Interesting theory from Cold Hard Football Facts

[Fireball77]

They admit that they don't have as much data as is needed to postulate this theory is valid over time, but it is compelling nonetheless.

Sad that Carolina had a worse pass defense than the Saints.

I think that I would like to see them add rushing defense to this metric because SOMETIMES the pass D looks better than it is because teams only need to run on the other team to control the game, and vice versa. Colts probably have a bit of that in their DPR. Then there is Minny. They have had a below average pass D for years, and their run D is actually very good so that's legit. TB did actually have a good pass D but their run D suffered after the Cats beat them down. Would like to see how that changed the passer rating against them if any.

http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Articles/11_2737_Secrets_of_the_universe!.html

[R0CKnR0LLA]

Some stats, such as passing yards, to use the most notable example, have virtually no correlation to success outside of the imaginary world of fantasy football.

Hmm... who does that remind you of...

[Fireball77]

Oh snap, didn't even catch that. lol

We always like people who agree with us I guess.

[Brandon]

Oh snap, didn't even catch that. lol

We always like people who agree with us I guess.

Well it is the truth. You can have a huge number of passing yards because you're coming from behind and are forced to pass, and the other team is willing to give up some passing yards but won't give up the long play for a TD. Stats are one of those things most people just don't know how to interpret because people (ESPN) constantly hawk on the "big numbers" because it's more attractive than a QB having high YPA or TD/INT, etc.

[rayzor]

are those numbers based on just the regular season?

[Fireball77]

Yes true Brandon.

Not sure rayzor. Good point. I think it is.

[rayzor]

more accurate gauge would be just using the 16 game season.

anyway, i don't care if the saints were. the 2nd half of the season the defense fell apart. there were some huge problems going on not just with the pass D but the run D as well. we got rid of a huge problem that we had when we lost trgo. i have no doubt that our pass D will be dramatically improved because of meeks and the rest of the new coaching staff. also our own passer rating should be improved because of rip's work on jake.

with or without the post season's inclusion, next year's differential will be a lot different and we should find ourselves in the top 5 of that list.

[monstercat]

I still say that what hurt our defense more than anything was injuries. Kemo was playing on a bad ankle, Lewis was playing with a bad shoulder, and Beason has since admitted that he was basically playing with one arm in the last 5-6 games. That, my friends, is the heart of the defense. It's just like the old saying...you have to be strong up the middle, and the Panthers weren't at the end of the season.

That's not to say that there weren't problems in the secondary or that Trgo's defense didn't get a little stale, but if you're weak up the middle, you've got real problems, regardless of what scheme you run.