Steelers' 08 D# one of the bests ever ?

by pidots on Dec 2, 2008 6:01 PM EST

hey everyone, i'm new here and i'm a Brazilian Steelers fan. Well, i write for the Pittsburgh Steelers Brasil blog and i have just made a research and found very interesting numbers. First of all, sorry for the poor english. Now to the thing that really matters:

Here goes a comparison of the 08 Steelers D with Miami's D of 1973 , Steelers' D of 1974 D, Cowboys' D of 1977 , Bears' D of 1985 , Eagles' D of 1991 D, Baltimore's D of 2000 and the 08 Ravens defense. The stats compared are Y/P, Y/G ; PYds/P, PYds/G ; RYds/P, RYds/G and Points/G

- Defense - Yards/Play -Yards/Game

-73' Dolphins - 3.7 - 234.4
-74' Steelers - 3.6 - 219.6
-77' Cowboys - 3.7 - 229.5
-85' Bears - 4.4 - 258.8
-91' Eagles - 3.9 - 270.9
-00' Ravens - 4.3 - 247.9
-08' Steelers - 3.9 - 238.0
-08' Ravens - 4.5 - 253.3

- Defense - Passing Yds/Play - Passing Yds/Game

-73' Dolphins - 5.0 - 92.1
-74' Steelers - 5.5 - 104.7
-77' Cowboys - 5.4 - 111.6
-85' Bears - 6.3 - 176.0
-91' Eagles - 6.0 - 150.8
-Ravens' 2000 - 6.0 - 187.3
-08' Steelers - 5.4 - 166.8
-08' Ravens - 6.0 - 175

- Defense - Rushing Yds/ P - Rushing Yds/G

-73' Dolphins - 3.9 - 142.2
-74' Steelers - 3.4 - 114.9
-77' Cowboys - 3.6 - 117.9
-85' Bears - 3.7 - 82.5
-91' Eagles - 3.0 - 71.0
-Ravens' 2000 - 2.7 - 60.6
-08' Steelers - 3.1 - 71.2
-08' Ravens - 3.5 - 78.2

- Defense - Points/Game

-73' Dolphins - 10.7
-74' Steelers - 13.5
-77' Cowboys - 15.1
-85' Bears - 12.4
-91' Eagles- 14.8
-Ravens' 2000 - 10.3
-08' Steelers - 14.2
-08' Ravens - 15.8

Is good to remember that the league has created a lot of rules helping offenses and that makes these stats even more impressive . This year the defense is healthy and have good depth on almost every position so i think they will keep this going...

any thoughts ?

Tweet Comment 9 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

great research

but the 76 steelers d has to be included. that is widely considered the greatest defense of all time.

that d allowed less than 10 ppg, and had something like 7 shutouts

maryrose wrote a great post on them

by NoCal-SteelCity on Dec 2, 2008 7:58 PM EST reply actions

+1

Greatest Defense I ever saw on a weekly basis. After a 1-4 start the D pitched 5 shutouts and 2 games only yielding 3 points. Would have won a third SB but injuries to the RB’s in the playoffs spelled doom in Oakland.

When You Run The Ball Good Things Happen

by 5020 on Dec 2, 2008 11:35 PM EST up reply actions

Yes, they went 15+ quarters without giving up a single point. almost 4 games. If both our 1000 yard rushers dont go down in blowout playoff game against Colts, we easily win third SB.

by Jonny B. on Dec 3, 2008 11:48 AM EST up reply actions

2000 CHEA!

LOL

Life is nothing but Beats & Rhymes

by Matchz Malone on Dec 2, 2008 8:30 PM EST reply actions

good post

thanks for the info!

by Michael Bean on Dec 2, 2008 10:29 PM EST reply actions

Nice Post

Very informative; your English is as good as mine in this post. If we keep the same guys we have, and they stay healthy, we could be considered in that group.

To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)

Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.

by Tim Mullhaupt (HSS) on Dec 2, 2008 10:39 PM EST reply actions

'08 D great

the 2008 steelers defense may not be as good as the 1976 version however, it is by far the greatest steelers defense since 1992. that in itself is amazing. it is also very comparable to the 2000 ravens which was the greatest defense in a single season since the 76 steel curtain. this team would have to win the super bowl this year to say they are better than the 2000 ravens d though.

by beerman13 on Dec 3, 2008 12:29 AM EST reply actions

Championship

I have the opinion that if this team wins a championship, then there will be no argument that this is one of the best defenses ever.

by sn0wballz on Dec 3, 2008 9:24 AM EST reply actions

If you look at some of the ALL TIME great Defenses

They are great because they had the sense that they HAD to be to in order to over come offensive deficencies. Fortunately, Our offense isn’t quite THAT inept at the moment, but it would be nice if out “D” could somehow adopt that attitude, kick into an EVEN HIGHER level, and carry this team to another SB title!

by Jonny B. on Dec 3, 2008 11:56 AM EST reply actions