It’s a great time to be an NFL fan with preseason games that begun this week. With the opening of the preseason comes the renewed optimism of a new start and the promise that only a new year can bring. This week’s Top 5 will focus on the top defenses in the league this season.

After yet another Super Bowl victory in 2008 (the sixth in team history), the Pittsburgh Steelers bring back almost their entire defensive unit intact.

Last season, the team was first in total defense in the NFL, only giving up 237 total yards a game. The Steelers ranked No. 1 in both rushing (80.3 average yards per game) and passing (156.9 average yards per game) in the AFC.

Those are impressive statistics, no question; however can they follow up that stellar performance? As mentioned, most of the defense is coming back, at the same time the team is a year older and some stalwarts of the team are starting to age by NFL standards. A player like LB James Farrior is 34-years old, and while it is hard to see his production slipping all that much (he had 133 tackles last year), age could be a factor.

However, the Steelers look like a team who could excel again defensively in 2009. DB Troy Polamalu is still a star, and with first round draft choice Evander Hood joining the mix, look for the Steelers to have one of the top defenses statistics-wise this season. 

A disappointing end to the 2008 season (23-11 home playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles), led the New York Giants to focus on defense coming into 2009. Probably the biggest loss for the defense was not a player; but rather  Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo who left “Big Blue” to become the Head Coach of the St. Louis Rams. With new coordinator Bill Sheridan taking over, there are some questions regarding the direction of the defense this season.

The Giants spent the offseason upgrading their defense, bringing in a few new players to upgrade and solidify the unit. Rocky Bernard came from the Seattle Seahawks where he had 55 tackles and four sacks in 15 games last season. He is a solid player who could become a starter this year.

The other tackle position could also see a new starter in 2009, as the Giants brought in Chris Canty from their archrival Dallas Cowboys. Canty is a proven starter as he has started every game for the Cowboys for the last three seasons and had 37 tackles in 2008.

The third main pickup was a LB from the Atlanta Falcons. Michael Boley had a disappointing 2008 for the Falcons as he followed up a 109-tackle season in 2007 with a 73-tackle year in‘08. He is suspended for the first game of 2009, but is an athletic player who will only help the Giants at linebacker, especially if he reverts back to his 2007 form.

This Giants defense, if it stays healthy, will be among the best in the league again this season. They have the players to be a dominant force both against the run and the pass. As mentioned, the biggest wild-card will probably be the adjustment to Sheridan’s coaching style.

Coming into this season, the Ravens do have some questions when it comes to their defense, which for so many years was the class of the NFL. However, the Ravens will be among the top defenses yet again this season.

Former Defensive Coordinator Rex Ryan left to take the New York Jets’ coaching job during the offseason, so the Ravens have a new coordinator, Greg Mattison. Mattison was the linebackers coach last season for them, and worked with LB Ray Lewis to create one of the most feared defenses in the league.

Even with changes in the coaching box, the Ravens still have some great players. Lewis is 34 and is still among one of the best linebackers in the league. In his 13 years in the league, he has failed to record 100 tackles only twice, (2002 and 2005) and both years he battled injuries. Lewis does not seem like he is slowing down as he gets older.

For most linebackers, 34-years old is about the age where they start to see a decline in play, but Lewis is going to try to go against history and have another great season. Also, the Ravens have CB Ed Reed, who had nine interceptions last season, is still in his prime and should have a typical Ed Reed-season, which means he will be at or near the top of the league in interceptions.

The Ravens are always near the top of the league in defense and there are many reasons for this. First of all, they have some of the best defenders in the NFL on the field in Reed, Lewis and Terrell Suggs. All these players are talented, but with a new coordinator change is inevitable.

One knock on the Minnesota Vikings defense as of late has been their struggles at stopping the pass. The team has been No. 1 in the league in rush defense the last three seasons, but have finished last in the league in pass defense twice in the past three seasons (2006/2007) and were ranked 18^th last year.

With some key players in the secondary, such as Cedric Griffin and Antoine Winfield, the Vikings are starting to show progress in terms of stopping the pass. Griffin had 91 tackles last season to go along with one interception. He had a 10-tackle game in the Superdome when the Vikings took on the New Orleans Saints. Winfield had another good year for the Vikings with 95 tackles, which was second on the team and he had two interceptions.

If the Vikings get a strong performance from their secondary against the pass, they are going to be in good shape as they have the best run defense in the league. The key players to the continuation of the dominance against the run for the Vikings reside on the defensive line.

Jared Allen is among the top defensive ends in the NFL and had 54 tackles and 14.5 sacks last year, while Kevin Williams had 8.5 sacks of his own to go along with 60 tackles. Williams and Allen are strong in terms of generating a pass rush, but at the same time they are strong against the run as well.

The Vikings are right on the cusp of being among the best defenses in the league. They are a very talented unit who can stop the run without much of an issue. The key however to a successful season for the Vikings defense is their ability to hinder the passing attack of opposing quarterbacks.

To the causal fan, the choice of the Redskins as one of the top defenses in the league may be a curious pick. They are overshadowed by the Giants' defense in their own division, but if a fan were to really look at the Redskins and what they bring to the table in 2009, the choice would begin to make more sense.

The Redskins made probably the biggest free agent splash on February 27 when they signed DT Albert Haynesworth, who is one of the most dominant defensive linemen in the league,away from the Tennessee Titans. He is a versatile player who can play both tackle and end and will wreak havoc at either position. Last year he had 51 tackles and 8.5 sacks to go along with three forced fumbles. He can rush the passer, jam up the middle and stop the run.

Other then Haynesworth, the Redskins still have CB DeAngelo Hall. He had 73 tackles last year split between the Redskins (four starts in seven games) and the Oakland Raiders (started all eight games). Those numbers are about near his career averages and the two-time Pro Bowler is going to attempt to return to his former status as one of the shutdown corners in the league.

Of course there is more to the Redskins defense than the two players mentioned above, but Hall and Haynesworth are probably most vital to the success of the defense this season. It’s a tough division, the NFC East, but if the Redskins can catch a few breaks on the offensive side of the ball and their defense performs up to their abilities, they could be a sleeper pick in the NFC playoff picture.

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written by Ketch Rudder, November 17, 2009

Carl,

I noticed that you wrote: ""Any yard gained over the total yards gained in scoring scoring drives is a useless yard." Now, if a team starts at the 50 yard line and has two holding penalties, then the drive is a 50 yard drive even though the offense goes 70 yards. Are those 20 yards useless? No, they aren't since the team needed to gain them to score a touchdown."

As I stated and which you quoted, "Any yard gained over the total yards gained in scoring scoring drives is a useless yard." So, in your scenario, you described a SCORING DRIVE, which I claim all yards gained in such are useful.

It's only when a team gains yards and does not score do such yards become useless, as I stated previously.

Carl, you wrote that "statistics can't and don't tell the whole story" because of injuries and weather. Statistics is the art of describing the past through measurement.

Games get played by men. Action happens. During the game, statistical measurements get taken. These measurements can describe the game played, but never a game yet-to-be played.

You go on and write that "yards allowed, total points allowed and even turnovers forced can be just as, if not more important" than points per play.

Yet, nothing trumps the scoreboard. Keeping score, by the way, is the application of statistics. So total points scored and its obverse, total points allowed are the ultimate measures.

Yet, when you want to normalize performance and compare teams that have not played in the same game, the logical, artful mind at once comes to see that points per play is the only way to do so.

Come check out the site, http://gridirongrotto.blogspot.com

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Update for Carl
written by Ketch Rudder, November 17, 2009

Hey Carl, the 2009-10 season is well underway since we had our first exchange.

For those seeking superior insight into the NFL, I've set up a blog that gives answers based on points per play as we discussed above.

All the data comes in full-color tables, which are easy to read. There's even a stats glossary to help out.

Come check it out, Carl.

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written by RAndall , October 16, 2009

how in the world can u put the redskins in the top 5 they SUCK!!!! Advice put the eagles in and ill be happy

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written by Carl Lombardi, August 22, 2009

Ketch--

Thanks for the comment. The points you raised are good, however I disagree with some of them. First of all, you said that "Any yard gained over the total yards gained in scoring scoring drives is a useless yard." Now, if a team starts at the 50 yard line and has two holding penalties, then the drive is a 50 yard drive even though the offense goes 70 yards. Are those 20 yards useless? No, they aren't since the team needed to gain them to score a touchdown.
When it comes to defense, and football in general, there are so many variables. Injuries and even weather can be factors in a game. So really, statistics can't and don't tell the whole story. You said that in my previous example that I tricked myself since the teams that played the Cowboys may have been less efficient. That's not totally true. Sure the statistics may say that on paper, but there are a plethora of reasons why that may not be true. Field position, as you mentioned is important, but things such as game plans against certain players could be important as well. As mentioned, there are so many variables in a NFL game, and to look at straight numbers is not looking at the big picture of a game. Don't get me wrong statistics are very important and your right in saying that, but they are not the only measurement of a defense or offense for that matter.
There is no question that yards per play and points per play is key to a good defense, but yards allowed, total points allowed and even turnovers forced can be just as, if not more important.

-Carl

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Points per Play and the Science of Winning
written by Ketch Rudder, August 22, 2009

Carl,

Well, if you're into the Science of Winning, then Points per Play is the only measure. Winning is about scoring -- how fast your team scores and how long your team forces their opponents to score.

Since each game has variable number of possessions and time of possession, the only measure which normalizes measurement across all games is the play. Besides the Unit of Action is the play.

Under your scenario, the defenses are the same. Each yielded 1 point per play.

Yet, you've tricked yourself. Team that played the Cowboys was less efficient. It took that team more yards to get the same plays. This could be owing to starting field position.

According to the rules of the NFL, on each possession, a team can score from anywhere on the field on each play. Nothing in the rules requires a drive of successive downs and first downs. No team must await to scoring once getting inside their opponent's 40 or even the red zone.

As the scrimmage defense that yields the fewest points per play is the best, so too the scrimmage offense that scores the most points per play is the best.

In truth, I had simplified it. A second concept exists -- best scoring defense. Yet, this is a secondary role to the primary purpose of defense, not yielding points and thus forcing possession change.

Never get fooled by yardage data. Football is about scoring and possession. Any yard gained over the total yards gained in scoring scoring drives is a useless yard.

I'll be sure to check your blog often Carl. You seem to have nailed the likely top defenses.

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Re: Points per Play is the Only Measure
written by Carl Lombardi, August 17, 2009

Ketch----

Thanks for the positive comment. Anyway, points per play is important no question. I see what your getting at with this comment and it makes lots of sense. Let's look at this a bit more in depth.

Let's say that the Cowboys (arguments sake) run 10 plays on defense. The Cowboys give up 10 points and 150 yards.

Lets say that the Giants (arguments sake) run 10 plays on defense. The Giants give up 10 points and 100 yards.

Under your argument it appears that each defense is the same since its based on points per play. Here each team ran the same amount of plays and gave up the same amount of points. However, the Cowboys defense gave up an average of 15 yards per play. The Giants on the other hand gave up 10 per play. Which defense would you rather have?

See you also have to see that football games are not all about defense. The offense will get better field position over the course of a game when their defense does not allow many yards. Those 50 yards I spoke of before could mean the difference in a game in terms of being able to attempt a game winning field goal or not.

In terms of the defensive statistics on paper, points per play may be more important then yards allowed. When looked at in a more broad context of a football game, yards allowed can be just as important if not more so.

-Carl

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Points per Play is the Only Measure
written by Ketch Rudder, August 16, 2009

After reading hundreds of NFL related blog posts, yours is the first that comes close to accuracy.

However, yards yielded do not give the best measure of a defense. After all, if a team as three drives of 80 yards each, with each drive yielding a touchdown along with extra point, a team could win 21-0 each game.

The correct measure to evaluate a scrimmage defense is Points per Play.

Winning is about scoring and preventing scoring. The best defense yields the fewest points per play. Besides, per play is the only way to normalize performance for each team.

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