Best Defense Ever in the Modern Era (Post 1960)

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jlauber	Best Defense Ever in the Modern Era (Post 1960)		Lead	[-]
Posts: 6764 01/28/09 01:26 AM	Tags : None Just looking at the 2008 Steeler's defensive numbers... Quite possibly the best ever. Allowed 237 ypg, 3.3 yards per carry, a staggering 4.3 yards per pass play, and a total of 3.9 yards per play. I believe the yards per pass play may be a record. They somehow did allow 223 points, which is nowhere near a record. They allowed TWO pass completions of over 40 yards, which may be a record. Anyway...interesting topic. Here are some other "great" defenses: (remember, pre-1978 were a 14 game season.) 1969 Minnesota Vikings. 194 yards allowed per game. 133 points allowed. 1963 Chicago Bears. 144 points allowed. 34.8 passer rating. 54 turnovers 1962 Green Bay Packers. 148 points allowed. 50 turnovers. 1967 Green Bay Packers, 4.88 yards per pass 1973 Los Angeles Rams. 211 yards per game. 1973 Miami Dolphins. 1290 passing yards allowed. 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers. 138 points allowed. 28 points allowed in their last NINE games, including four shutouts. 1977 Atlanta Falcons. 129 points allowed. 203 yards allowed per game. 37.4 passer rating. 48 turnovers. 1984 Chicago Bears. 241 yards per game. 1985 Chicago Bears. 198 points allowed. 258 yards allowed per game. 54 turnovers. 1986 Chicago Bears. 187 points allowed. 258 yards allowed per game. 47 turnovers. 2000 Baltimore Ravens. 165 points allowed. 2.69 yards allowed per rush. 248 yards allowed per game. 49 turnovers. 2002 Tampa Bay Bucs. 196 points allowed. 253 yards per game. Anyway...your thoughts?
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TampaFlyingTigers		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 10 01/28/09 12:36 PM	The 1986 Giants would have to be on this list. This unit and the 1985 Bears unit are the two most dominating defense I have ever seen. Statistics are fine, but do not record the flat out intimidation these two units instilled. To date, I haven't seen the fear factor that these two units provoked.
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wasatch		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 457 01/29/09 03:24 PM	Without getting into numbers too much, which is difficult to use with the changes in eras, I would say the best I've seen are the '85 Bears (with the '84 and '86 versions right in there) and the '00 Ravens... those two are a notch above any of the others for my lifetime. The '76 Steelers were a bit before my time but on paper stand up to about anyone, except not winning a title, perhaps largely in part to injuries on the offensive side of the ball. I'd rate this Pittsburgh squad more in line with 2002 Tampa, or say 1986 Giants... very good, among the best ever, but not in that most "elite" group of Bears and Ravens... my two cents...
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richbud	Best Defense	#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 263 01/29/09 05:08 PM	Well- when you are from Baltimore- it's hard to go against the 00 Ravens- however it should be noted that the Titans may have been better in some stat areas then the Ravens and I believe that they finished that season #1 overall. 85 Bears were tremendous. I actually saw the 76 Steelers play the Colts in the playoffs-the infamous game in which the plane flew into the top of Memorial Stadium a few minutes after everyone had left. Pittsburgh dismantled a very good offense that day on their home field..and won 40-14. If Bleir and Harris had not been hurt the following week in Oakland I believe that team may have won a third straight Super Bowl
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wabbit67		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 143 01/29/09 06:29 PM	The one thing that can be said for the 86 Giants is that they had the best defensive player that I have ever seen in LT. I still don't think people outside NY really understand how good that guy was. I'm not saying that LT makes the Giants defense one of the upper echelon ones. I am just saying that his presence has to be considered in ranking that team.
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wasatch		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 458 01/30/09 03:26 PM	LT was certainly phenominal, especially in '86, but I don't think it was any better than Ray Lewis' performance in 2000... that guy came as close to carrying a team in football, for a defensive player, as i've ever seen... among the honorable mentions should probably be the Philly defenses of the late 80's/early 90's with Reggie White.
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wabbit67		#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 144 01/30/09 06:32 PM	I am not saying that the 86 Giants were ahead of the 00 Ravens. I am saying that if I am drafting an all-time team I take LT ahead of Lewis. Lewis may be a more fearsome player, more physical. But LT excelled in all phases of the game. He could rush the passer, stop the run, and even drop back into coverage. Lewis is a hall of famer. But LT IMO is a better player, the greatest LB of all time. Of course, you can't go wrong wither way, and I respect the fact that informed people may have a different opinion. (And in off the field antics, Lewis might actually surpass LT as being present at a murder after the Super Bowl probably trumps snorting a mountain of coke.)
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Jay71	Lewis vs LT	#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1154 01/30/09 08:35 PM	Lewis is good no question. But is he "better" than Dick Butkus? Ray Nitschke? Other legends who have manned the middle? LT was truly the all rounder. Who will ever forget him hurdling a blocker to get to the QB? The HBack position was "invented" by Joe Gibbs to "fix" blocking with Taylor. That says quite a bit. Jay
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jlauber		#8	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6770 01/31/09 09:14 AM	I didn't mention the '86 Giants for the simple reason that, statistically anyway, they were well behind the '86 Bears' defense. Here are their numbers. 236 points allowed (the Bears suurendered 187); 4787 yards allowed (the Bears were at 4130); 6.62 yards allowed per pass play (Chi was at 6.18); 68.6 passer rating (Chi was at 49.9); 3.70 yds allowed per rush (Chi was at 3.43); 59 sacks (Chi was at 62); and 43 turnovers (the Bears were at 47.) Having said that, the great defenses of the 80's played in perhaps the most prolific era of offense in the post-1960 era. IMHO, the '85 Bears defense was the most dominant that I have ever seen. They completely dictated the game, and opposing QBs were ducking for cover before they even took a snap. And as overwhelming as they were in the regular season, they were even more dominant in the post-season, going 3-0 and outscoring their opposition, 91-10. Some people have criticized their schedule, but they went to San Francisco, and pounded the defending champions, 26-10, outgaining them 372-183 with seven sacks. Still, I am just amazed at the numbers that this year's Steeler defense has put up. 4.3 yards per pass play, and 3.9 yards per play. They will have their chance to cement their "greatness" if they can shutdown the high-powered Cardinal offense in the Super Bowl. Maybe not the best ever, but clearly among the best ever.
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Rockin Randall		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 501 01/31/09 09:42 AM	I am a huge Giant fan and that 86 team was a bend but don't break defense by design using the 3-4 and zone's primarily. Early in a game they almost wanted you to complete passes so they could whack you once you caught it. Over the years in the 80's I saw many top receivers wither late in games when they had enough of the pounding. So the Giants would always give up yards and even some points early in games. They also had the most feared defender ever in LT which raises them in my book. However the best defenses I have ever seen are the 74 steelers the 85 bears and the 00 Ravens. The 00 Ravens were just impossible to run on while the bears were the most aggressive D I have ever seen. The 74 Steelers I think are underated and they won it all with an offense that was really pretty bad. If I had to pick one it would be the 85 Bears first the 00 Ravens 2nd and the 74 steelers third with a few teams in that next level including the 86 Giants.
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jlauber		#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6771 01/31/09 09:49 AM	Another thing about those '85 Bear and '86 Giant defenses...their offenses, while not great, were very good. The '85 Bears were second in scoring, with 456 points, and sixth in total offense with 5837 yards. The '86 Giants finished eighth in scoring, at 371 points, and ninth in total offense with 5378 yards. Both of them probably had several games in which they surrendered meaningless points and yards late. As for defenders...IMHO, Taylor was the most dominant I ever saw, with Lewis right behind him. Also, both Deion and Darrell Green were among the best corners, and Lott, Polamalu, and Ed Reed among the most dominant safeties. Last Edited By: jlauber 01/31/09 09:55 AM. Edited 1 time.
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powayslugger		#11	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1274 01/31/09 03:22 PM	Certainly the 2008 Detroit Lions won't have a place on the list... but could they be THE WORST defensive team ever? Fanatic: 1. a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion, politics or sports.
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Vlade	Taylor	#12	[url]	[-]
Posts: 7 03/10/09 09:35 PM	Piling on a bit re: Taylor, the fact that the 86 NYG secondary was mediocre at both the corners (Patterson and Perry Williams) and safety (Hill and Kinard/Herb Welch) makes what that squad's LB corps + Belichick did to uplift the defense as a whole that much more impressive.
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RandyMyers		#13	[url]	[-]
Posts: 307 03/11/09 02:56 PM	I would say that the '86 Giants were far and away my favorite team/defense. They actaully gave up passes and yardage early so that they could pound the wide receivers so that late in the game the receivers would be timid to go accross the middle or flinch just before making the all important catch. Remember what they did to the Bronco receivers. Denver was actually ahead at half time but their receivers were so battered that the third quarter came around and the Giants dominated. This was the normal operation. They would dismantle the opposition in the first half and then come out in the second half and dominate. They rarely had a large lead at half time and actually were behind a few times. They usually came out in the third quarter and dystroyed the opposition. In the playoffs they turned it up about 10 notches. Statistics do not show what a defeense can do. By the end of the year the defense was so dominating that the offense kicked it up several notches and they went from a team that barely won to a team that beat the 49ers 49-3 and shutout the Redskins in the playoffs. LT was by far the most dominating defensive player of all time during this season and that is why he was only the second defensive player to win the MVP award for the entire league. LT, Reason, Banks and Carson were the most dominating group of linebackers of all time. Add to that a great front three and you can understand why they were able to be so dominating with a decent secondary; certainly nothing to brag about.
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bizzarrd		#14	[url]	[-]
Posts: 178 03/12/09 09:15 AM	What strikes me about the original list is the number of "great" defensive teams that did not win a championship or even make it to the Super Bowl. So what do the pure numbers really mean? The '69 Vikings stand out in particular as a defense that dominated during the regular season but were completely befuddled in the Super Bowl by the Chiefs' multiple formations and (compared to the NFC at the time) complex offense. I think we also have to give much more weight to the post-1980s defenses. Remember, pre-80s defenses could really maul wide receivers all the way down the field! The 5-yard rule made it much tougher on the defenses, as well as the current rules to protect the QB that turned a lot of sacks into "late" hits. So...'85 Bears, '86 Giants, '00 Ravens, '08 Steelers--take your pick. P.S., Ironic, wasn't it, that it was the '08 Steelers offense that won the SB for them after their renowned defense gave up that late TD drive! Last Edited By: bizzarrd 03/12/09 09:19 AM. Edited 1 time.
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SteelerBill		#15	[url]	[-]
Posts: 146 03/12/09 12:44 PM	First of all great topic.... I've been away, traveling a lot....and yes JLauber I was at the Super Bowl... What is fascinating to me with what the Steeler D accomplished this year is 'who' they did it against....McNabb, both Mannings, Rivers, Romo, Cassel (hey he had a good year).... That is what I found the most impressive. But would tell you that even the local Pittsburgh Press (I say local even though I'm in Chicago) considers the Defenses of the 70's to have been better defenses.... Just food for thought... - SteelerBill "Here we go Steelers..."
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DANPhxAriz		#16	[url]	[-]
Posts: 170 03/12/09 05:42 PM	The best ones I remember watching in my lifetime are 1976 Steelers, 1985 Bears, 1986 Giants and 2000 Ravens. Also the 1974 Steelers were pretty awesome also, they just destroyed the Vikings in the Super Bowl. Last Edited By: DANPhxAriz 03/12/09 05:46 PM. Edited 1 time.
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steelernick	RE: best d	#17	[url]	[-]
Posts: 66 03/14/09 12:22 AM	Obviously I enjoyed watching this year's Steelers D but it just didn't have the feel of the '79 team. Two passes over 40 yards was amazing but that third one to Fitz in the Super Bowl would've made us Steelers fans forget that record. Thankfully, the crew responded.
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kckid4u		#18	[url]	[-]
Posts: 68 03/14/09 12:39 PM	powayslugger wrote: Certainly the 2008 Detroit Lions won't have a place on the list... but could they be THE WORST defensive team ever? They weren't as bad as the 2008 Kansas City Chiefs.
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kckid4u		#19	[url]	[-]
Posts: 69 03/14/09 12:41 PM	The best ever would have to be the 1963 Chicago Bears. IMO
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ABDEL56	Best Defense	#20	[url]	[-]
Posts: 78 03/14/09 01:34 PM	It seems one day when I had absolutely nothing to do and even though I am not a big NFL fan. I used the NFL criteria for ranking defenses for the entire decade of the seventies and surprisingly the LA RAMS were number one for the entire decade. I wouldn't bet my life on it, but I seem to recall that was the case. As for the greatest defense I have ever seen & I started paying attention in 1958. The 1963 Bears come to mind. I remember watching the championship game that year and thinking it hurt to see the Bears hit the Giant offensive players. It made me cringe. Especially in that weather. If ever a team won it all with defense it was the '63 Bears. To hold Y A Title and the Giants to 10 points that year was a remarkable feat.
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