Could our offense be competitive with the Saints and the Falcons O?

[QuasiYoda]

that's the thing. the steelers won in spite of their offense as a whole. they lucked out on that holmes TD. what that defense did, though....dominant on a a truly powerhouse passing offense.

Don't forget the Referees were very cooperative in both of their Super Bowl Wins in this Decade

:mad5:

[QuasiYoda]

I wonder how many times the #1 passing offense has won the Super Bowl since they've been playing it? Anybody know where one could find that information?

For most of my lifetime, it's been defenses that have decided the SB champ more than the offense has. The Bills and Broncos had great passing offenses all through the 80's, but those NFC defenses kicked their asses every time one of them got to the SB.

Anyway...give me a balanced offense and a great defense, and I'll take my chances with that every single season.

Yes and the Broncos finally won their first Super Bowl when they got Terrell Davis as running back and Alex Gibbs as O line Coach.

If all the NFL coaches were given the option of ending the season with the #1 passing or #1 running offense over 90% would choose running because it provides greater ball control, can finish halves and games more easily with running. Ball control gives the defense more time to rest and recharge or it gives the defense adrenaline from another quick score in the Panthers case lol. Running sets up the passing game better than passing sets up the running.

[Fireball77]

Yeah, and all of those teams played great defense too. Even the Colts defense was better in the play offs during their SB run than the offense was. It seems like a lot of fans have forgotten that part.

If anyone actually watched the Colts playoff run in 2006, their passing game was a major help to them in one half of one game (AFCC). Their run game, OL defense and kicker all did more for them than their passing game on that run.

People also forget that the Steelers of 2008 had one of the most DOMINANT DEFENSES OF ALL TIME in many many categories. Yes, in this offense friendly rules era, they beat out OLD SCHOOL/OLD RULE DEFENSES statistically in many areas. The Steelers would not have even made the playoffs without their defense being so dominant.

As to your ? about #1 pass offense, off the top of my head I would guess the 99 Rams. But their defense was pretty good IIRC, not at all craptacular.

[guyinchesapeake]

I have confidence in our offense. It's our defense that's going to have to improve significantly. If they do, I believe we'll be fine (that includes being able to deal with the inevitable injuries!).

[Oldschool Leroy]

Like monstercat originally pointed out, " we score quickly". Last years "problem" will be this years blessing with teams playing from way behind and our pass rush creating turnovers. It could happen.

[Kevin Greene]

I'll take run game and defense for the Lombardi Alex.

[Brandon]

As to your ? about #1 pass offense, off the top of my head I would guess the 99 Rams. But their defense was pretty good IIRC, not at all craptacular.

The "Greatest Show On Turf" had a decent defense. I wouldn't exactly call it good though.

[bleys]

Yes and the Broncos finally won their first Super Bowl when they got Terrell Davis as running back and Alex Gibbs as O line Coach.

If all the NFL coaches were given the option of ending the season with the #1 passing or #1 running offense over 90% would choose running because it provides greater ball control, can finish halves and games more easily with running. Ball control gives the defense more time to rest and recharge or it gives the defense adrenaline from another quick score in the Panthers case lol. Running sets up the passing game better than passing sets up the running.

"the Saint's awesome passing attack is like a running game"...

[N'wahlinsCayenne]

Yea they keep digging to justify their video game nerd of a head coach.

Uhm is it? Maybe so, but most of the teams suck and it's probably b/c they can't run, or maybe b/c somebody has to try and make up a deficit to get back in a game.

Maybe so, maybe it's because teams aren't patient enough anymore to run the ball most of the time. Or maybe it's just tougher to run now with these defenses getting more and more athletic. Pierre Thomas averaged 4.8 yards per carry his first two seasons in the NFL, and we've been passing it way more than we've been running it probably because our head coach would rather have the ball in the hands of Drew Brees more than any other player.

[Kingpatecu]

I think we could compare our offense to Atlanta's better then the Saints. The Saints are a pure passing offense that puts up huge numbers and the run game only opens up when the extra DBs are in to stop the pass, I don't really think we compare to them. In my opinion Atlanta is a very balanced offense with both a strong running and passing game. I think they hold a slight edge over us offensively. Our run game is better then theirs soley bc we have 2 possibly 3 backs that can make a huge impact and they only have 1. Matt Ryan is scary good and is head and shoulders above Jake, but we don't ask Jake to do what Matt does. They brought in a HOF TE, late in his career but he can still stretch the field and open up more possibilities for Ryan.

Overall there is no doubt in my mind we are a better TEAM, but I would rank our offense 3rd in the NFC South.

[Fireball77]

In what way is Ryan asked to do more than Jake does?

The "Greatest Show On Turf" had a decent defense. I wouldn't exactly call it good though.

I just looked up records from 1999. Their D was 4th in the NFL that year in points allowed. Not bad. Certainly championship caliber. I know some of that was due to their O being so high powered, but it's not a defense one would call craptacular.

[Peppers90 NC]

In what way is Ryan asked to do more than Jake does?

I just looked up records from 1999. Their D was 4th in the NFL that year in points allowed. Not bad. Certainly championship caliber. I know some of that was due to their O being so high powered, but it's not a defense one would call craptacular.

Their d was a huge part of them winning. It's not like they won all the playoff game 42-38, Aneius Williams would get turnovers, they would make plays period.

[PanthaSan]

I guess it really don't matter as our offence and their offence are not on the field at the same time. It comes down to who can score the most and that variable cannot be predicted. Every Sunday is different.

Now for the real question:

Can our defence handle their offence?

Hell Ya!

[panthers55]

I guess it really don't matter as our offence and their offence are not on the field at the same time. It comes down to who can score the most and that variable cannot be predicted. Every Sunday is different.

Now for the real question:

Can our defence handle their offence?

Hell Ya!

You are correct in the fact that in a game it is always our offense against their defense and our defense against their offense. Plus it isn't how good their offense and defense are in general but how they perform that day. While NO offense was high powered during the year, we shut them down for 7 out of 8 quarters and still had the offense to come back and win in NO last year.

It is all about matchups in a game. Since the offseason is so long and boring perhaos this discusson has merit before the season starts, after that cumulative stats are not that important.