Originally posted by NCommand:Originally posted by PiratePete:
Everyone is missing the point here. Without an offense the 49ers finished the 13th ranked defense. My stance is that if the Niners get a consisten flow on offense then our defense will benefit the most. We could have easily been a top 10 defense last year will just a little bit of help on offense.
Can we improve? of course.
Are we above avg on defense? I think so.
Above avg = Good?
Your point is valid but the 13th ranking is very misleading b/c it’s based on total yards (only). We were a defense that could NOT get off the field on 3rd downs and consequently, bled to death slowly. Manusky’s “keep everything in front of you” defense meant CB’s were playing far off, LBers were in coverage, there was no pass rush, zero TO’s and really, in the end, we still lost…just slowly b/c the offense took what we gave them and that was small/medium chunks at a time not giving up a lot of “yards” per se.
Keep in mind too that the reverse is also true. If this “veteran” defense could carry the team or get off the field, the offense would have had many more chances to get into a rhythm and perhaps, develop chemistry and sustain drives. You can win a Superbowl with one super dominant unit (Colts or Ravens) but the other unit better be able to hold their own and right now, we can’t say that about either unit.
Thats a very big misconception among Niner fans. We actually allowed 3rd down conversions to be completed 39% of the time. Which is tied for 19th best in the NFL. Slightly below avg.
To your second point our defense did keep us in just about every game. We barely lost to stong playoff teams consistently last year. The offense could just never get it done. And the object of football in the end is to score points.
[ Edited by PiratePete on Jul 15, 2011 at 1:56 PM ]