Originally Posted by Giant Octopodes
Yes, that is correct. Looking at just raw production, and ignoring the circumstances which led to that production, is short-sighted. And you say excuses, I say reasons, but let's not argue over semantics. I am indeed arguing you should look at specific reasons why you might have poor production, instead of just looking at high level overviews. I think it is more productive and more likely to result in success, especially as there is indeed a correlation, likely for the reasons I previously elaborated upon.
Again I'm not saying getting points is a bad thing. At all. I'm simply saying that historically, demonstrably, defenses perform better when they have to defend for 20 minutes than when they have to defend for 40. Part of that is on the defense, in getting stops and getting off the field, while part of that is on the offense, in keeping extended drives alive. Both are the responsibility of the head coach, which is probably why Reid said what he said.
You indicated they need to get points and get stops. I'd argue that points weren't the issue there. I'd argue that 24 points is good enough to beat the majority of teams in the NFL, and it was giving up 31 points which ultimately led to the defeat. If you want fewer points scored, you need greater defensive drive efficiency. If you want greater defensive drive efficiency, they need to be less tired, so you need to increase offensive time of possession, however you can.
That might not have anything to do with getting points offensively, and might have more to do with incorporating more run plays and short yardage plays to make the same scoring drive take 5 minutes instead of 2. The Chiefs had only 2 drives of greater than 4 minutes, and only 1 which was 10 plays or more. They averaged 4.9 plays per drive, and averaged almost exactly 2 minutes per drive. The Texans had 7 drives of 4 minutes or greater, and 6 drives of 10 or more plays. This is indeed an issue which contributed (though of course it was not the sole cause) to the Texans winning. To say it's a garbage stat which should be ignored is indeed as previously stated short sighted.
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