Ray Lewis Hit - Courtesy Baltimore Sun
When you considered the best teams in the NFL before the start of the season, a few invariably come to mind. The Dallas Cowboys were no doubt near the top of the list, perhaps surpassed only by teams like the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots. Those three teams, which topped most power polls before the season began, are noted primarily for their offenses. Certainly they balance that with a good defense, but it’s the offense everyone buys a ticket or sits down to watch.
Fans wanted to see Brady throw another 50 touchdown passes. Maybe Manning would fire out of the gate and throw 51 this season. Or perhaps Tony Romo could lead an aerial attack to rival that of any quarterback in the history of the game. The point is, the NFL’s fantasy football-driven culture demands high scores and impressive stats. We use numbers to describe players and their talent, despite numbers usually leaving out part of the story. Like it or not, the NFL is a fantasy culture now.
Look at the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears. Prior to the start of the season, few thought either team was capable of winning half their games, much less their divisions. Yet both have a chance to do both, assuming their offenses can get some points on the board.
In fact, let’s look at these two teams, beginning with Chicago. At first glance, this isn’t a very special team. Chicago’s record - 3-2 - is above .500, but it’s not great. The offense doesn’t have an elite quarterback, running back, or wide receiver. Heck, last year the Bears switched between three different quarterbacks - and none had a quarterback rating of at least eighty.
But this is a team that’s doing everything right. Orton has a decent share of touchdowns - 7 - but more importantly, he’s turned the ball over (via interceptions) in just two of his five starts. His completion percentage is impressive too, as 62 percent of his attempts have been caught. And remember, this is a guy playing in an offense without a big name at wide receiver. (Okay, Devin Hester is a big name, but it’s sure not for being a great receiver.)
Running back Matt Forte doesn’t have Pro Bowl numbers (yet), but he has made the crucial runs when the offense needed him. Against the Eagles, for example, he rushed for just 43 yards and averaged 2.3 yards per carry; but with time winding down and Chicago trying to hang onto a lead he carried the ball 10 yards on a 3rd-and-4 situation with 2:43 left in the game. If he doesn’t get that first down, the Eagles could have had the ball back with two minutes instead of 17 seconds.
And this team is winning because it’s defense is doing the right things, too. Again, going back to that win over Philadelphia, the Bears held the Eagles from scoring on the goal line. Three downs, one yard; the Eagles couldn’t cash it in, turning the ball over on downs with no timeouts and 3:32 on the clock. Go back to week one against the Colts, when Peyton Manning’s squad got roughed up by Chicago’s D. This season the Bears have allowed more than twenty points in just one game. Not coincidentally, they lost.
But if you want to talk about a team that’s winning purely because of its defense, look no further than the Baltimore Ravens. This is a team that, if the offense could score a few more points. Consider: Baltimore’s defense is allowing less than ten points per game this season, when you account for the two touchdowns opponents have scored on defense. This defense has allowed three touchdowns this season. By far and away, this is the NFL’s best defense. Unfortunately, the Ravens sit at 2-2 right now, though, admittedly, they’re better than the record shows.
Consider their two losses this season. First, against the Steelers, the Ravens lost 23-20. Baltimore’s defense allowed 16 points; three field goals. Had Joe Flacco not fumbled in the second half - a fumble that was returned for a touchdown - it would have been a much different game. But rookies will make those mistakes. Last week against the Titans, too, Flacco threw two interceptions and no touchdowns.
The offense is able to run the ball effectively (it rushed the ball for 132 yards against the Titans last week), but this season will come down to Flacco. He’s maturing and he’s showing a lot of promise. But he needs to limit his mistakes, and that will come with experience. The good news is that he has the benefit of knowing that, if he doesn’t make those mistakes, this defense can win football games. It could be argued that this is the best Ravens defense since 2000, when it won the Super Bowl; maybe it’s better than that team.
The NFL has evolved over the decades and even over the past several seasons, moving from a league in which championships were won in the trenches to one in which dirty jerseys are more and more rare. At one time you could put together a great running game and combine it with an elite defense and you would have had the makings of a serious contender.
Perhaps that has changed. Or perhaps, as the Ravens and Bears will try to prove this season, it has not.
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