Cowboys defensive rankings during Super Bowl years

[acr731]

Not sure I agree on that one. We can argue over which one is a better assessment. I'll take points scored. They can run up and down the field all they want as long we stop them from scoring TD's. Teams might just be playing catch up to our offense and accumulating lots of passing yards.

And on the other side, the offense may just suck and the other team rarely has to score more than 20 points to beat you.

The offense can do their part too. Its on them to sustain drives to give the defense rest. Too many times over the past few seasons the offense has failed to do that, which results in what? A tired defense that gives up a ton of yards and points.

There are deficiencies on both sides of the ball and it isn't fair to lay the blame squarely on one side or the other.

 

[Diehardblues]

@kskboys
Has there been some historically great defenses that didn’t give up a ton of yards but did give up more points inproportionately.

And we can use great defenses of Seattle , Baltimore, Tampa and Denver this era who were ranked top of the league when they won championship. Were they not ranked as high in points given up?

Usually the top defenses in total yards are also near the top in points given up as well. And why the official measurement the NFL uses stands up to this criteria.

 

[acr731]

@kskboys
Has there been some historically great defenses that didn’t give up a ton of yards but did give up more points inproportionately.

And we can use great defenses of Seattle , Baltimore, Tampa and Denver this era who were ranked top of the league when they won championship. Were they not ranked as high in points given up?

Usually the top defenses in total yards are also near the top in points given up as well. And why the official measurement the NFL uses stands up to this criteria.

If you want to go back to the 85 Bears, they were #1 in both yards and points allowed. A damn near perfect defense.

 

[Diehardblues]

The offense can do their part too. Its on them to sustain drives to give the defense rest. Too many times over the past few seasons the offense has failed to do that, which results in what? A tired defense that gives up a ton of yards and points.

There are deficiencies on both sides of the ball and it isn't fair to lay the blame squarely on one side or the other.

I’d agree to a point but if one side is putting up 30 points a game and the other side is giving up 40 we could hold one side more accountable. It doesn’t mean the stronger side of the ball doesn’t hold some responsibility.

But I think we can arguably say that in both the Dak and Romo eras our offense wasn’t as much of a weakness overall as our defense. Isn’t that fair?

 

[Diehardblues]

If you want to go back to the 85 Bears, they were #1 in both yards and points allowed. A damn near perfect defense.

I’d like to evaluate all of these great defenses in NFL history. I’d bet that they also are near the top in scoring defense .

The bigger point is the NFL has always used yards as the measurement. I’d like to see a list of some of these great defenses which you’d argue weren’t great because they gave up too many points.

 

[Sydla]

That 2016 D was one that couldn't get off the field. They were miserable in stopping 3rd down plays. Also absolutely abysmal in getting to the opposing QB. That was a bad D, propped up a bit due to our running the ball profusely. That D was the reason we flopped so badly on drafting a DE in the first w/ Taco. The need was so deep that we had to.

To back this, they were 15th in third down conversion defense.

When you look at the totality of the stats, that 2016 defense screamed mediocre, at best.

 

[Brax]

But they weren't good defenses. That's the point. When you look at the totality of the defensive stats for 2016, for example, that wasn't a good defense. It just wasn't. And that's my point. It's not an excuse for Dak nor do I think he's the greatest of all time or any of that other stuff.

But some of you are so hell bent on taking Dak's knees out from under him that you make silly comments like how he was paired with a really good defense in 2016. He was not. If you want to think Dak is overrated, have at it. But don't use this idea that he failed on teams with really good defenses as proof. It makes one look really silly.

My posts are in reference to the OP premise that Dak never had good D’s he did, I don’t think I ever said really good and this isn’t bash Dak take. You can’t say stats mean nothing based on what you feel. A team that gave up 20 points a game isn’t bad. I also believe top tier QB’s would of done better than 1 playoff win in 5 seasons with the same teams Dak had. We can agree to disagree but it seems stats and rankings only are relevant when they prop Dak up otherwise they mean nothing. This year will tell the tale on Dak and MM.

 

[acr731]

I’d agree to a point but if one side is putting up 30 points a game and the other side is giving up 40 we could hold one side more accountable.

You make it sound like it was a common thing. From 2016 to 2019 the defense gave up 35 points or more in 5 games. It only happened 5 times in 64 games. Care to guess how many times it happened in 2016 alone? None. The most they gave up in 1 game was 30. The rest of the season they were averaging 20 or less. So why did 2016 not result in a deeper run? Your guess is as good as mine, but it wasn't necessarily due to a poor defense.

Even in 2020 they only gave up 40 or more twice, and 35 or more in two other games. Even though the defense was historically bad, there were still 7 games where they allowed 25 or less.

 

[Diehardblues]

You make it sound like it was a common thing. From 2016 to 2019 the defense gave up 35 points or more in 5 games. Care to guess how many times it happened in 2016 alone? None. The most they gave up in 1 game was 30. The rest of the season they were averaging 20 or less. So why did 2016 not result in a deeper run? Your guess is as good as mine, but it wasn't necessarily due to a poor defense.

Even in 2020 they only gave up 40 or more twice, and 35 or more in two other games. Even though the defense was historically bad, there were 7 games where they allowed 25 or less.

So, it’s your assessment that our offense has been holding us back more than our defense this era?

 

[conner01]

I thought so too. Maybe they was ranked #1 in points allowed but 5th overall. Remember their defensive slogan? DWA "Defense with Attitude!" I think Kenny "The Shark" made that up.

I think those ranking are yards

 

[acr731]

So, it’s your assessment that our offense has been holding us back more than our defense this era?

Not at all. I'm just providing stats to contradict the OP's claim that Dak has never had a decent defense. 2016 was the best he had. They still weren't great, but they were much better than the 2020 version.

There have been massive failures on both sides of the ball. But the slobbers refuse to look at it that way and put the blame solely on the defense.

 

[starfan1]

YAWN

 

[Sydla]

My posts are in reference to the OP premise that Dak never had good D’s he did, I don’t think I ever said really good and this isn’t bash Dak take. You can’t say stats mean nothing based on what you feel. A team that gave up 20 points a game isn’t bad. I also believe top tier QB’s would of done better than 1 playoff win in 5 seasons with the same teams Dak had. We can agree to disagree but it seems stats and rankings only are relevant when they prop Dak up otherwise they mean nothing. This year will tell the tale on Dak and MM.

He never had good Ds. That's not to excuse him because he's made his fair share of mistakes but anyone who claims he has had a good defense is just not dealing in reality. As someone has noted, the Cowboys haven't really had a good D since Phillips was here.

20 points per game is a meaningless stats when you dig deeper and find out that the only reason they held teams to 20 points per game was because their time on the field was the least in football and that when you compared all defenses equally by looking at points allowed per drive, the Cowboys were average at best.

Sorry, but facts don't back you here. Short of maybe Brady or Mahomes, the last 5 years of defenses was likely never good enough to do any real damage come postseason.

 

[acr731]

YAWN

Very informative........... Can you back that up with facts?

 

[CowboyRoy]

The offense can do their part too. Its on them to sustain drives to give the defense rest. Too many times over the past few seasons the offense has failed to do that, which results in what? A tired defense that gives up a ton of yards and points.

There are deficiencies on both sides of the ball and it isn't fair to lay the blame squarely on one side or the other.

Yawn...................

So why did they fire the entire defensive staff and devote and entre offseason in FA and the draft to the defense? That might give a clue if you didnt watch the game or look at the stats.

 

[Flamma]

The difference with Championship seasons was the big defensive plays in the playoffs, especially takeaways. In the 15 playoff games during those 5 championship seasons, the Cowboys amassed a total of 59 takeaways. I think, when we go back and look, that will be the most common thread.

Takeaways are huge for any good defense. They can be game changers. They were a huge reason the '92 Cowboys won the Championship game, and a big reason the Cowboys slaughtered the Bills in the SB.

 

[Diehardblues]

Not at all. I'm just providing stats to contradict the OP's claim that Dak has never had a decent defense. 2016 was the best he had. They still weren't great, but they were much better than the 2020 version.

There have been massive failures on both sides of the ball. But the slobbers refuse to look at it that way and put the blame solely on the defense.

Screw the OP. His crap and the rest of the Homers is foolish. Let them cheer. Who cares.

We had good enough defenses those years to get into the playoffs . Nothing as bad as 2020.

But QB or offense isn’t our weakest link.

 

[Diehardblues]

The Dak debate must go away. It’s childish crap. I’ve called out both sides and i will continue until it gets under control, this sites places them all in their own playground or I’m booted off. I’ve had it.

We have much greater concerns and contributing factors preventing this franchise from more success than our QB.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Riiiiight.... because Dak is so great he does that 8 to 10 times a season, and the defense lets him down every time.

so is that your way of admiting the defense sucks 8 to 10 times a season...OK then its settled

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Definitely helps to have a top 10 or higher D

Dallas did have the 7th ranked defense as recently as 2018, and 6th in scoring

true. that's when we went into playoffs. and then against the Rams defense disappeared for some reason and gave up 250 yards rushing. make that 120 and we are in NFCCG