How Much Does A Team's Offense Affect Their Defense? (1 Viewer)

[hammerd]

Looking at the current top 250 FBG rankings, it seems that once you get past the top tier defenses, there are several team defenses that seem to get ranked high due to their offensive prowess, i.e Philly, Seattle, Cinci, etc.

Seems like since those teams are more or less offensive juggernauts, their defenses look better because their opponents are constantly having to play from behind and lends to more turnovers.

How much is a team's offense a factor in evaluating their team's defense?

 

[the hairy scotsman]

Looking at the current top 250 FBG rankings, it seems that once you get past the top tier defenses, there are several team defenses that seem to get ranked high due to their offensive prowess, i.e Philly, Seattle, Cinci, etc.Seems like since those teams are more or less offensive juggernauts, their defenses look better because their opponents are constantly having to play from behind and lends to more turnovers.How much is a team's offense a factor in evaluating their team's defense?

Obviously, a team's ability or inability to run the football will affect the defense in many ways. An offense's inability to sustain drives also kills it's defense.

 

[Mungo Burrows]

Looking at the current top 250 FBG rankings, it seems that once you get past the top tier defenses, there are several team defenses that seem to get ranked high due to their offensive prowess, i.e Philly, Seattle, Cinci, etc.Seems like since those teams are more or less offensive juggernauts, their defenses look better because their opponents are constantly having to play from behind and lends to more turnovers.How much is a team's offense a factor in evaluating their team's defense?

During the Rams' heydey they had one or two years where their defense was a fantasy juggernaut. I remember watching one of their games (or possibly a highlight package?) and when the offense got another score they showed a some defensive players getting ready to go on the field yelling to each other - "It's picks and sacks time! It's picks and sacks time!!" A high scoring offense can definitely be a factor. Not only do the opposing offenses take more risks, but in many cases the defense can be even more aggressive in going after the QB, knowing that the other team will be passing most of the time.

 

[SSOG]

Looking at the current top 250 FBG rankings, it seems that once you get past the top tier defenses, there are several team defenses that seem to get ranked high due to their offensive prowess, i.e Philly, Seattle, Cinci, etc.Seems like since those teams are more or less offensive juggernauts, their defenses look better because their opponents are constantly having to play from behind and lends to more turnovers.How much is a team's offense a factor in evaluating their team's defense?

A team's offense has a HUGE impact on its defense. Look at Indy last year- their offense got huge leads and their defense just teed off, leading to picks and sacks by the bushel. Even more than that, there's a huge principle of football that a lot of people don't even think about...Field position is fluid. If your offense drives down the field and fails to score, they'll still pin the other team back deep. Teams with poor offenses not only let their defenses get tired out, they also keep putting their defenses in bad positions (especially if they turn it over a ton).If you look, you'll see a strong correlation between a team's opponent's average starting field position and how many points they score... and you'll also see a strong correlation between how strong a team's offense is (both in getting yards and avoiding turnovers) and that team's opponent's average starting field position. Simple logic then indicates that there should, indeed, be some sort of positive correlation between the strength of an offense and the points allowed by the defense.