ESPN Seahawks only allow 39 points in last 6 games

[ivotuk]

Listening to Clayton on Bob and Groz he said "I covered that great Steelers defense of 1976, and they faced teams with quarterback problems."

He also said if the Seahawks repeat that they have to be talked about as one of the best ever defenses. I believe they have reached that status already.

Like others mentioned, old defenses could get away with murder, the head slap, horsecollar tackles, going at the knee, mugging wide receivers (which is why todays WRs will never equal the older ones), just look at what Steve Largent had to put up with. Even in Jerry Rice's day the regulations were beginning to change.

It's impossible to make direct comparisons, but in my mind, when you consider the differences in the game today, how it favors the offense, ESPECIALLY this year with the new "emphasis " on defensive holding, it puts the accomplishments of the 21st Century Seahawks on plateau all alone. :th2thumbs:

 

[Ruminator]

The record will show 39 points in the last 6 games for an avg. of 6.5 points per game, but a more accurate testament to our defense is 32 points in our last 6 games for an avg. of 5.33 points per game. This respectfully removes from the equation the muffed punt in the Eagles game that gave them the ball deep in the red zone for an easy score -- 7 points our defense cannot and should not be faulted for.

5.33 average points allowed by our defense in the last six games. Un. flipping. believable. That is scary good.

 

[Sarlacc83]

The record will show 39 points in the last 6 games for an avg. of 6.5 points per game, but a more accurate testament to our defense is 32 points in our last 6 games for an avg. of 5.33 points per game. This respectfully removes from the equation the muffed punt in the Eagles game that gave them the ball deep in the red zone for an easy score -- 7 points our defense cannot and should not be faulted for.

5.33 average points allowed by our defense in the last six games. Un. flipping. believable. That is scary good.

Seattle could have kept the Sanchez-led Eagles out of the end zone. You can only 'subtract' 3.

 

[Ruminator]

The record will show 39 points in the last 6 games for an avg. of 6.5 points per game, but a more accurate testament to our defense is 32 points in our last 6 games for an avg. of 5.33 points per game. This respectfully removes from the equation the muffed punt in the Eagles game that gave them the ball deep in the red zone for an easy score -- 7 points our defense cannot and should not be faulted for.

5.33 average points allowed by our defense in the last six games. Un. flipping. believable. That is scary good.

Seattle could have kept the Sanchez-led Eagles out of the end zone. You can only 'subtract' 3.

You mean 4. Maybe, and maybe not. With our defense, you never know.

 

[Dizzlepdx]

He also said if the Seahawks repeat that they have to be talked about as one of the best ever defenses. I believe they have reached that status already.

It's impossible to make direct comparisons, but in my mind, when you consider the differences in the game today, how it favors the offense, ESPECIALLY this year with the new "emphasis " on defensive holding, it puts the accomplishments of the 21st Century Seahawks on plateau all alone. :th2thumbs:

I'm not old enough to have watched any of the historically great teams that current/recent Seahawks' defense is compared to, but I was curious to see how they compared to the rest of the league averages, each in their own era. All these numbers are pulled from Pro Football Reference. This is obviously a very superficial dive into this in terms of the fairest way to compare (I'll leave that to the pros or someone with a larger computer monitor) and doesn't take into account anything like starting field position, defensive scores (either way), special teams scoring, etc. This is purely just team stats vs league average for the same year.

Points per game allowed

'75 Rams: 9.6 league Average: 20.6
'76 Steelers: 9.9 league Average: 19.2
'69-'71 Vikes: 9.2 league Average:19.9
2012-2014 Hawks: 15.2 league Average: 22.9

Yards per game allowed

'75 Rams: 237.4 league Average: 308.3
'76 Steelers: also 237.4 league Average: 302.7
'69-'71 Vikes: 212.5 league Average:288.3
2012-2014 Hawks: 282.3 league Average: 347.9


I don't know if it's more appropriate to compare just the pure difference between the team and league average or if it should be the difference as a percentage of the league average. Someone who actually remembers anything from a statistics class they took can let us know.

The last really interesting statistic I came across right when I thought I was done was first downs allowed due to penalty. As expected, there is a HUGE difference when compared to the teams from the 70's. For the whole season, those teams were all in the 12-15 range. The Hawks average 35. 35!!! And that's just slightly above league average which is in the 31/32 range.

There's a couple things that struck me as interesting but I'm curious to know what stands out to you guys.

 

[Smellyman]

Only two teams did better, 1975 Rams w/32 points and 1976 Steelers w/22 points allowed.

Of course Trey Wingo had to add "the caveat they played against some bad QBs." Kaepernick isn't a bad QB, and Sanchez is serviceable when not playing against Seattle. Shaun Hill is a decent QB to. Lindley? A really bad QB.

But, be that as it may, who were these offensive juggernauts the steelers and rams played in 75\76? You can't belittle a stat by throwing out a caveat unless you are able to complete the statement. Not doing so invalidates your argument and makes MrWingo appear immature.

None of it really matters though. This is a historically great defense, and nothing Mr. Wingo, or anyone else says can change that fact. :th2thumbs:

exactly.

 

[daveca5150]

He also said if the Seahawks repeat that they have to be talked about as one of the best ever defenses. I believe they have reached that status already.

It's impossible to make direct comparisons, but in my mind, when you consider the differences in the game today, how it favors the offense, ESPECIALLY this year with the new "emphasis " on defensive holding, it puts the accomplishments of the 21st Century Seahawks on plateau all alone. :th2thumbs:

I'm not old enough to have watched any of the historically great teams that current/recent Seahawks' defense is compared to, but I was curious to see how they compared to the rest of the league averages, each in their own era. All these numbers are pulled from Pro Football Reference. This is obviously a very superficial dive into this in terms of the fairest way to compare (I'll leave that to the pros or someone with a larger computer monitor) and doesn't take into account anything like starting field position, defensive scores (either way), special teams scoring, etc. This is purely just team stats vs league average for the same year.

Points per game allowed

'75 Rams: 9.6 league Average: 20.6
'76 Steelers: 9.9 league Average: 19.2
'69-'71 Vikes: 9.2 league Average:19.9
2012-2014 Hawks: 15.2 league Average: 22.9

Yards per game allowed

'75 Rams: 237.4 league Average: 308.3
'76 Steelers: also 237.4 league Average: 302.7
'69-'71 Vikes: 212.5 league Average:288.3
2012-2014 Hawks: 282.3 league Average: 347.9


I don't know if it's more appropriate to compare just the pure difference between the team and league average or if it should be the difference as a percentage of the league average. Someone who actually remembers anything from a statistics class they took can let us know.

The last really interesting statistic I came across right when I thought I was done was first downs allowed due to penalty. As expected, there is a HUGE difference when compared to the teams from the 70's. For the whole season, those teams were all in the 12-15 range. The Hawks average 35. 35!!! And that's just slightly above league average which is in the 31/32 range.

There's a couple things that struck me as interesting but I'm curious to know what stands out to you guys.

Great post! Thanks for putting this up. I'm surprised the league average points per game has only gone up about 10% while the yards per game has gone up closer to 18%.

Our defense certainly deserves to be mentioned with the historical greats from the 70s, even if some analysts are ready to put us there yet. If we played an entire season like we played the last 6 games, there would be no debate.

Either way, I'm just going to enjoy the ride :0190l: