NFL Report: Stingiest teams are succeeding

WINNERS ARE MAKING A CASE FOR DEFENSE

BY STEVE DeSHAZO

No matter who’s officiating the games, the NFL has become a league dominated by offense—particularly passing. Last year’s thorough rewriting of the record book stands as proof, along with stricter rules that penalize many forms of defensive contact.

Still, clichés are born for a reason. And believe it or not, defense is still the best ticket for success. The pool of data for 2012 is still small, but a quick check of NFL statistics confirms it.

Three teams (Atlanta, Houston and surprising Arizona) are unbeaten through three weeks. All three teams rank in the top five in lowest opponents’ passer rating. The Falcons (58.1) are second; the Texans (65.7) are fourth, the Cardinals (70.0) fifth.

The other two teams in the top five—No. 1 Philadelphia (57.0) and No. 3 Chicago (62.1) are each 2–1. The Eagles, particularly, have needed that stingy defense to compensate for Michael Vick’s generosity with turnovers.

To combat liberal rules, teams have prioritized finding fleet pass rushers and tall cornerbacks. The ones who have found them have thrived. Seattle took some heat for drafting raw defensive end Bruce Irvin in the first round of April’s draft, but they looked pretty smart Monday night when Irvin sacked Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers twice in the first half.

The Bears lead the NFL with 14 sacks, and only Atlanta has a league-high 11 takeaways. Houston didn’t intercept Peyton Manning in Sunday’s victory over Denver, but forced him into a career-high 52 incompletions.

“Any time we can create a whole bunch of sacks and get the quarterback a little jittery back there, us in the back end, we’re just able to react quick,” Bears cornerback Tim Jennings, who leads the NFL with four interceptions, said after Chicago sacked Rams quarterback Sam Bradford six times in Sunday’s 23–6 win.

“It’s not going to be a whole lot of pump fakes, not going to be a whole lot looking around, so as soon as we see the quarterback looking and getting ready to throw it, we’re getting ready to break.”

Arizona sacked Vick five times in Sunday’s victory over the previously unbeaten Eagles, returning one of his fumbles 93 yards for a pivotal touchdown.

And long before the officials stole the show Monday night, Seattle terrorized the Packers by sacking Rodgers eight times in the first half alone.

(Four of those sacks came by Redskins castoff Chris Clemons, who would have come in handy in the absence of injured Brian Orakpo during Washington’s fourth-quarter defensive meltdown Sunday against Cincinnati. Clemons had nearly as many sacks in 30 minutes as the Redskins have as a team in three games.)

Conversely, eight of the top 12 teams in passing yards per game are either 1–2 or 0–3.

After completing an NFL-record 71 percent of his passes in 2011, Drew Brees is at 54.7 percent this year—a big part of the reason for his team’s 0–3 start. And the 1–2 Packers are averaging just 226 passing yards per game, down from 307.6 last year.

You can manipulate statistics all you want, but early returns suggest that a good defense is still the best offense.

UPSET PICK

Now 1–1 after correctly forecasting the Bengals’ win in Washington, the Pick is skeptical of the Cardinals’ sustainability and will go with Miami, a 4-point underdog, to go into the desert and hand Arizona its first loss.

Steve DeShazo: 540/374-5443

sdeshazo@freelancestar.com

COUNTDOWN

1. Texans (3–0)

Schaub got Van Gogh’d.

2. Falcons (3–0)

Arrests mar great start.

3. Ravens (2–1)

Emotional day for Smith.

4. 49ers (2–1)

Didn’t go home after loss.

5. Packers (1–2)

Robbed at whistle point.

6. Cardinals (3–0)

Off to best start since ‘74.

7. Giants (2–1)

1–5 vs. Eagles since 2009.

8. Patriots (1–2)

Defense struggled late.

9. Bears (2–1)

Lead NFL with 14 sacks.

10. Seahawks (2–1)

Don’t expect an apology.

11. Broncos (1–2)

Slow starts are costly.

12. Cowboys (2–1)

Witten’s drops a concern.

13. Vikings (2–1)

QB Ponder maturing fast.

14. Jets (2–1)

Loss of Revis devastating.

15. Eagles (2–1)

Vick’s status gets shakier.

16. Chargers (2–1)

Mathews’ fumbles an issue.

17. Steelers (1–2)

Third-down defense stunk.

18. Lions (1–2)

Stafford’s knee hurt again.

19. Bengals (2–1)

Opened playbook in D.C.

20. Bills (2–1)

Need to find a healthy RB.

21. Dolphins (1–2)

Bush’s knee not hurt badly.

22. Raiders (1–2)

Heyward–Bey escapes peril.

23. Buccaneers (1–2)

QB Freeman spins wheels.

24. Titans (1–2)

Music City Miracle redux.

25. Rams (1–2)

Must protect QB better.

26. Panthers (1–2)

WR Smith calls out Newton.

27. Redskins (1–2)

Too many hits on RGIII.

28. Chiefs (1–2)

Rode Charles to first win.

29. Jaguars (1–2)

Jones-Drew showed no rust.

30. Colts (1–2)

Sting will last through bye.

31. Browns (0–3)

WR Little has the drops.

32. Saints (0–3)

Reality starts to sink in.

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