Quote:
Originally Posted by milkman
Years ago, I would have been right there with you.
I did, in fact, argue that pass rushers, and the front 7 in general, was far more valuable than the secondary.
However, as the league has evolved into a passing league, what it has also evolved into is a yac lead.
2700 of Peyton Manning's 5500 passing yards came on yac.
Only 3 teams gained fewer than 1500 yards of yac.
That means that teams are getting the ball out quicker.
If your secondary doesn't makes stops after the catch, then you can kiss any chance of getting to the QB goodbye.
Seattle's defensive domination of the Donkeys illustrated that.
Seattle's pass rush came into play only after the Seahawks secondary shut down yac and forced Manning to start looking for bigger plays through the air, thus holding the ball for that second longer.
|
This is exactly the case now. Both aspects are important, however their weighted importance has shifted with the evolution of the short passing game and supporting rule modifications.