Interesting fact about Saints sack total. (1 Viewer)

[basilisk]

Well, sacks ARE overrated, but pressure isn't. Sacks are great, but Brees proved this year that pressure alone can force turnovers. Freeney is highly overrated, not just because sacks are themselves overrated, but because he has little impact on the game minus 1 or 2 plays.

overrated eh? it seems that polian (the architect of, iirc, 5 SB teams) disagrees with you... you might have more football knowledge though, who knows?

 

[NPs6724]

overrated eh? it seems that polian (the architect of, iirc, 5 SB teams) disagrees with you... you might have more football knowledge though, who knows?

Polian helped get 5 teams to the Superbowl, only winning one. And what was the strong point of all 5 teams? Great offense. Of the 4 Bills teams, 3 ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in points scored. The highest their defense ever ranked was 6th-best in points allowed. That offense wa built around HOF QB Jim Kelly, HOF RB Thurman Thomas, future HOF WR Andre Reed, and HOF WR James Lofton. The Colts were ranked 2nd in points scored and 23rd in points allowed when they won the ring. We know who that offense is built around. It certainly wasn't Dwight Freeney. Point is, defense didn't get Polian's teams to the Super Bowl.

 

[basilisk]

Polian helped get 5 teams to the Superbowl, only winning one. And what was the strong point of all 5 teams? Great offense. Of the 4 Bills teams, 3 ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in points scored. The highest their defense ever ranked was 6th-best in points allowed. That offense wa built around HOF QB Jim Kelly, HOF RB Thurman Thomas, future HOF WR Andre Reed, and HOF WR James Lofton. The Colts were ranked 2nd in points scored and 23rd in points allowed when they won the ring. We know who that offense is built around. It certainly wasn't Dwight Freeney. Point is, defense didn't get Polian's teams to the Super Bowl.

no, the point is polian is the one who paid freeney all that money and polian probably knows more about football than you (or i) do... he doesn't think sacks are overrated, it seems

 

[Scott B]

Well, sacks ARE overrated, but pressure isn't. Sacks are great, but Brees proved this year that pressure alone can force turnovers. Freeney is highly overrated, not just because sacks are themselves overrated, but because he has little impact on the game minus 1 or 2 plays.

I disagree that sacks are overrated.

2007-Giants (1st in NFL) Patriots (2nd in NFL)
2006-Bears (8th in NFL) Colts (30th in NFL)
2005-Seahawks (1st in NFL) Steelers (3rd in NFL)
2004-Eagles (2nd in NFL) Patriots (3rd in NFL)
2003-Panthers (7th in NFL) Patrios (6th in NFL)
2002-Bucs (6th in NFL) Raiders (6th in NFL)

Out of the last six Super Bowls, only one team (Colts) didn't finish in the top 10 in sacks in the NFL. I'm not saying that sack totals are the end-all, be-all stat to determine success, but based on those numbers alone, you can't dismiss them as overrated.

 

[Bee Rad]

Polian helped get 5 teams to the Superbowl, only winning one. And what was the strong point of all 5 teams? Great offense. Of the 4 Bills teams, 3 ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in points scored. The highest their defense ever ranked was 6th-best in points allowed. That offense wa built around HOF QB Jim Kelly, HOF RB Thurman Thomas, future HOF WR Andre Reed, and HOF WR James Lofton. The Colts were ranked 2nd in points scored and 23rd in points allowed when they won the ring. We know who that offense is built around. It certainly wasn't Dwight Freeney. Point is, defense didn't get Polian's teams to the Super Bowl.

A little homework suggests that you are off base (look at yards allowed). During 3 of the 4 years that the Bills went to the Superbowl, their defense ranked in the top-5 of the league. Bruce Smith will be a first ballot Hall of Famer, and the defense also featured Cornelius Bennett, Darryl Talley, and Shane Conlon. Polian's Panthers teams also made their mark on defense with Sam Mills and Kevin Greene among others. In their first year of play, the Panthers' defense ranked in the top-10 and were ranked #2 overall in their second year of play. They also played in the NFC Championship game during that second season.

 

[Pure Energy]

I disagree that sacks are overrated.

2007-Giants (1st in NFL) Patriots (2nd in NFL)
2006-Bears (8th in NFL) Colts (30th in NFL)
2005-Seahawks (1st in NFL) Steelers (3rd in NFL)
2004-Eagles (2nd in NFL) Patriots (3rd in NFL)
2003-Panthers (7th in NFL) Patrios (6th in NFL)
2002-Bucs (6th in NFL) Raiders (6th in NFL)

Out of the last six Super Bowls, only one team (Colts) didn't finish in the top 10 in sacks in the NFL. I'm not saying that sack totals are the end-all, be-all stat to determine success, but based on those numbers alone, you can't dismiss them as overrated.

Just to add a little more perspective...the Giants had a dominant D-Line this season so their sacks are legitimate. However, the Patriots sack stats are a bit misleading, especially for this season. While they have a good D-Line they were typically playing with a large lead. This forced their opponents into a Pass only mode giving their Defense a huge advantage. If memory serves...I believe that was the same case for the 2002 Raiders.

This is kind of a chicken/egg discussion. If the Saints were playing with huge leads their sack totals and turnover margins would be much better. OTOH, if the Saints had a better D-Line they'd get more sacks and turnovers.

Barring some magic change of personnel, the Saints better option is to execute early with the Offense to build a lead and ask the Defense to slow down opponents as we did in 2006. This will force opponents to play from behind and become one-dimensional giving our Defense the edge. Again, barring a dramatic change, I don't see this team building a dominant D-Line in 2008.

 

[SoggyBottomBoy]

Out of the last six Super Bowls, only one team (Colts) didn't finish in the top 10 in sacks in the NFL. I'm not saying that sack totals are the end-all, be-all stat to determine success, but based on those numbers alone, you can't dismiss them as overrated.

And that Colt team faced Rex Grossman in the Superbowl. Putting pressure on him wasn't a concern.

 

[SaintsJunkie]

That is a sickening stat. Some say that sack totals are overrated. That may be, but when the QB is sacked, that means that a loss of yardage has happened and that someone on the offense failed to do his job. And that can lead to a loss of confidence. Personally, I'd rather have the opponent's QB get sacked on 3rd and 26 as opposed to his completing a pass for a first down.

qb ratings against us were very high, ever noticed how all of these new first start qbs would light us up and have career days, this would change with a glen dorsey in the face, or haynesworth

 

[NPs6724]

A little homework suggests that you are off base (look at yards allowed). During 3 of the 4 years that the Bills went to the Superbowl, their defense ranked in the top-5 of the league. Bruce Smith will be a first ballot Hall of Famer, and the defense also featured Cornelius Bennett, Darryl Talley, and Shane Conlon. Polian's Panthers teams also made their mark on defense with Sam Mills and Kevin Greene among others. In their first year of play, the Panthers' defense ranked in the top-10 and were ranked #2 overall in their second year of play. They also played in the NFC Championship game during that second season.

Points allowed is much more important than yards allowed. I've seen many games where a team won while gaining fewer yards than their opponent. Ever see a team with fewer points win? Didn't think so. The fact is the Bills' offense was better than their defense every year they went to the Super Bowl, same with the Colts, so to say defense got them there is misleading. Both teams had tremendous offenses that led the way.

As for the Bill defense, where are you getting your numbers? Pro-football-reference lists the Bills' defense from 1990-1993 at 6th, 19th, 14th, and 5th in points allowed and 8th, 27th, 12th, and 27th in yards allowed. How is that a top-5 defense? You must do your homework in Backwards Land.