07-11-2015, 11:48 AM
(07-11-2015, 12:23 AM)Shake n Blake Wrote: The offense and defense feed off of each other equally in my non-expert opinion. If a defense can't stop the run and lets the opposing team chew up clock (consider the amount of rush yardage our D has allowed in all 6 games), then that keeps the ball away from our offense and puts more pressure on them to score when they do get the ball. When they don't force turnovers, it doesn't provide any bonus opportunities to our offense.
The way Dalton has played, I doubt he would've done much with it, but who knows? The point is that it hasn't happened. An elite defense shouldn't fall apart just because the QB isn't playing well. Tbh, Dalton wasn't even all that bad last year. The defense still allowed a season high in pass yardage and let a 3rd string RB burn them for around 140+ yards from scrimmage.
As I've pointed out, Peyton played like crap on his SB run. The Ravens D carried Joe Flacco when he was young and playing awful. Heck, Boomer played like crap in the '88 playoffs. Did it torpedo the team? If you want to say Dalton was the worst player over the last 4 games, I'd agree. I just think it's silly to act like the defense bears no blame for their own performance. They're the one's that allowed 150+ rush yards in all 6 games. They've allowed QB's like Sanchez, Yates and Schaub to look fantastic. They're the ones who have only forced 2 turnovers in 6 games.
It's easy to blame Dalton for the last 4 games, and he's easily been the worst player. Does that mean the defense should get a pass? Imo, no. You'd think an elite defense still would've shown up big in at least one of these games. They haven't. They're consistently bad in the same categories. No matter how many turnovers the QB has. The same themes occurred in the '05 and '09 playoff games as well. Obviously Dalton wasn't the QB then, so...
This is how I feel about it. If the defense has carried Dalton the last 4 years, why can't they do it in the playoffs as well? A timely turnover or 2 can completely turn a football game. 2 in 6 games tells me that the defense also under performs when the playoffs comes around as well.
