Best
All-Time NFL Defenses
Because the game is played so
differently now than it was in the 1970s, ranking some of the best all-time
defenses is extremely difficult. The defense that sticks out from that
era is the Pittsburgh Steelers. They had so many Hall of Famers on that
team; Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Mel Blount, and LC Greenwood led
that bunch. However, if these players played today like they did back
then, they would be getting pass interference penalties, fines and suspensions.
It was a much tougher NFL in that era, the constant asking the refs for the
flag, like some wide receivers do today, would not happen. Those WR would
get their heads knocked off for sure. Mel Blount was the NFL defensive
player of the year in 1975 during that great run of Super Bowl Championships.
1976 Steelers did not win a Super Bowl, but had a legendary year on
defense. They only gave up 28 points over the last 9 games played and 11 PPG
over the season. They got hurt during that playoffs on offense and
eventually lost to Oakland in the AFC Championship game.
Jack Lambert was one of the
meanest players to ever play in the NFL, he was probably as good a tackler that
has ever played. Lambert was so dominant a linebacker that he won defensive
rookie player of the year in 1974 and defensive player of the year in 1976.
Lambert went to 9 Straight Pro Bowls and was a huge cog of the Steel
Curtain of this era. Fear was huge during this time and Lambert along
with Mean Joe Greene were the ring leaders. Running backs would were not
happy when Lambert hit them so hard that their bell rung. Jack Ham never won
defensive player of the year, but was an All Pro 6 times and was one of the
fastest linebackers in the history of the NFL. Ham’s specialty was in
forcing fumbles, he forced 59 over the years. This is just astounding.
The Steelers defensive unit was mainly responsible for the team winning 4
Super Bowls. The first 2 they were the dominant unit for them. The 3rd and
4th had a lot more help from the offense with Franco Harris,
Terry Bradshaw and Stallworth and Swan being very good.
When you mention the San
Francisco 49ers of the 1980s what do you think of? Obviously it would be
offense with Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Roger Craig and Dwight Clark.
However the 49ers defense was also very, very good and, to me, underrated
but dominant. The 1981 unit only gave up an average of 15 PPG and the
1984 unit gave up 14 PPG. When talking about the defense the first player
of that era I think of is Ronnie Lott. Lott came into the league as a
cornerback and was pretty good, but he really made his mark as the most
dominant safety of the era. He would strike fear into the hearts of any
wide receiver going over the middle at that time. He would be getting a lot
of fines today if he played in the same reckless manner where he would launch
himself at a ball carrier. This was legal back then, but now due to safety
reasons is not acceptable any longer. Lott had 63 career interceptions
with his highest being 10 in 1986. He was a ballhawk and is in the Pro Football
Hall of fame because of his well-rounded career. Lott, also made the
First team Pro 6 times. Other good players on this team were Fred Dean, who had
17.5 sacks in 1983, Hacksaw Reynolds at OLB and Keena Turner at ILB. The
secret of the niners was mainly being consistent and stopping other teams, thus
getting the ball back to their fantastic offense. Besides Ronnie Lott,
there were no other real Super Stars that stand out but the numbers stand on
their own. They won 4 Super Bowls mainly as a great offensive team but this
unit was underrated to me and still is when thinking of great defenses in the
1980s.
Another very dominant defense
of this era was the Chicago Bears from 1984-1987. The Bears, even though they
only won only 1 Super Bowl, had probably the most dominant season of all time
defensively in 1985. The team only gave up 198 points for an average of
about 12.3 PPG. The Bears used a 46 defense that stressed getting
pressure on the QB which led to a lot of sacks and turnovers. The leading
sacker was Richard Dent who had 17.5. Otis Wilson also had 10.5 from his
linebacker position. Interior defensive linemen in Dan Hampton and Steve
McMichael also had 8 and 6.5 sacks. Mike Singletary was the defensive captain
and had well over 100 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Singletary had those eyes that
could cut right through you and he made the First team All-Pro 7 times. It was
scary. He was such a smart player. The secondary was excellent with Leslie
Frasier getting 6 interceptions and Mike Richardson with 4. Safeties Dave
Deuerson and Gary Fencik would punish when they hit you and both had 5
interceptions each. This defense only give up 10 points in 3 playoff
games, both of their home playoff games saw them shutout their opponents.
The only team to score was the NE Patriots and they only got 10 in a
46-10 loss in the Super Bowl to Chicago. The irony is the 1986 Bears
actually only gave up 187 pts for and average of about 11.68 points but they
lost to the Redskins in the playoffs.
Fast forward to the early 1990s
and a team that is thought of once again for their offense, the Dallas Cowboys,
had an excellent defense during their Super Bowl. Run. The 1992 team gave
up 15.2 PPG and had a defense that had different players putting pressure on
the QB and the sack leader was Jim Jeffcoat with 10.5. Tony Tolbert had 8 sacks
as well. The defensive backs were solid with Kevin Smith, James
Washington and Thomas Everett. The 1993 Cowboys defense was even better only
giving up 14.3 PPG. Jim Jeffcoat with 7 and Tony Tolbert with 6 sacks helped
the defensive secondary get many picks on this season. Kevin Smith had 6
int and Thomas Everett had 2. This shows that you do not have to have mind
popping numbers as a defense to stop the other team. The Cowboys knew how to
stop the run during that era.
Another great defense that is
mainly based on one huge season is the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. This team only
gave up 10.5 PPG. The Ravens defense was so good that year that they had back
to back shutouts against Cleveland and Cincinnati. This team had
everything on D. Rod Woodson, playing safety in the later part of his career,
intercepted 4 passes, Duane Starks had 6 interceptions and Chris McAlister 4.
Ray Lewis was the heart and soul of this defense and he made the First team
All-Pro 7 times. Lewis had 2 interceptions and had 137 tackles and was the main
reason that this defense only gave up 60.5 yards per game rushing and 187 yards
passing. Their pass rush did not get a lot of sacks and were led by Rob Burnett
with 10.5 and Peter Bouleware with 7. This team was fantastic in the playoffs
only giving up 23 points in 4 games, so basically 6 PPG. The Ravens were still
good on defense in 2001 giving up 16.6 PPG and Bouleware had a very good year
with 15 sacks, but they were not as dominant.
There are some good defenses in
today’s NFL including the KC Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks, but in 2013 the
league is so geared to the offense that if you give up 20 PPG you are one of
the better ones in the league. Times have changed as the NFL wants to have more
scoring. I understand their predicament but I wish they allowed the defense a
little bit of leeway so that the scores can occasionally be 20-16 and not
always 28-24 or 31-28 etc. Balance is what makes the NFL fun to me. I
like to see a good running game as well as a good passing game. Thank you all for reading my
blog. I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I
enjoyed writing it.
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