Defense wins championships? No shit?
I guess someone finally stumbled over a little nugget of truth and decided that they would make a journalistic epiphany to share with the world. Well thank you. On behalf of all ignorant, beer-swilling football fans across the globe, I thank you. And while we’re on the subject of enlightening revelations, who in the hell is Mark Brunell? All of a sudden he just pops out of thin air like he’s been reporting for years. I couldn’t think of a more irrelevant person to have a job at ESPN.
Just because you have a mouth doesn’t mean you need to open it. Especially in this case. So shut it Mark. Sit down and watch the big boys handle this.
Apparently whatever ESPN says on one of its multiple broadcasts per day is holier than scripture. Now, instead of being a passing league, the NFL is now defensively driven. Even with talks of “having an elite QB like Tom Brady” (I swear ESPN can’t go thirty seconds into a football segment without plastering his name over EVERYTHING) and “Peyton Manning is the best regular season QB of all time”.
No other game changing players exist folks. Not a Jadaveon Clowney. Not an Ndamakong Suh. Not an Aaron Rodgers or Ben Roethlisberger. Just Tom and Peyton. That’s it.
So if this is to be true then there’s no wonder that teams have to beef up their defense. The NFL has become a defensive driven league because three teams decided they needed to stop their offenses from having to do all the work every week.
New England Patriots Brandon Browner – CB
Patrick Chung – FS
Dominique Easley – DT
Darrelle Revis – CB
Will Smith – DE
This is going to come as a shock to most readers, but I absolutely despise the Pats. I know, big shocker right? But I will give them the benefit of the doubt here. Relish this, New England, because it’s not coming again. New England has been absolutely terrible defensively over the past three seasons and have only been able to have a decent record or make the playoffs because of, you guessed it, Tom “Pretty Boy Floyd” Brady. Darrelle Revis is washed up and can’t make the same impact as before his knee surgery. Only Adrian Peterson has been able to recuperate to an almost better than before status. So his presence is not an issue. I believe the real pressure is going to come from Chung and newly signed Will Smith. With Smith’s pocket pressure combined with Chung’s great coverage it’s sure to combine to a great 1-2 punch.
Denver Broncos
Bradley Roby – CB
Aqib Talib – CB
TJ Ward – SS
Demarcus Ware – LB
After that absolutely horrid performance in the Super Bowl Denver needs to have some sort of answer for their opponents’ ability to move the football. Scoring is great, but if the other guys can score back just as easily it doesn’t mean a thing. Denver’s answer to this is by pumping up their secondary. Talib and Ward should provide adequate pressure on both sides. But with Ward’s recent legal trouble it poses questions about whether or not Elway and the front office can reign them in. The Broncos can’t afford to lose any other players after what went down with Von Miller and Matt Russell.
Green Bay Packers Ha Ha Clinton-Dix – S
Letroy Guion – DT
Julius Peppers – DE
Khyri Thornton – DT
Out of these three teams this is probably my favorite list of additions. I’m extremely curious to see how Ha Ha performs right out of the gate. The Packers are in dire need of secondary help right out of the gate. And if he does start, and perform well, I’d be interested to see how he would hold up over an entire season. We’ll most likely see him in the Super Bowl, so we need to see what we’re up against. The run stopping game has also gotten a bit better with Peppers and Thornton. I’ve always liked J-Pepp, he was the only reason I watched anything regarding Carolina in the first place. Chicago made the bonehead move of letting him go, and he’s going to make them pay. Mark my words. And with a little grooming Thornton and Guion will be a huge improvement.
So that’s it. Less than 15 players have turned the football world upside down and completely re-written the annals of history. Now these teams will skyrocket to the top of the record books.
I’m sure the time tested mantra of hard work, dedication, and pouring all you’ve got into the sport you love has absolutely NOTHING to do with it.