(Same intro daily) We’re going to do a ‘best NFL defense’ tournament to determine who are the top NFL defenses...and it’s a way for me to go back through the personnel and coaching, etc., to see who we might be missing, good or bad, hiding in the weeds.
We’ll do a division per day, then the Final Four/Conference finals ending with the Super Bowl/finals. An 11-day series that carries us though the end of the month.
We have 7 categories for a ‘Best of 7’ style process...with a lean towards the importance of the two key positions on a defense: The CB group and the DT group.
The seven categories are...
Cornerbacks: The most critical spot, in our estimations.
Def. Tackle: The 2nd most critical spot.
Def. Coordinator: Management is key here.
Interior LBs: The non-pass rush LBs.
Pass Rush: Judging the pass rush as a whole, the front 7.
Def. Backs: Judging the CBs and SAFs.
Backups/Depth: The overall depth, judging the 2nd and 3rd team defenses for the team.
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Patriots v. Bills
Cornerbacks: (NE 1-0)...hand’s down Gonzo-Davis-Marcus Jones. One of the best CB groups in the NFL this year, potentially.
Def. Tackle: (NE 2-0)...assuming Barmore back, the Milton Williams add + Barmore is nice. Ed Oliver is fading a bit.
Def. Coordinator: (NE 2-1)...the head coaches are the real D-Cs, so edge to McDermott.
Interior LBs: (tie 2-2)...Milano-Bernard get an edge over Spillane-Elliss, to me.
Pass Rush: (NE 3-2)...Landry-White + the DT combo get the win.
Def. Backs: (NE wins 4-2)...the CB group is too powerful to overcome, and the SAF group is decent too.
Backups/Depth: (NE 4-3)...big win in this matchup for the Bills. A ton of depth for Buffalo.
The Patriots win and move on to the AFC East finals.
Jets v. Dolphins
Cornerbacks: (NYJ 1-0) The current Miami starting outside CBs are Storm Duck and Cam Smith...are you kidding me?
Def. Tackle: (NYJ 2-0)
Def. Coordinator: (NYJ 3-0)...the Jets don’t impress me, but Miami is dreadful with defensive management.
Interior LBs: (NYJ 4-0)...a clean sweep -- more so because the Dolphins gave no resistance.
Pass Rush: (NYJ 4-1)...edge to a healthy Dolphins defense.
Def. Backs: (NYJ 5-1)...if you think the Miami CBs are weak, their safety group isn’t much of a help.
Backups/Depth: (NYJ 6-1)
The Jets move on to face the Patriots in the AFC East finals.
Jets v. Patriots
Cornerbacks: (NE 1-0)...two great CB groups, a slight edge to the Patriots because Carlton Davis is better than Brandon Stephens.
Def. Tackle: (NE 2-0)...Barmore-Milton Williams are going to be tough to beat as a duo.
Def. Coordinator: (NE 3-0)...the head coaches are the real D-Cs, and that edge has to go to Mike Vrabel over Aaron Glenn.
Interior LBs: (NE 3-1)...the Jets hold off elimination.
Pass Rush: (NE wins 4-1)...Easy edge to the Pats.
Def. Backs: (NE 5-1)...The Pats have the better CBs by a little, and better SAFs by more margin.
Backups/Depth: (NE 5-2)...Better and more legit backups with NYJ.
The Patriots move on to the AFC Final Four.
