Scoring by Defenses
Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 3:57 pm
Thought I'd add a separate thread for the discussion of D taking place. I am in favor of placing more emphasis on yards allowed than on points scored, perhaps with bonuses for shutouts. The NFL and announcer/pundits may recognize which D is allowing the fewest points, but in terms of ranking defenses it is in total yards allowed. As has been pointed out, a stinker of an offensive showing can spoil an otherwise fine defensive outing. Case in point this year was the Steelers v. Raiders game. Without the stats in front of me, I think the D gave up in the area of 100 total yards. A couple picks were run back, a fumble recovered deep in Steeler territory and three scores on the board the D had little or nothing to do with. If you want to emphasize Defense in FF, emphasize that which the Defense has total control over.