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How good is our defense? Better than our yards/game suggest

Farbod21

By Farbod21
in The Stadium

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Farbod21

Farbod21

Posted
Posted

Yes we are ranked 31st in total defense and have surrendered more passing yards than almost every other team... but, our defense is a top 10 defense.

Points Allowed: 19.0/game (9th)

Sacks: 17 (9th)

Interceptions: 8 (8th)

Fumbles Rec: 9 (1st)

Takeaways: 17 (2nd)

Def TDs: 2 (2nd)

Another key issue is Time of Possession. Our defense is on the field the third most in the NFL. This is partly due to our offense. The better our offense plays, the better our defense's Yards/Game will be...

Almost all our players are playing well. Its a scheme issue that will get better as time goes on and as our offense takes more pressure off our defense.

Landry, Fletcher, Orakpo, and Hall are all playing at pro bowl levels

Rodgers, MacIntosh, Carricker, and Alexander have been solid...

Our DLine will only get better with Haynesworth coming along...

Chris Wilson, Philip Daniels, and Vonnie Holliday have been exceptional in spot duty...

Im excited about this team...

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TSO

TSO

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It's amazing how little the whole "yards/game" stat is starting to mean nowadays. Teams are going to pass, and they're going to get yards... it's what you do in the red zone and how often you create TO's that count more than anything, and I'm glad we're finally on board there. Now that we've got some average QBs coming up as well as Haynesworth playing well, I think our yards/game stat will come back down as well.

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WesB

WesB

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Defense has definitely changed over the years. Not just our defense, but throughout the NFL. It seems that players are going for bigger hits or trying to strip the ball instead of wrapping up, allowing for the runner to gain more yards or jumping passes early allowing for a WR to break a long gain. The stat that is making our D so effective this year is our turnover ratio for sure and tightening up in the Red Zone. Yes, please keep Big Al in the lineup going forward if he is going to make the same effort as this past week!

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Morneblade

Morneblade

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Our defense is nowhere near a top 10 defense. If we were running a 4-3, it probably would be though. Our players are better suited for ia 4-3, but Hazlett is doing a great job getting the guys to play hard and be motivated. We did play more 4-3 fronts in the last game, and played better defensively as a result. More turnovers, alot of stops on 3rd down and not letting teams march down the field, eating up time and keeping our Offense off the field.

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KDawg

KDawg

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Our defensive play leaves a lot to be desired. The Bears game was best game we played, so forgive me for not believing this defense is a world beater quite yet... However, one thing that this defense has that we haven't seen from our defenses is heart, grit and determination. That's what's giving us a chance to win. Not that our defense is unstoppable, not that our defense is fantastic... We have a ton of holes defensively... But I dare anyone to say we don't have heart. That's what's carrying us.

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Thinking Skins

Thinking Skins

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Our defensive play leaves a lot to be desired. The Bears game was best game we played, so forgive me for not believing this defense is a world beater quite yet... However, one thing that this defense has that we haven't seen from our defenses is heart, grit and determination. That's what's giving us a chance to win. Not that our defense is unstoppable, not that our defense is fantastic... We have a ton of holes defensively... But I dare anyone to say we don't have heart. That's what's carrying us.

I think we've been playing some of the best QBs in the game through the first part of the season. Add that to the fact that we're still learning the 3-4 scheme, and that it doesn't suit everybody, and it adds up to some of the numbers. I don't think we're a top 10 defense, but I don't think we were one the past few years either. Right now, I feel like we have some players emerging as playmakers (Haynesworth, Hall, Landry, Orakpo, Fletcher) and thats what we'll need for this defense to become a top defense. I don't put it past this defense to be feared by the end of the season, especially if we put together a string of games where we allow 200 yards or less of total offense. I thought we were gonna do that against the Bears until the second half.

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Frostx08

Frostx08

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I think we've been playing some of the best QBs in the game through the first part of the season. Add that to the fact that we're still learning the 3-4 scheme, and that it doesn't suit everybody, and it adds up to some of the numbers. I don't think we're a top 10 defense, but I don't think we were one the past few years either. Right now, I feel like we have some players emerging as playmakers (Haynesworth, Hall, Landry, Orakpo, Fletcher) and thats what we'll need for this defense to become a top defense. I don't put it past this defense to be feared by the end of the season, especially if we put together a string of games where we allow 200 yards or less of total offense. I thought we were gonna do that against the Bears until the second half.

I don't entirely buy that. It's a relevant point...but we'll have to see how we improve long term. Because quite frankly...if you look at the defensive numbers for some of the teams we've faced you can make some of that argument for the offense as well

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RandyHolt

RandyHolt

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i think all years under williams and blache have taught us to go straight for the takeaways column. Click to sort. That sheds a better picture on what a defense has to do to win. Then go straight to the wins and loses. Has any team ever won a superbowl with a negative takeaway number for the year? Its awesome getting turnovers. Now we just need our offense to get on track to finish those off proper.

Lucky for us, Hall has been scoring them himself which flat out has won us half our games this year.

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Thinking Skins

Thinking Skins

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I don't entirely buy that. It's a relevant point...but we'll have to see how we improve long term. Because quite frankly...if you look at the defensive numbers for some of the teams we've faced you can make some of that argument for the offense as well

True, but the excuse for our offense is the same, we've got a bunch of players still learning the system. They're trying to change McNabb's footwork, he and Kyle may not have the best relationship, all of them are learning a new offense and at the same time we're trying to maximize everybody's talent. I'm hella surprized that we're 4-3, but I'll take it. I don't think we should expect to be 10-6 this year, but its not an impossibility. I don't think we should expect our defense to be a top 10 one, but I also wouldn't be surprised if we start to play like one as the season progresses.

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Thinking Skins

Thinking Skins

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i think all years under williams and blache have taught us to go straight for the takeaways column. Click to sort. That sheds a better picture on what a defense has to do to win. Then go straight to the wins and loses. Has any team ever won a superbowl with a negative takeaway number for the year? Its awesome getting turnovers. Now we just need our offense to get on track to finish those off proper.

Lucky for us, Hall has been scoring them himself which flat out has won us half our games this year.

I'm much more interested in the 3rd down conversion column. I can remember time after time under Williams and Blache having 3rd and a mile and giving it up or getting a penalty. That used to blow my mind. In that category, we're third. But we're also 30th in first downs per game, which means that teams are converting a lot on first and second down.

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asking

asking

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The problem with the stats are they are largely meaningless without context.

Take a look at the top 5 defenses in the league in several categories, and look at their schedule by game (opponents record and overall offense ranking in parentheses):

1) San Diego Chargers (2-5) - 244.3 YPG, standard deviation 76.2 yards

G1 - Kansas City (4-2) - 197 yards (12th overall, 345 YPG)

G2 - Jacksonville (3-4) - 350 yards (25th overall, 301 YPG)

G3 - Seattle (4-2) - 271 yards (27th overall, 294 YPG)

G4 - Arizona (3-3) - 134 yards (32nd overall, 237.8 YPG)

G5 - Oakland (3-4) - 279 yards (14th overall, 340.4 YPG)

G6 - St. Louis (3-4) - 300 yards (22nd overall, 310.7 YPG)

G7 - New England (5-1) - 179 yards (19th overall, 325 YPG, 1 spot lower than the Redskins)

San Diego may lead the league for defensive YPG, but they haven't faced an opponent ranked higher than 12th in offensive YPG, and that was the Chiefs in W1, who are now 4-2. San Diego is 2-5.

2) New York Giants (4-2) - 264.8 YPG, standard deviation 110.4 yards

G1 - Carolina (1-5) - 237 yards (31st overall, 259.8 YPG)

G2 - Indianapolis (4-2) - 410 yards (2nd overall, 409 YPG)

G3 - Tennessee (5-2) - 271 yards (24th overall, 302.1 YPG)

G4 - Chicago (4-3) - 110 yards (30th overall, 290.4 YPG)

G5 - Houston (4-2) - 195 yards (4th overall, 379.7 YPG)

G6 - Detroit (1-5) - 366 yards (16th overall, 337.7 YPG)

G7 - Dallas (in progress)

3) Dallas Cowboys (1-4) - 281.4 YPG, standard deviation 62.1 yards

G1 - Washington (4-3) - 250 yards (18th overall, 332.7 YPG)

G2 - Chicago (4-3) - 308 yards (30th overall, 290.4 YPG)

G3 - Houston (4-2) - 340 yards (4th overall, 379.7 YPG)

G4 - Tennessee (5-2) - 321 yards (24th overall, 302.1 YPG)

G5 - Minnesota (2-4) - 188 yards (20th overall, 318.5 YPG)

G6 - NY Giants (in progress)

4) New Orleans Saints (4-3) - 288.4 YPG, standard deviation 92.1 yards

G1 - Minnesota (2-4) - 253 yards (20th overall, 318.5 YPG)

G2 - San Francisco (1-6) - 417 yards (21st overall, 312.6 YPG)

G3 - Atlanta (5-2) - 417 yards (8th overall, 370.9 YPG)

G4 - Carolina (1-5) - 251 yards (31st overall, 259.8 YPG)

G5 - Arizona (3-3) - 194 yards (32nd overall, 237.8 YPG)

G6 - Tampa Bay (4-2) - 277 yards (23rd overall, 307.5 YPG)

G7 - Cleveland (2-5) - 210 yards (29th overall, 292 YPG)

5) Pittsburgh Steelers (5-1) 299.3 YPG, standard deviation 32.2 yards

G1 - Atlanta (5-2) - 295 yards (8th overall, 370.9 YPG)

G2 - Tennessee (5-2) - 238 yards (24th overall, 302.1 YPG)

G3 - Tampa Bay (4-2) - 303 yards (23rd overall, 307.5 YPG)

G4 - Baltimore (5-2) - 320 yards (15th overall, 340.3 YPG)

G5 - Cleveland (2-5) - 327 yards (29th overall, 292 YPG)

G6 - Miami (3-3) - 313 yards (13th overall, 342 YPG)

The take home lesson for me is that the Steelers are the most consistent defense out of the top 5 - regardless of their opponent's offensive YPG ranking, they perform around the same - very low spread from their average of 299.3 YPG (standard deviation of 32.2 yards, the next tightest standard deviation in the top 5 is the Cowboy's 62.1 yards.. but they're 1-5). I'd rather take the wins than the stats.

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Mahons21

Mahons21

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We did play more 4-3 fronts in the last game, and played better defensively as a result. More turnovers, alot of stops on 3rd down and not letting teams march down the field, eating up time and keeping our Offense off the field.

One of the turnovers happened with a 40 front, and it was a nickel package not a 43. Every other turnover came from our 34, and goalline for the fumble.

You know what other plays came from us using a 40 front? Both the Earl Bennett bomb and the Knox touchdown.

Our defense played its best this past game when blitzing and using the 34.

You can find all the necessary footage in these two videos:

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010102405/2010/REG7/redskins@bears/analyze/box-score#analyze-channels:cat-post-playbyplay

(gameday highlights on NFL.com)

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2010102405/2010/REG7/redskins@bears/analyze/box-score#analyze-channels:cat-post-playbyplay

(single highlight Johnny Knox TD)

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GoDeep81

GoDeep81

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Posted

Were definitely better than the yardage per game stats.. I dont know if it's the scheme that doing it, but the turnovers are making this D imo.. And if Rogers had hands we'd be even further along, and probably have another W to go with it.. I can see some teams fearing this D.. We give up yards, but we also hit hard, cause turnovers, and play with heart! You cant beat a team that plays with Heart! (Least not on a regular basis) ;)

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TD_washingtonredskins

TD_washingtonredskins

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Posted

This is a very simple and crude calculation on my part, but I've determined that we're somewhere between 10th and 11th in the league defensively.

I took our league standing in 6 categories (yards per game, points per game, third down percentage, interceptions, recovered fumbles, and sacks), added them together, and divided by 6. Again, it's not a great barometer, but it's more accurate than just saying we're 31st due to yardage. If someone could come up with a way to weigh these better than I did, I think a defensive ratings (like a QB rating) would be a cool idea.

Here are the rankings for those interested:

Yards per game: 31

Points per game: 9

Third-down %: 4

Interceptions: 8

Fumbles: 1

Sacks: 9

One other flaw, in a few cases, we're tied with a few other teams (recovered fumbles, for example, have 2 or 3 other teams tied with us), so I wasn't sure how to weigh that. Ultimately though, I think it's fair to say that we're not the second-worst defense in the entire league. We might not be the 10th best, but we're probably right in the middle somewhere.

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moondog

moondog

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Our defense is nowhere near a top 10 defense. If we were running a 4-3, it probably would be though. Our players are better suited for ia 4-3, but Hazlett is doing a great job getting the guys to play hard and be motivated. We did play more 4-3 fronts in the last game, and played better defensively as a result. More turnovers, alot of stops on 3rd down and not letting teams march down the field, eating up time and keeping our Offense off the field.

I agree with you on a lot of points, but at the same point, our defense has only given up one TD in every single game we've won. Now, while that may speak even more as to what our offense is leaving on the field, it also speaks volumes when talking about teams such as Philly, Green Bay and yes, even Dallas, who despite losing this year are still very capable of putting up a lot of points in their losing efforts.

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