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The Bears have been a disaster waiting to happen on Sundays. Against the Cardinals and the Bengals the Bears completely collapsed on defense. Both opponents marched down the field possession after possession and both games were essentially over by halftime.
The Bears have little to identify themselves with as they struggle to run the ball, struggle to stop the run and have just as hard of a time stopping the pass. Watching them and some of the other teams play on Sunday, it got me to thinking: what does it take to be successful in today's NFL?
Starting with defense, following the old adage that "defense wins championships" I found some interesting numbers. For example, did you know that the Jets are second in the NFL in yards allowed per game? Green Bay and Washington and Carolina are also in the top ten in that category. Green Bay is fourth overall in the entire NFL. Que?
Maybe yards aren't a good indicator of what it takes. Surely you could be giving your opponents a short field to work with time after time, or maybe you are allowing long sustained drives that eat up the clock and still put points on the board. There are many explanations for this. Next.
This league has turned into a passing league. So maybe it's the pass you must focus on stopping to be successful. Not so much. Washington leads the league in that category with the Jets second in the NFL. Again Carolina and Green Bay come in the top ten, though neither are above .500. Of course, you can not fall into the bottom section of this group. Those who come in at the end are Tennessee, Detroit and Kansas City. Four teams in the top ten in this category are currently .500 or lower.
What about stopping the run?
The Steelers lead the NFL in stopping the run, allowing just 70.4 yards per game. Rounding out the top ten are the Bengals, Cardinals, 49ers, Dolphins, Vikings, Ravens, Broncos, Packers and Eagles. Just two of those teams are currently below .500 (49ers and Dolphins). Sounds better. Mark it down: you must effectively stop the run to have success in the NFL. That can't sit well with the Colts, Saints and Patriots who all come in between 14th and 20th in the NFL. Maybe something to keep an eye on as these teams enter the playoffs, as they all inevitably will.
So we've established that stopping the run is important, with some anomalies. But what about the offense?
Oh how Lovie likes to get off the bus running. But is it really that important to a team's overall success in the NFL? The Jets are the best running team in the NFL averaging nearly 177 yards per game. They are followed by the Titans, Panthers, Dolphins, Saints, Jaguars, Giants, Dallas, Bengals and Packers. Of those teams in the top ten only four are above .500. That's weird. I've always been told you need to run the ball to win. Moving on.
The Colts are the number one passing team in the NFL followed by New England, Houston and New Orleans. Together they have a combined record of 27-6 (four of those losses are the Texans). Rounding out the top ten are the Steelers, Cowboys, Chargers, Cardinals, Packers and the Ravens. In the top ten in this category, no team is below .500 and only the Packers and Ravens are not above .500, both at 4-4. So it is a passing league. I suspected as much.
So what can we get from all this:
When it comes to pass defense six of the top ten in terms of yards allowed are currently above .500. Their combined record is 46-35.
Stopping the run is a bit more important than stopping the pass, but not by much. Eight teams in the top ten in this category are currently .500 or better. They have a combined record of 49-31.
Running the ball seems to be the least important aspect to winning football games. Of the teams in this category only four are over .500 and they have a combined record of 45-36.
Then we get to the passing offense. If you want to win in the NFL, you better be able to throw the football. All ten teams atop this category are .500 or better. They have a combined record of 57-24. The Packers and Ravens represent the only two team in the top ten that are not better than .500, and they rank ninth and tenth respectively.
There you have it. Some more fun with statistics. Stop the run and throw the ball effectively and you should find success in the NFL. Maybe the Jets, should try it, since they seem to everything well but pass (27th in the league and 4-4) Sounds simple enough, right?
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