Lots of talk in threads about how many points teams have been scoring. How important is defense in a championship run? Just talking regular season for now. Having seen what Bburg did last year (27.3 points/game) vs. this year (16.2) I’m a believer in defense, but nobody’s talking about it?
Defense and the Playoffs
- Thread starter cb2018
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You hit the nail on the head.. A lot of people can score but hardly anybody can get stops.
You have to look at what did defenses do against good teams bc you will only be playing good teams after round 1.
They saying is offense fills the stands, defense wins championships
The only team in 4A to ever give up more than 177 points and win state was last year's Salem team (218) and their D was not a bunch of slobs, 20% of their season total was given up against Amherst in week 1.
177 is arbitrary but that's because Lafayette and Salem each gave up the number and it was the 2nd highest total behind what Salem did last year. I also can't say for certain the time period is "ever" but it's definitely in the last 20 years and I just assumed given how football used to be played even 30 years ago having a D give up 200+ was a sure way to get you to not win state.
Could Salem last year be representative of the future of defense in the sport in this modern era of offenses or could it just be a fluke? We'll see.
177 is arbitrary but that's because Lafayette and Salem each gave up the number and it was the 2nd highest total behind what Salem did last year. I also can't say for certain the time period is "ever" but it's definitely in the last 20 years and I just assumed given how football used to be played even 30 years ago having a D give up 200+ was a sure way to get you to not win state.
Could Salem last year be representative of the future of defense in the sport in this modern era of offenses or could it just be a fluke? We'll see.
Hokie , way to hit a post on the nail. But one other factor is you have to look at who the team played in the regular season. And, i have found that the determination of when to put subs in has been different across the state. I can. Only speak of Sherando, but if you count just when the game matters in blowouts , heck sherando probably only gave up 75 points to starters on the field. Something to think about.
Totally agree with this here. We pull our starters early even before the running clock.
You guys think you're inventing a new strat? People been pulling starters for years now. You think people only been scoring on Salem's starters last two years?
The stats are what they are. Hells bells, I think I could take off 85 points from Salem's 2015 team that only gave up 154 for the year if we're only counting starter stats.
The stats are what they are. Hells bells, I think I could take off 85 points from Salem's 2015 team that only gave up 154 for the year if we're only counting starter stats.
Yes, Hokie stats are what they are. But, they can be deceiving as well. With the offenses today, a game against a poor defense can be put away early
point taken Hokie, but if I’m pulling my starters early, means the other team’s D couldn’t stop me. My OP was that we seem to be moving away from any defensive based mentality because everybody wants to outscore opponents. And that’s at every level all the way to sandlot.
But I covered this in my first post.
Regardless, even since the merge of teams five years ago Dinwiddie, LT, Salem all presented monster defenses which shut down multiple 45-50 ppg teams during the POs.
Could the goalposts move a little for points given up? Sure. But giving up 250, 300, 350+ points and still winning is not feasible at all. Better to bet on someone locking down during the POs.
Well said 1morehokie. The only exception during the era of realignment was last years final when both teams allowed more than their ppg average (defense). Even though we lost I still say its one of best games I have ever seen. I still see Beckley willing his way for a first on fourth down in my sleep.
