Quote:
Originally Posted by Sannyasi
I think you are really overrating the impact of a single defensive player, even a star player, on a team's defensive performance. The Houston Texans had the #1 defense in the NFL in 2016 without J.J. Watt, who was supposedly the best defensive player in the league at the time.
When Justin Houston tore his ACL in 2015 coming off his crazy 22 sack season, the line in Vegas for the next Chiefs game didn't move at all. And prime Houston was a much more impactful player than Earl Thomas. Either this team is a contender now or it isn't, but adding a single defensive player doesn't move the needle in either direction. Its just the nature of defense, where one star player still can only do so much because he has to play within a system and rely on the guys around them to do their jobs as well.
|
I can see your point to an extent but then you watch teams like Pittsburgh, whose defense hasn’t been the same since losing Shazier, and wonder just how impactful a player can be..
Look at the Raiders without Mack. They can’t rush the passer, can’t win a game.