Point/Counterpoint: Which is most important, offense or defense?

[Cotton]

Point: Top Defense More Desirable Than Top Offense
Posted 19 minutes ago

Rowan Kavner
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer

IRVING, Texas – The top-rated offenses are fun to watch win regular season games. The top-rated defenses are fun to watch win championships.

If given the choice at the start of the season for the top-ranked offense or the top-ranked defense, I’d take the latter every time.

That’s not just because of what the Seahawks did to the Broncos’ historically prolific offense in the Super Bowl, though that does help support the argument. Three of the past six Super Bowl champions boasted top five defenses and two of them – Seattle and Pittsburgh – were the top-ranked defense in the league.

By contrast, only one of the past six Super Bowl champions took a top-five offense the distance.


When a prominent, high-powered offense led by one of the league’s premier quarterbacks is in a groove it can look like a work of art. But football isn’t a beauty contest. There are games and conditions where high-powered offenses won’t operate to perfection and a turnover or two can change the shape of a game. What happens then?

That’s part of the reason I picked the Seahawks to win it all this year. Conventional wisdom looks at what Peyton Manning did all year and believes even the mighty Seahawks defense stands no chance. But the league’s top defense, if paired with at least a competent offense, is typically a more reliable bet than the league’s top offense on the rare occasion they play.

A stalwart defense always gives its team a chance to win. The best defenses in the league rarely have major lapses, and they occur much more infrequently than a star offense turning the ball over. That one slip-up is the only gift a premier defense needs to shift the course of a game and a season. The top defenses keep their teams in the game and put their offenses in positions where they need to make only a few plays to win.

As the Broncos demonstrated in the Super Bowl, even the best offenses to take the field can eventually crumble, especially without a particularly opportunistic defense on the other side. The elite defenses have an edge and don’t put pressure on any one single player to perform on either side of the ball. The Broncos needed Manning to be near-perfect to win. He wasn’t, and they didn’t.

The Saints and Drew Brees are the only example in recent history where a star offense without a classically strong defense made a run to win it. They did it while facing another team without a stout defense in the Colts. The Saints ranked in the top three that season in interceptions, which turned out to be the difference in that Super Bowl.

It’s easy to recall Tom Brady and the prominent, high-powered offenses of the past that won championships. Take a closer look, though, and New England’s offense in its Super Bowl 2003 season actually ranked No. 17, while its defense ranked No. 7. The Patriots held a top-10 defense when they won a year later, as well.


The top offenses play in memorable, enjoyable and engaging games. The most unforgettable moments during an NFL’s regular season typically involve the best offenses. Even if the outcome wasn’t ideal for Cowboys fans, when Denver came to Dallas and battled back and forth it was one of the most entertaining games in recent memory.

That’s nice to watch. It’s not fun to see 14-3. Or 43-8, for that matter.

But when building a team, success beats entertainment. The swagger of the leading defenses around the NFL inject fear into opponents. When they’re operating at optimal level, those teams always have a chance to win.

Those defenses can score on any play, and they’re the teams I’d select at the start of the year ahead of all others.

 

[Cotton]

Counterpoint: Give Me NFL’s Best Offense Any Time
Posted 30 minutes ago

Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer

This argument came up just before the Super Bowl. There was a poll debating what fans would rather have from their team, the No. 1 offense or the No. 1 defense?

Before the Super Bowl, it was just about a 50-50 split. I’m sure now it’d be about 80-20 in favor of defense after what Seattle did to Denver.

I guess, I’d be in that 20 percent.

I’ve never been on the side of the “defense wins championships” mantra. I think they can win championships. I think they won this past one.

But over the years, going off the stats, you can make the argument for both sides. And remember, what kind of stats you use can support the argument as well. Most of the time, the rankings for best offense and defense go off of yards only. You can use points scored or points allowed, but since usually we just go off of yards, let’s keep it that way here.


The Seahawks weren’t just the best defense of the season, but one of the best of all time. Any time great defenses are mentioned, we always say something like, “They’re good … maybe not the ’85 Bears.” Sometimes the 2000 Ravens are referenced and perhaps the Buccaneers defense of 2002. But we should also include the 2013 Seahawks because of what they did in the regular season, and then how they dominated the game against Denver in the Super Bowl.

But if you’re asking me – at the start of the season – would you rather have the No. 1 offense or the No. 1 defense, I’ll take offense every time. The way the NFL is structured, it’s an offensive league. The rules are tailored to suit the offenses. The two positions that get taken care of the most are quarterbacks and receivers. The term is called “defenseless receiver.” We never hear about a “defenseless linebacker,” and that’s even on interceptions or crack-back blocks. You think Sean Lee could’ve hit Golden Tate like that and it would’ve been considered legal? No way.

The rules are for the offense. And frankly, it bothers me. If I’ve got to change a rule, I think I’d take away the stiff-arm to the face and helmet. I understand it’s a part of the game, but since there is no other place in football where you can deliberately hit a guy in the head or face, why should a guy with the ball tucked under his other arm be allowed to do it. If a lineman just stiff-armed a pass-rusher off the edge, it’s a penalty. If you hit a running back in the face, they call a facemask probably. And, of course, if a quarterback even got close to taking a shot to the head, it’s a penalty.


That’s just one example of how the rules are in favor of the offense. And if that’s the case, I think I’d rather have the top offense in the league. Because it’s not always like Seattle.

We didn’t have this argument last year or the year before. Why not? Well, that’s because the Ravens hoisted the Super Bowl trophy with the 17th best defense. The year before, the Giants beat the Patriots after ranking No. 27 in total defense in the 2011 season.

Over the last 10 years, a Top-5 defense has advanced to the Super Bowl just six times. They’ve won four of those games.

Over the last 10 years, a Top-5 offense has advanced to the Super Bowl eight times, and won four of those games.

For this past season, I took the Top-12 offenses, since there are 12 playoff spots. Only two teams ranked in the Top-12 missed the playoffs. That would be the Cowboys (fifth) and Bears (third). Both of those teams lost in Week 17 with a chance to advance.

On defense, of the Top-12 teams, only five made the playoffs. Yes, Seattle was by far the best, but just having a great defense doesn’t exactly mean you’re going to even sniff the playoffs. Heck, Houston had the No. 7 defense and they’ll be picking No. 1 in a couple of months.

So really you can make the argument either way. Don’t get me wrong, having a great defense is certainly an asset, especially because of the way the rules are set up. But there will be years when the best defense in the NFL is still vulnerable – we just didn’t see it this season.

It’s an offensive league, so give me the best offense every year.

 

[Smitty]

Since its actually easier to play offense these days, that makes having the elite defense an area where you can separate yourself from every other team. I'll take the defense.

But I also need a top QB. You don't win without one.

QB, OL, and DL, really. That's where I build.

 

[Clay_Allison]

Eatman is wrong. In an "offensive league" basically the entire top half of the league has a productive offense. Truly great defenses are much more rare, and if you have a great D it's more likely an above average offense with a good running game and a smart QB will score enough to win.