Here are some interesting numbers I found while rummaging around the NFL’s elite and, well, not so elite teams…
1. The Chiefs give up how many rushing yards per game? Oh, just 182.4 yards per contest – on the ground. Good lord, you’d think that this team would be better than that after adding Glenn Dorsey, but that’s just not the case. I guess they did lose one of the best defensive ends in football, but this is getting downright piss poor. To put that into perspective, The Ravens allow almost 1/3 of that offensive rushing total. Not only do the Chiefs give up 180+ per game, but they allow 5.4 yards per rush, which is amazing. That’s .3 yards per run more than the TERRIBLE Denver Broncos attack. LaDAINIAN TOMLINSON!!! Come on down… The Chargers play KC this week, and LT is just starting to look healthy.
2. There are three defenses allowing 3.1 yards per carry or less – and that’s unheard of. The Ravens (2.8), the Vikings (3.0), the Steelers (2.9), and the Jets (3.1), have all been doing work this year against opposing defense. It’s pretty amazing when defenses don’t give up a first down (based on yardage) for every three rushing attempts by their opponents. I woudl still rank these defenses Steelers, Ravens, Vikings, Jets – and this is why. The Ravens have given up one rushing score this season… ONE. That’s tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – and better than everyone else in the league. Not only that, but the Ravens are also 4th against the pass, and have just as many interceptions (10) as they have touchdowns given up – that said, they have given up just 11 offensive scores this year. And while that is awesome, it is slightly less impressive than the Steelers. You’ve seen Big Ben and the Steelers offense struggle this year, getting sacked early and often, and getting their fair share of three and outs – but that’s okay because the Steel Curtain is back. Pittsburgh has allowed 3 rushing touchdowns and 6 passing scores – that’s 9. Pittsburgh is 6-2. That’s just over 1 score per game. Not only that, but because of their impossible schedule (well not so impossible for them) they have had more defensive snaps than the Ravens. Giving up just 14.5 points per game, the Steelers are the real deal, and ranked 1st overall in pass defense – and a sacking machine. As for the Vikings over the Jets, run defense might give the Vikes a slight edge, but they are a little better against the pass as well. The Vikes get a bad wrap for their shoddy secondary play, but the Jets have allowed more yards and more scores – interesting.
3. Here’s a few more interesting numbers from around the league: the Titans have more than three times as many interceptions as they’ve allowed passing touchdowns – 13 picks and only 4 TDs and they also allow a league low 12.9 points per contest. Stingy. The Cardinals have allowed 16 passing touchdowns this year (6 to Brett Favre, sure, but even without Brett’s historic game the Cards would have allowed more touchdowns through the air than 12 other teams). The leagues most stingy scoring defense? The Colts – they’ve given up just 2 passing scores this year – but then again, that might be because teams just run the ball on them (146 yards per game and 10 rushing scores this year). The Oakland Raiders convert on 3rd down less than 25% of the time – only one other team is below 30% (the Lions at 28%) – Three and OUT here we come! Is this stat telling? The Titans have a league best +10 turnover ration – the Denver Broncos have one of the easiest schedules in the league, and are really stumbling lately – they are -11. The Titans are the best and the Broncos are the worst. Keep throwing the rock Splinter!!! Idiot. Which team has more pass completions than any other? Arizona? Nope – tied with another team for 2nd with 210, but nope. New Orleans? Drew has been great, but not quite – they have 210 as well. Try the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – I know I never would have thought. Everything being considered though, the Bucs are on bye while the Saints and Cardinals will pass them up this week. Last, but not least – the Giants have the best yard per carry average in the league, and are the only team getting more than 4.7 yards per rush – that being said, they average half a yard more per carry than any other team in the league. 5.2 yards per tote. Amazing. What else? They do it with consistency. Their longest rush is 44 yards, over half the league has broken one longer than that.