Juke99;1739285 said:
I think there some different definitions for the word "best" in terms of how it is measured.
I've always felt that in this era, the best defense is the one that causes the most turn overs, short fields, and game changing plays.
This team had some great yardage against stats when Zimmer was the coordinator...even finished first...but to my way of thinking, those were never great defenses.
I agree, you can't overlook the other stats. Like these:
Passing D
Dallas is 2nd NFC in QB rating allowed. 2nd in Ints. Tied for 3rd in completion percent. Tied for 3rd in yards per attempt. 3rd in yards allowed. 6th in sacks.
Rushing D
Dallas is 2nd NFC in rushing yards. Tied 2nd for AVG per rush. 4th in TD allowed (3 TDs, 3 Teams allowed 2)
I didn't have much time to do this because I am at work, but basically, when you look at the stats, Dallas is pretty much always near the top in every meaningful category in the NFC. Overall, Dallas has a pretty good defense. They might be lower than some teams in some categories, but those same teams are terrible at other areas. Dallas hasn't cause many fumbles in the rushing game. Why? Because teams have rushed fewer times against Dallas than any other team in the NFC.