09-08-2021, 02:51 PM
(09-08-2021, 02:39 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Not what I said. They were 31st in 2018. Then they got a new coaching staff. They went up a little to 29th in 2019, and then took their big jump forward. The straight line is 2 2nd Team All-Pro LBs and a DC who got his players at full speed in his system.
Just because Barrett had less sacks in 2020 doesn't mean he slipped, it means the rest of the defense picked it up. They were 7th in sacks as a team in 2019 and 4th in 2020.
But again, sure, keep believing that a team with a Top-10 offense, Top-10 defense, a ton a talent, and a good HC heading into his 2nd year was destined to continue to be a loser without Tom Brady. That's way more logical to believe in mystical winning juice.
I just think you're using the exception to prove the rule, and reinforcing my claim in the process. How did Lou's defense play in its second year? The fact that it's anyone's second year does not necessarily dictate success. Sometimes the second year is when it all comes together; sometimes that's when it all falls apart; more commonly nothing really changes.
I would also concur with you that stats like sacks oversimplify arguments- yours and mine alike. A team's scoring defense is similarly raw and meaningless in a vacuum. The fact that a bunch of areas improved while only one of them changed, might say more about that one new factor than any mystical organic growth that occurred lol
And lighten up, would ya? Holy smokes
