buybuydandavis
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*pulls up alongside and rolls down window*
Hi there,
Defense had their moments, but really they were about a notch higher than league average, outside the top 10. Points, yards, touchdowns, drive success rate, were all outside the top 10 per drive.
They stepped it up in the Redzone though, like #7-8 in points allowed in the Redzone. So, if people want to make the argument that made them a top 10 defense, I wouldn't necessarily argue.
The offense was #2 in the NFL in time of possession, so their "totals" are skewed. Yeah, if you're a coach and you're looking at a high level "hey we finished top 10", that's one thing. If you're someone using rankings, which are by nature a relative comparison, and trying to actually figure **** out, totals include offensive time which affects number of possessions, number of snaps, etc so half of it is just throwing noise into the equation.
If you, or anyone else, is actually interested in looking at more accurate data for any reason at all (even FUN!), FootballOutsiders has rankings for both offense and defense on a "per drive" basis, which helps filter out the noise. I mean, if you want to be good you still need to take into account *why* the numbers are what they are, but it's a lot more accurate if actually want to see how good your defense/offense is vs other teams.
*peels out*
*Per drive* stats. Our team's defensive rankings based on yardage totals have been distorted for years by the ball control offense that limits drives per game.