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FOOTBALL NEWS:
On Football: Defenses rise to task in NFL postseason
The enduring memory of the offenses for Seattle, Tennessee and Chicago this weekend is how offending they were.
Not in a great way.
Even in a league where scoring was at an all-time high, with more goals than ever, defense ends up being a valuable product in the postseason. Ask the quarterbacks who were preyed on by it, consisting of a Super Bowl winner, the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson.
Ask Derrick Henry, the 2,000-yard All-Pro running back for the Titans whose production in Sunday’s loss to Baltimore nearly might be determined in inches.
And anybody on a Bears attack that that was more teddy than grizzly – thanks to New Orleans‘ dominant D.
“Our defense played outstanding,” coach Sean Payton stated of a 21-9 success. “We tackled well in space. … Ultimately we forced them to become one-dimensional, and when you do that you’re going to win a lot of games.”
John Harbaugh and Ravens protective organizer Wink Martindale might state the very same. Rams DC Brandon Staley might echo those ideas. So might his employer, Sean McVay, an offending expert whose system is a placeholder while the defense is devastating.
“This might be the best win I have ever been associated with,” stated Harbaugh, who simply won a Super Bowl in the 2012 season and now has a record 8 away success in the playoffs.
There weren’t lots of fans on hand for any of the video games due to COVID-19 limitations, and chants of DEE-FENSE weren’t rocking any of the arenas. However the message stays clear: If you bring the D, it’s a smoother pass to the W. And potentially the SB (Super Bowl).
For all the intricacy of the NFL nowadays, when offenses have more plans and developments and variables than ever – not to reference many guidelines inclined to aid scoring – a huge pass rush is the remedy. A unanimous All-Pro Aaron Donald as a within force, especially when matched by a rejuvenated Leonard Floyd and shutdown backs, can make a defense devastating. It’s taken place in LA, which won at Seattle 30-20.
A seasoned group with vibrant entertainers at each position is how New Orleans‘ unit has reached equal status with the Drew Brees/Alvin Kamara offense. This might be the best defense in the Big Easy since Brees arrived in 2006, and if this is his final season, he certainly has the accompaniment to make it special.
Consider, also, that the Chiefs, for all their scoreboard-exploding magic with the ball, didn’t win a championship until their defense reached a higher level. Remember the Legion of Boom? Or Baltimore’s powerhouse D with Ray Lewis and Ed Reed in 2012?
Tom Brady unquestionably was the major reason for New England’s dynasty, but even he needed help from the defense in the Super Bowl victories against the Seahawks (Malcolm Butler’s interception) and Rams, who scored three points in 2019. In two of his Super Bowl defeats, Brady was harried and sacked by the Giants’ unyielding pressure.
Why do defenses play a bigger role in many postseason games?
For one, teams with weak Ds don’t get to the playoffs very often. Yes, the NFC East was abysmal in 2020, but the winner had, by far, the division’s best defense. Contenders (actually pretenders) who failed to get into the championship chase – Las Vegas, Dallas and Minnesota – came up short on that side of the ball.
Also make note of how good defensive teams turn up the heat in the biggest games. When you have strength and stinginess, you expand the envelope. Play not to lose? Nope: You let the horses run.
The Rams and Saints were the best examples of that during wild-card weekend. Both are capable of giving fits to the Packers and Bucs, respectively, next weekend. Indeed, the style and makeup of New Orleans‘ group is exactly what bothers Brady the most, and the Saints beat him and Tampa Bay twice already this season.
And the last guy Aaron Rodgers is eager to meet up close next Saturday afternoon is that other Aaron from the West Coast.
This is not to claim that A-Rod and Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are doomed in these playoffs. Nor that such All-Pros as Buffalo receiver Stefon Diggs, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (also a unanimous selection) or Green Bay wideout Davante Adams will underachieve.
But anyone who believes the shootout in Pittsburgh won by Cleveland 48-37 is a harbinger for these playoffs, well, maybe such an observer needs to meet Donald while in possession of the ball.
___
More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
The enduring memory of the offenses for Seattle, Tennessee and Chicago this weekend is how offending they were.
Not in a great way.
Even in a league where scoring was at an all-time high, with more goals than ever, defense ends up being a valuable product in the postseason. Ask the quarterbacks who were preyed on by it, consisting of a Super Bowl winner, the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson.
Ask Derrick Henry, the 2,000-yard All-Pro running back for the Titans whose production in Sunday’s loss to Baltimore nearly might be determined in inches.
And anybody on a Bears attack that that was more teddy than grizzly – thanks to New Orleans‘ dominant D.
“Our defense played outstanding,” coach Sean Payton stated of a 21-9 success. “We tackled well in space. … Ultimately we forced them to become one-dimensional, and when you do that you’re going to win a lot of games.”
John Harbaugh and Ravens protective organizer Wink Martindale might state the very same. Rams DC Brandon Staley might echo those ideas. So might his employer, Sean McVay, an offending expert whose system is a placeholder while the defense is devastating.
“This might be the best win I have ever been associated with,” stated Harbaugh, who simply won a Super Bowl in the 2012 season and now has a record 8 away success in the playoffs.
There weren’t lots of fans on hand for any of the video games due to COVID-19 limitations, and chants of DEE-FENSE weren’t rocking any of the arenas. However the message stays clear: If you bring the D, it’s a smoother pass to the W. And potentially the SB (Super Bowl).
For all the intricacy of the NFL nowadays, when offenses have more plans and developments and variables than ever – not to reference many guidelines inclined to aid scoring – a huge pass rush is the remedy. A unanimous All-Pro Aaron Donald as a within force, especially when matched by a rejuvenated Leonard Floyd and shutdown backs, can make a defense devastating. It’s taken place in LA, which won at Seattle 30-20.
A seasoned group with vibrant entertainers at each position is how New Orleans‘ unit has reached equal status with the Drew Brees/Alvin Kamara offense. This might be the best defense in the Big Easy since Brees arrived in 2006, and if this is his final season, he certainly has the accompaniment to make it special.
Consider, also, that the Chiefs, for all their scoreboard-exploding magic with the ball, didn’t win a championship until their defense reached a higher level. Remember the Legion of Boom? Or Baltimore’s powerhouse D with Ray Lewis and Ed Reed in 2012?
Tom Brady unquestionably was the major reason for New England’s dynasty, but even he needed help from the defense in the Super Bowl victories against the Seahawks (Malcolm Butler’s interception) and Rams, who scored three points in 2019. In two of his Super Bowl defeats, Brady was harried and sacked by the Giants’ unyielding pressure.
Why do defenses play a bigger role in many postseason games?
For one, teams with weak Ds don’t get to the playoffs very often. Yes, the NFC East was abysmal in 2020, but the winner had, by far, the division’s best defense. Contenders (actually pretenders) who failed to get into the championship chase – Las Vegas, Dallas and Minnesota – came up short on that side of the ball.
Also make note of how good defensive teams turn up the heat in the biggest games. When you have strength and stinginess, you expand the envelope. Play not to lose? Nope: You let the horses run.
The Rams and Saints were the best examples of that during wild-card weekend. Both are capable of giving fits to the Packers and Bucs, respectively, next weekend. Indeed, the style and makeup of New Orleans‘ group is exactly what bothers Brady the most, and the Saints beat him and Tampa Bay twice already this season.
And the last guy Aaron Rodgers is eager to meet up close next Saturday afternoon is that other Aaron from the West Coast.
This is not to claim that A-Rod and Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are doomed in these playoffs. Nor that such All-Pros as Buffalo receiver Stefon Diggs, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (also a unanimous selection) or Green Bay wideout Davante Adams will underachieve.
But anyone who believes the shootout in Pittsburgh won by Cleveland 48-37 is a harbinger for these playoffs, well, maybe such an observer needs to meet Donald while in possession of the ball.
___
More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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question, you know it's been at least
15 years since I've been following the news, no 10 my folks do that, hmm. what was the question again !?
where you read about this ?
of course I can, it was here
on U-S-NEWS.COM
