I've always thought that ranking teams by total yards accumulated or allowed was a simplistic and flawed way of judging that team's performance. First of all, as is obvious, the goal of a football game is to score more points than the other team, not to accumulate more yards. Why points are seemingly an oversight when talking about the "#1 ranked defense" or "#1 ranked offense" in the league has always baffled me.
As an example, I will compare New England's defense to Denver's. The Patriots have given up the fewest points per game in the NFL this season (18.2 ppg). Even slightly less than Denver (18.3 ppg). However, The Broncos (2843 yds.) have given up significantly less yardage than the Patriots (3413 yds.); a difference of 570 yds.
One factor to consider is Time of Possession. New England's offense has averaged 30:12 of possession per game. Denver has averaged 29:18. A difference of 1:54. What role does time of possession play in this? Certainly, the longer Tom Brady and Co. keep the ball, the less time New England's defense has to give up yards and points. With Denver's offense being as feeble as it is, and with how few yards Denver's defense has given up, I would assume that Denver's DEFENSE increases their offense's Time of Possession by continually putting their offense back on to the field, while New England's OFFENSE increases their Time of Possession through clock-eating sustained drives.
(https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/average-time-of-possession-net-of-ot)
The Patriots have the best average starting field position in the NFL at the 32.04 yd line. Denver's average start is at the 25.29 yd line, 24th in the NFL. I would have expected Denver, with such a vaunted defense, to rank much higher in starting field position, but maybe defense does not factor into starting field position as much as I thought it would. As a side note, The Patriots also lead the league in opponents' starting field position too (22.23 yd line), making the defense's job the easiest in the league. Denver is 23rd in opponents' starting field position (28.16 yd line). If The Patriots' opponent is starting further back in their own territory it would allow the Patriots to give up more yards without giving up as many points.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/drivestatsoff
I was surprised to see that after 11 weeks the Patriots have given up the fewest points in the league. How good really is The Patriots' defense? How is it that they give up so many yards but so few points? Is bend-but-don't-break a real strategy or a way of sugarcoating a mediocre defense? Does BB concede giving up yards as a way of preventing big plays?
What are some other factors to consider regarding how good a defense is?
As an example, I will compare New England's defense to Denver's. The Patriots have given up the fewest points per game in the NFL this season (18.2 ppg). Even slightly less than Denver (18.3 ppg). However, The Broncos (2843 yds.) have given up significantly less yardage than the Patriots (3413 yds.); a difference of 570 yds.
One factor to consider is Time of Possession. New England's offense has averaged 30:12 of possession per game. Denver has averaged 29:18. A difference of 1:54. What role does time of possession play in this? Certainly, the longer Tom Brady and Co. keep the ball, the less time New England's defense has to give up yards and points. With Denver's offense being as feeble as it is, and with how few yards Denver's defense has given up, I would assume that Denver's DEFENSE increases their offense's Time of Possession by continually putting their offense back on to the field, while New England's OFFENSE increases their Time of Possession through clock-eating sustained drives.
(https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/average-time-of-possession-net-of-ot)
The Patriots have the best average starting field position in the NFL at the 32.04 yd line. Denver's average start is at the 25.29 yd line, 24th in the NFL. I would have expected Denver, with such a vaunted defense, to rank much higher in starting field position, but maybe defense does not factor into starting field position as much as I thought it would. As a side note, The Patriots also lead the league in opponents' starting field position too (22.23 yd line), making the defense's job the easiest in the league. Denver is 23rd in opponents' starting field position (28.16 yd line). If The Patriots' opponent is starting further back in their own territory it would allow the Patriots to give up more yards without giving up as many points.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/drivestatsoff
I was surprised to see that after 11 weeks the Patriots have given up the fewest points in the league. How good really is The Patriots' defense? How is it that they give up so many yards but so few points? Is bend-but-don't-break a real strategy or a way of sugarcoating a mediocre defense? Does BB concede giving up yards as a way of preventing big plays?
What are some other factors to consider regarding how good a defense is?