team

[Monkeyfeng06]

New England.

[J.Kim]

Tennessee.

(Bring it.)

[studcrackers]

how is this a question? people are still questioning our defense while no one has really questioned NE's defense (outside of BBJ mentioning there struggles with Tight Ends)

as a cowboys fan, new england

[Zays]

I agree,

my position is New england. hands down the better D. Not to take anything away from dallas, but New England clearly has the better D.

take into consideration, im debating with a hugely bias Cowboys fan

[El Turco]

this is not even close

[GiveItToDirk]

haha, no ones gonna say dallas, c'mon. the only thing i can say for dallas' D is 1) theyve improved steadily throughout this season, and 2) we've yet to see them at full strength, especially in the secondary. Im personally quite anxious to see what they look like with a fully healthy newman and henry at the corners (though im not sure we'll see that this season) as that would mean phillips being able to use williams towards the line so he has few coverage responsibilities and can blow people up there. But, yeah....no.

[brewcityboii]

New England By Far.
Also NE is getting better on D, They Just got HGH Harrison back and once Seymour comes back they will be really insane.

NE has a better D by far.

Dallas has a decent D probally around 7-10 in NFL, but no where near as dominant.

I'd rank them like this in order from 1-10. 1. NE, 2. Pitt, 3.Jax, 4. GB, 5. Oakland, 6. TB, 7. Baltimore, 8. SD, 9. Dallas, 10. CHI (would be much higher if they could stay healthy)

[J.Kim]

New England By Far.
Also NE is getting better on D, They Just got HGH Harrison back and once Seymour comes back they will be really insane.

NE has a better D by far.

Dallas has a decent D probally around 7-10 in NFL, but no where near as dominant.

I'd rank them like this in order from 1-10. 1. NE, 2. Pitt, 3.Jax, 4. GB, 5. Oakland, 6. TB, 7. Baltimore, 8. SD, 9. Dallas, 10. CHI (would be much higher if they could stay healthy)

Shhh. Don't let Gilber0Arenas hear you say this.

(Though they actually do deserve to be in top-10 defenses.

Oh, and the Titans as well )

[brewcityboii]

-= original quote snipped =-



Shhh. Don't let Gilber0Arenas hear you say this.

(Though they actually do deserve to be in top-10 defenses.

Oh, and the Titans as well )

As for the Titans D They are 10a. with the bears right now. IMHO

[Wizards2Lottery]

New England By Far.
Also NE is getting better on D, They Just got HGH Harrison back and once Seymour comes back they will be really insane.

NE has a better D by far.

Dallas has a decent D probally around 7-10 in NFL, but no where near as dominant.

I'd rank them like this in order from 1-10. 1. NE, 2. Pitt, 3.Jax, 4. GB, 5. Oakland, 6. TB, 7. Baltimore, 8. SD, 9. Dallas, 10. CHI (would be much higher if they could stay healthy)

You better look out your window before you sleep tonight. Totally unacceptable.

[brewcityboii]

-= original quote snipped =-



You better look out your window before you sleep tonight. Totally unacceptable.

We don't have windows in solitaire confinement.

[J.Kim]

My Defensive rankings would probably go like this:

1. Tennessee Titans (Homer Alert!) - Really though, Their front 4 has been so good this season that Jim Schwartz hardly ever calls a blitz (not like he did before though). Both Harper and Finnegan are doing a tremendous job in coverage. And we all know just how good and fast Bulluck and Thornton are. Kept the league's second best offense (#1 in DVOA though) to a season-low 22 points, and with Peyton and Addai both having their worst games of the season. (-27.6% DVOA, 7.5% Variance)

2. New England - Their Linebackers are taking turns causing havoc for opposing offenses it seems. The D-Line is doing a good job of holding gaps and seasling them, in addition to getting occassional pressure on passing downs. Pretty much shut down one of the top offenses in the league in Cincinnati (#4 in DVOA). (-22.3% DVOA, 2.6% Variance)

3. Washington - Has played pretty well against some good offensive teams (Giants, Lions - I'm hesitant to say Philly though), Andre Carter is playing far better than anyone expected him to, and Carlos Rogers just might end up being the best corner out of the 2005 draft (A year ago, you probably would've ranked him behind Pacman Jones, Antrell Rolle, Marlin Jackson, Darrent Williams, Dominique Foxworth and Reynaldo Hill. Now Rogers and Marlin Jackson look like the best corners out of that class) (-17.8% DVOA, 6.7% Variance)

4. Pittsburgh - I don't know why, but that Arizona game still lingers. If it wasn't for that I'd probably have them at number 1. And it wasn't as if Arizona did a good job in that game either. But it still lingers. There's something I don't like about this defense, but once I'll find out, I'll let it be known (and post it on my blog, which is at a paltry 64 hit count, in its 5th week of running) (-26.7% DVOA, 11.3% Variance)

5. Dallas - Hasn't exactly won me over yet. They faced 3 offensively incompetent teams (St. Louis, Buffalo and Chicago - 27th, 30th and 31st respectively in DVOA) and gave up 24 to one of them. Played one above average offense in Miami (surprisingly enough they're 13th in DVOA, I would've pegged them in the 20s for offense), and got lit up for 35 points against an above average offense in the Giants. But Dallas fans insist that this is because of injuries, and I'll listen to them. I'm semi-ignoring the Giants game in this, and placing them at 5. (-12.8% DVOA, 5.4% Variance)

6. Baltimore - That defense is just a shell of its former, glorious self. In all the games and clips that I've seen of the Ravens, Samari Rolle looks like he needs a segway out there in coverage. Ray Lewis seems to lack that fire, and the Baltimore D-Line (although Ngata's been good) has had better days. However, in a league with a dearth in quality defenses, that type of talent still ranks in the top-10. (-13.5% DVOA, 5.5% Variance)

7. Jacksonville - Probably a huge bias working in here, in that I don't like them (and that they should probably be ranked higher). I've never liked them. But their defense has been playing pretty damn well (Even considering that they've faced 3 pretty bad offenses and one average one). The only blemish really seems to be the miles and miles of rushing yards they gave up to the Titans, but to be fair, Stroud and/or Henderson were injured (I forget which one was injured and sat out the game and which one was injured and still played through the game), and Mike Peterson and the LBs looked like they were too preoccupied with Vince Young's running game. (0.1% DVOA, 0.6% Variance)

8. Minnesota - One hell of a run defense. They're stingy on the rushing yards. But it's slightly off-set by their below average pass-defense. If they could really clamp down on some of the passing yards, this could be one hell of a defense. They've kept a great Packers and Lions offense in check, and shut down 2 of the worst offenses in the league. Good enough for #8 I think. (-8.9% DVOA, 2.7% Variance)

9. Tampa Bay - Got burned by Indianapolis. But who doesn't? Otherwise, these mix-n-match of senior citizens and no-namers have played beyond expectations. Kept a good offensive team in Seattle in check with 20 points, and shut down the remaining three teams that they faced. (Though 2 of the teams were the Rams and the Saints, who seem to be leading the league in offensive ineptitutde - 27th and 29th in Offensive DVOA respectively). (-8.1% DVOA, 9.4% Variance)

10. Indianapolis - You know the league's defensive quality is pretty bad, when you've got a team like the Colts, with a glaring weakness (IMO), ranking in the top-10. But to be fair, besides this one weakness, I'd say their defense is pretty good. Marlin Jackson is playing to pro-bowl standards from what I've seen, and Bob Sanders (although I suspect he'll be out of the league due to concussions soon, because of the way he tackles) is one hell of a player on run support. Their turnstile of speedy Linebackers have always served them well, and I like what I've seen out of Freddy Keiaho (though he has been a tad lucky) I've seen 3 Indianapolis games so far this season, and in all three games, the opposing teams had quite a success with running at the mid/guards, favoring towards Dwight Freeney's side. But, as soon as the second half rolls around, somehow the opposing teams get caught up in an air battle against the Colts (Probably because they're down in points), and they end up getting away from what works. I guess in that sort of way, this defense works by having the offense score quick points and put the pressure on the opposing team's offense, and covers up that weakness. The closest game against them was the Titans, and they stuck with that game plan. They kept running the ball even if the gains were only about 3 yards, and ran down the clock with their offense. They kept Indy's offense off the field as long as they can, and when Indy's offense did take the field they allowed Peyton Manning to throw a bit, but other wise, shut down the running game and the deep routes. And they gave Vince Young the ball with around 2-3 mintues left, down by only 2 in the 4th quarter, for a chance to win the game. The plan seemed to work pretty good, except that Vince couldn't win the game for us. I'm thinking a good power-rushing team, with the ability to mix it up once in a while (as in, not afraid to air it out), and a coach who can make adjustments on the fly as well as manage time well, will be able to beat the Colts (Of the remaining schedules, only New England, Tennessee and Houston come to mind - Jacksonville only fits this description partially) (-7.4% DVOA, 4.3% Variance)

[CBS7]

I don't care how unhealthy we've been, our defense can still win games for us like they did last week.

If fully healthy, (that means with Mike Brown and Dusty Dvoracek), Bears are #1.

[studcrackers]

jkim you did watch that buffalo/dallas game right? the defense only gave up 3 points. our defense hasnt given up a TD in 9 and a half quarters, im not clamoring them to be higher just saying that they've been pretty good the past 3 weeks.

[poklop12]

new england

[J.Kim]

jkim you did watch that buffalo/dallas game right? the defense only gave up 3 points. our defense hasnt given up a TD in 9 and a half quarters, im not clamoring them to be higher just saying that they've been pretty good the past 3 weeks.

Yeah, the points thing was my mistake. But there's something I still don't like about their defense. They seem to be heavily exposed to the deep routes (Safety help doesn't come in when its needed). But I'd say that #5 ranking is still a fair ranking for the Cowboys...(Not gonna drop them after the game vs. the Patriots. I don't think any of these defenses could stop the Patriots from scoring more than 30 points)

[Elway=GOAT]

My Defensive rankings would probably go like this:

1. Tennessee Titans (Homer Alert!) - Really though, Their front 4 has been so good this season that Jim Schwartz hardly ever calls a blitz (not like he did before though). Both Harper and Finnegan are doing a tremendous job in coverage. And we all know just how good and fast Bulluck and Thornton are. Kept the league's second best offense (#1 in DVOA though) to a season-low 22 points, and with Peyton and Addai both having their worst games of the season. (-27.6% DVOA, 7.5% Variance)

2. New England - Their Linebackers are taking turns causing havoc for opposing offenses it seems. The D-Line is doing a good job of holding gaps and seasling them, in addition to getting occassional pressure on passing downs. Pretty much shut down one of the top offenses in the league in Cincinnati (#4 in DVOA). (-22.3% DVOA, 2.6% Variance)

3. Washington - Has played pretty well against some good offensive teams (Giants, Lions - I'm hesitant to say Philly though), Andre Carter is playing far better than anyone expected him to, and Carlos Rogers just might end up being the best corner out of the 2005 draft (A year ago, you probably would've ranked him behind Pacman Jones, Antrell Rolle, Marlin Jackson, Darrent Williams, Dominique Foxworth and Reynaldo Hill. Now Rogers and Marlin Jackson look like the best corners out of that class) (-17.8% DVOA, 6.7% Variance)

4. Pittsburgh - I don't know why, but that Arizona game still lingers. If it wasn't for that I'd probably have them at number 1. And it wasn't as if Arizona did a good job in that game either. But it still lingers. There's something I don't like about this defense, but once I'll find out, I'll let it be known (and post it on my blog, which is at a paltry 64 hit count, in its 5th week of running) (-26.7% DVOA, 11.3% Variance)

5. Dallas - Hasn't exactly won me over yet. They faced 3 offensively incompetent teams (St. Louis, Buffalo and Chicago - 27th, 30th and 31st respectively in DVOA) and gave up 24 to one of them. Played one above average offense in Miami (surprisingly enough they're 13th in DVOA, I would've pegged them in the 20s for offense), and got lit up for 35 points against an above average offense in the Giants. But Dallas fans insist that this is because of injuries, and I'll listen to them. I'm semi-ignoring the Giants game in this, and placing them at 5. (-12.8% DVOA, 5.4% Variance)

6. Baltimore - That defense is just a shell of its former, glorious self. In all the games and clips that I've seen of the Ravens, Samari Rolle looks like he needs a segway out there in coverage. Ray Lewis seems to lack that fire, and the Baltimore D-Line (although Ngata's been good) has had better days. However, in a league with a dearth in quality defenses, that type of talent still ranks in the top-10. (-13.5% DVOA, 5.5% Variance)

7. Jacksonville - Probably a huge bias working in here, in that I don't like them (and that they should probably be ranked higher). I've never liked them. But their defense has been playing pretty damn well (Even considering that they've faced 3 pretty bad offenses and one average one). The only blemish really seems to be the miles and miles of rushing yards they gave up to the Titans, but to be fair, Stroud and/or Henderson were injured (I forget which one was injured and sat out the game and which one was injured and still played through the game), and Mike Peterson and the LBs looked like they were too preoccupied with Vince Young's running game. (0.1% DVOA, 0.6% Variance)

8. Minnesota - One hell of a run defense. They're stingy on the rushing yards. But it's slightly off-set by their below average pass-defense. If they could really clamp down on some of the passing yards, this could be one hell of a defense. They've kept a great Packers and Lions offense in check, and shut down 2 of the worst offenses in the league. Good enough for #8 I think. (-8.9% DVOA, 2.7% Variance)

9. Tampa Bay - Got burned by Indianapolis. But who doesn't? Otherwise, these mix-n-match of senior citizens and no-namers have played beyond expectations. Kept a good offensive team in Seattle in check with 20 points, and shut down the remaining three teams that they faced. (Though 2 of the teams were the Rams and the Saints, who seem to be leading the league in offensive ineptitutde - 27th and 29th in Offensive DVOA respectively). (-8.1% DVOA, 9.4% Variance)

10. Indianapolis - You know the league's defensive quality is pretty bad, when you've got a team like the Colts, with a glaring weakness (IMO), ranking in the top-10. But to be fair, besides this one weakness, I'd say their defense is pretty good. Marlin Jackson is playing to pro-bowl standards from what I've seen, and Bob Sanders (although I suspect he'll be out of the league due to concussions soon, because of the way he tackles) is one hell of a player on run support. Their turnstile of speedy Linebackers have always served them well, and I like what I've seen out of Freddy Keiaho (though he has been a tad lucky) I've seen 3 Indianapolis games so far this season, and in all three games, the opposing teams had quite a success with running at the mid/guards, favoring towards Dwight Freeney's side. But, as soon as the second half rolls around, somehow the opposing teams get caught up in an air battle against the Colts (Probably because they're down in points), and they end up getting away from what works. I guess in that sort of way, this defense works by having the offense score quick points and put the pressure on the opposing team's offense, and covers up that weakness. The closest game against them was the Titans, and they stuck with that game plan. They kept running the ball even if the gains were only about 3 yards, and ran down the clock with their offense. They kept Indy's offense off the field as long as they can, and when Indy's offense did take the field they allowed Peyton Manning to throw a bit, but other wise, shut down the running game and the deep routes. And they gave Vince Young the ball with around 2-3 mintues left, down by only 2 in the 4th quarter, for a chance to win the game. The plan seemed to work pretty good, except that Vince couldn't win the game for us. I'm thinking a good power-rushing team, with the ability to mix it up once in a while (as in, not afraid to air it out), and a coach who can make adjustments on the fly as well as manage time well, will be able to beat the Colts (Of the remaining schedules, only New England, Tennessee and Houston come to mind - Jacksonville only fits this description partially) (-7.4% DVOA, 4.3% Variance)

I agree, although I might sneek AZ toward the back.

The Titans may have the best defense in the league. I thought they had one of the better D's last year as well, even though statistics might not agree. I think they were a big reason why they did so well last year.

I do however, think they would get torched by New England. But, I think pretty much ever D would get torched by New England.

[FakeScreenName123]

i just want to see hanyesworth vs mankins.

[J.Kim]

i just want to see hanyesworth vs mankins.

So do I...
That would be a matchup of Epic proportions, that, unfortunately, would probably not happen until the Playoffs, if at all.