NFL Network's top 9 defense list going into 2020.

[Archimedes]

2 hours ago, Yin-Yang said:

Bulk, maybe. And barely. Per drive they performed worse than Green Bay and  Tennessee. Were penalized more, gave up more first downs as a result. 12th in 3D%, which edges out GB at 15th but gets bounced by Tennessee at 8th. Performance wise, they were all in the same realm. 

And since we’re projecting performances, we can look at the rosters on paper. The Titans have the best secondary amongst these three teams by a decent margin and also the best off-ball LBers by probably an even bigger margin (more due to the low quality of the others). They’re behind KC in the pass rush department (although by less than you probably think, Landry had more pressures than Clark and Jones last year) but definitely makeup for it in the back 7. 

With Green Bay, I think they have pretty unspectacular linebackers (off ball), as do the Chiefs. Amos and Savage aren’t Mathieu and Thornhill, but Jaire and King present value over Breeland (when he comes back) and Ward too. And I think the units up front are pretty similar (Jones probably above Clark pass rushing, Zadarius above Clark pass rushing) but add in Preston and he tips it there. 

So yeah, I’m not sure I’d die on that hill, but I’d be comfortable projecting the 2020 Titans and Packers defenses to be better than the 2020 Chiefs if everyone stays healthy.

Well, I’m a firm believer that you make your money on defense via your pass defense, and the Chiefs defense had a better opponent’s passer rating and opponent’s ANY/A (both per play stats, not bulk) than the Titans or Packers. The Chiefs also beat both defenses in pass DVOA and overall defense DVOA (also both per play stats, not bulk). 

I don’t think there’s a significant degree of separation for any of these teams defensively though. I’d rate them all as high end tier two defenses. 

[Bearerofnews]

2 hours ago, Yin-Yang said:

Statistically they were a mixed bag.  Did very well in total yards, decent in bulk points. Great vs the pass, minus the interceptions and the NY/A - those weren’t good. They weren’t good vs the run. They committed a lot of penalties. And their per drive stats are average or below average, pretty much across the board. DVOA has them 21st. On third down they were abysmal. Not good in the red zone. Not great rushing the passer despite having Bosa and Ingram, to a lesser degree. So strictly looking at how the unit performed last year, there’s little argument for them as a top 10 unit at all, let alone top 3 or 4. 

So the Chargers’ legs to stand on really only come from their talent on paper. They have one of the best secondaries in the league, indisputable point. They have a great pass rusher and another good one on the other side. They have Linval Joseph who is still a good big man in the middle. There are however still question marks about many of the second year players and the LBing core. 

I still have the Chargers somewhere in that top 10, but having them number 1 or even top 3 seems crazy to me since we can’t really use anything except some aspects of their previous pass defense and their talent to justify a high rank. To put them that high you have to be willing to either overlook some of their question marks or project that a handful of young players become high quality starters, which is 100% possible but does not seem as solid of a base compared to other teams that have more proven pieces to play with. 

Player for player, the Chargers have more talent than a team like the Bills, but the Bills routinely have a better defensive unit. Talent’s nice but it has to manifest into something on the field to really be worth anything. It’s very possible that happens with the LAC but there are teams that already have a track record of utilizing it’s players beyond their physical ability. 

I can't argue with much of that. However, having their offense turn the ball over as much as they did, put the defense in bad positions all year long. As i stated earlier; as seen recently by teams like the bears, ravens, chiefs, steelers and the 49ers.. teams who had bad seasons in forcing turnovers, have a high percentage of drastically improving the following year, as those teams did. As a much greater onus is put on it in the offseason. I think their lb corp is very promising with nwosu, tranquill, murray and perryman. You have 4 all pros in the secondary (when does that ever happen). I think if the offense doesn't lead the league or close to leading, in turnovers, Chargers D absolutely has the talent to be the #1 defense. But we'll see. A healthy Derwin all year makes a huge difference as well. 

Edited August 20, 2020 by Bearerofnews

[LuckIsGOAT]

Steelers should be top 3 if not #1. Top 3 edge duo. Top 3 safety duo. Emerging elite LB.

[Hunter2_1]

A better list;

Steelers, 49ers, Bills, Ravens, Titans, Charger, Chiefs, Patriots, Broncos.

 

 

[minutemancl]

That's an awful list. Off the top of my head for top-9 defenses:

Niners, Ravens, Steelers, Packers, Bills, Patriots, Titans, Vikings. The last spot is tough- maybe Chargers/Bears/Seattle.

[HTTRDynasty]

People are sleeping on the Bears.  I think they'll be a top 5 defense at worst this season.  They had the hardest schedule in the league last year, and were without their 2nd or 3rd best defender for a majority of the year, but they were still quite good: 8th in DVOA, 6th in points per drive, 6th in yards per drive, 6th in 3&outs per drive, and 5th in punts per drive.

They will likely have a more competent offense this year to help with their bulk stats, and therefore, their perception amongst casuals.  I know I'll be drafting them at a discount in fantasy this year.

[Dub_City30]

Niners at #3 wow😂

[EagleBlueDon]

Biggest shock: that Dallas isn't on the list

[El Ramster]

Aaron Donald alone should be there top 5. 

Whack list is whack. 

[Ozzy]

Nah, but I am sure you love it.  

 

Ed Oliver is better than any DT on the Chargers, Edmunds is better than any LB on the Chargers and White is arguably better than any CB on the Chargers.  Maybe if Murray is big time they could be that elite but honestly Joseph at DT is not what he once was, he could add a lot but honestly he has lost a lot as a football player.  Great secondary though no question but not sure they are better than the Bills or the Ravens honestly.  Ravens with Wolfe and Campbell on the DL will be awesome, not to mention Queen at LB, and Humphrey and Peters are arguably better than the two starting CBs on the Chargers, Chargers do have more overall DB depth though and better safeties sure.  

 

The Steelers could be that high if they get better CB play which is possible, and Minkah really helps that secondary overall.  

49ers could be the best as well maybe, those three linebackers can all fly, and that secondary is pretty damn good if the safeties can stay healthy.  And the loss of Buckner might not be a huge deal if Kinlaw produces like he should.  

 

And let us get one thing straight, Chargers have a great secondary but the Patriots have the deepest one in the NFL.  Even without Chung they are still crazy deep at each position.  JC Jackson and Jonathan Jones would start on a lot of teams and Dugger should be a super star safety.  Not to mention Gilmore is arguably the best CB in the game, or at least was last year.  

 

Edited August 21, 2020 by Ozzy

[Soko]

23 hours ago, Archimedes said:

Well, I’m a firm believer that you make your money on defense via your pass defense, and the Chiefs defense had a better opponent’s passer rating and opponent’s ANY/A (both per play stats, not bulk) than the Titans or Packers. The Chiefs also beat both defenses in pass DVOA and overall defense DVOA (also both per play stats, not bulk). 

I don’t think there’s a significant degree of separation for any of these teams defensively though. I’d rate them all as high end tier two defenses. 

The DVOA has the Chiefs, Packers, and Titans ranked 14, 15, and 16 consecutively. Like I said, if you look at their performances in totality, they’re pretty similar - and that’s with Tennessee fielding a handful of injuries at corner. 

But we’re not using solely last season’s performance, otherwise a team like the Chargers wouldn’t even be mentioned. We do have to project some, and those other two teams field more complete and overall more talented units. So if they’re grouped closely in performance and then take an edge in talent, seems pretty plausible that they might be ranked above KC (granted KC seems to play a little bit like the Bills, where the play exceeds the talent). 

[Hunter2_1]

On 8/21/2020 at 3:03 AM, El Ramster said:

Aaron Donald alone should be there top 5. 

Whack list is whack. 

Donald was on the Rams last year, if I'm not mistaken. So why did LAR return this?

 

12th in Passing yards 

19th in rushing yards

13th in total

17th in points

17th in expected points contributed team

 

None are in top 10. But Donald played, didn't he?

 

Weird.

[El Ramster]

1 hour ago, Hunter2_1 said:

Donald was on the Rams last year, if I'm not mistaken. So why did LAR return this?

 

12th in Passing yards 

19th in rushing yards

13th in total

17th in points

17th in expected points contributed team

 

None are in top 10. But Donald played, didn't he?

 

Weird.

Check the sacks. Rams produce a lot them

bad boys with just Donald. But i

hope you keep posting in the forum. Really wanna see you posting after a 3-13 season. 

 

 

[Hunter2_1]

3 minutes ago, El Ramster said:

Check the sacks. Rams produce a lot them

bad boys with just Donald. But i

hope you keep posting in the forum. Really wanna see you posting after a 3-13 season. 

 

 

Sacks 😂 😂

 

 

[Soko]

2 hours ago, Hunter2_1 said:

Sacks 😂 😂

 

3/5 of the top sack artists gone too.