Let's Get Defensive

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

There is a Saying in the NFL that Defense Wins Championships.

Through the years, I've been intrigued about how the high-powered offenses would handle the strong defenses.

Are defenses judged by specific players or by the units themselves?

Now that we're at the half way point of the 2014 NFL Season, this is a great opportunity to see which defenses keep their teams in contention as we approach the playoffs.

The following numbers could be great indicators as to what to expect in the months of November, December, January and determine the teams which will be playing in the Super Bowl in Glendale, AZ come February.

Lets begin with Total Points. The Detroit Lions have allowed the least with 126 followed by the Kansas City Chiefs (128), the Baltimore Ravens (131) and the Arizona Cardinals (139).

Next, we move onto Total Yards. The San Francisco 49'ers are on top with 2,142 followed by Kansas City at 2,160, Denver with 2,207. The defending Super Bowl Champions Seattle Seahawks are fourth with 2,213, the Miami Dolphins are fifth with 2,259 while the Lions are sixth with 2,323.

Kansas City is No.1 with 1,370 Passing Yards allowed followed by Miami's 1,481, San Francisco 1,548 and Seattle is fourth with 1,586. Detroit is ranked 10th with 1,731.

The Denver Broncos have allowed the least amount of Rushing Yards with 507, Arizona is next with 545, Detroit is third with 592 and San Francisco is fourth  with 594.

The Detroit Lions are in the Top 10 in all four of these categories.

Can Detroit sustain this success with the recent defensive losses of Stephen Tulloch and Nick Fairley?

This remains to be seen.

If you look at legendary defensive units, here are some that stand out that either won or played in Super Bowls.

The Pittsburgh Steelers "Steel Curtain" produced four Super Bowl Championships.

Miami's "No Name" defense led to a pair of titles in the early 1970's including the lone 17-0 undefeated season in NFL History.

"The Monsters of The Midway" made Chicago proud as the Bears mauled their way to a 1985 World Championship.

"The Doomsday Defense" of the Dallas Cowboys were a group that became a dynasty in the late 1960's and 1970's, that produced championships in The Lone Star State.

Despite not winning a Super Bowl in the late 1960's and 1970's, The Minnesota Vikings "Purple People Eaters" used this unit to reach the title game four times.

Who can forget the "Orange Crush Defense" of the Denver Broncos of the late 1970's and early 1980's which also made a Super Bowl Appearance?

Now that we've looked at Great Defensive Units, it's time to take this a step further.

How many players from the past could play at high levels in today's NFL with the numerous rule changes aimed at keeping the game safer?

Due to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the days of two and three practices during training camp in one day are long gone.

Concussions are a big issue therefore rules of hitting players high especially with helmet to helmet contact are being called and in some cases players are being ejected and even suspended.

We'll really never know how the players of the past would play in Today's NFL.

When My Girlfriend entered a Fantasy Football League, she had to pick a defensive player and sought My Opinion.

If the guy gets one or two points that could be the difference as to who wins that week.

Now I'm going to mention several names of players that I think could play in Any Era.

Later on, I'll add some of the best defensive players in the NFL Today.

The numerical order I'm about to provide is not in rank, but as players came to mind when I wrote them down as I tried to go back to some of the legendary defenses which I mentioned earlier in this story.

We'll Start With The Past:

1. Dick Butkus (Chicago Bears)
2. Lawrence Taylor (New York Giants)
3. "Mean" Joe Greene (Pittsburgh Steelers)
4. Jack Youngblood (LA Rams)
5. Herb Adderley (Green Bay Packers)
6. Willie Davis (Green Bay Packers)
7. Willie Brown (Oakland Raiders)
8. Bobby Bell (Kansas City Chiefs)
9. Willie Lanier (Kansas City Chiefs)
10. Lem Barney (Detroit Lions)
11. Wayne Walker (Detroit Lions)
12. Dick "Night Train" Lane (Detroit Lions)
13. Alan Page (Minnesota Vikings)
14. Carl Eller (Mnnesota Vikings)
15. Nick Buoniconti (Miami Dolphins)
16. L.C. Greenwood (Pittsburgh Steelers)
17. Mel Blount (Pittsburgh Steelers)
18. Jack Lambert (Pittsburgh Steelers)
19. Dwight White (Pittsburgh Steelers)
20. Ernie Holmes (Pittsburgh Steelers)
21. Jack Ham (Pittsburgh Steelers)
22. Bruce Smith (Buffalo Bills)
23. Ray Lewis (Baltimore Ravens)
24. Michael Strahan (New York Giants)
25. Ronnie Lott (San Francisco 49'ers)
26. Charles Haley (San Francisco 49'ers /Dallas Cowboys)
27. Reggie White (Philadelphia Eagles/Green Bay Packers)
28. Kevin Greene (Pittsburgh Steelers/Carolina Panthers)
29. Jason Taylor (Miami Dolphins)
30. John Randle (Minnesota Vikings)
31. Richard Dent (Chicago Bears)
32. Derrick Thomas (Kansas City Chiefs)
33. Clyde Simmons (Philadelphia Eagles)
34. Simeon Rice (Tampa Bay Bucs)
35. Warren Sapp (Tampa Bay Bucs)
36. LeRoy Selmon  (Tampa Bay Bucs)
37. Derrick Brooks (Tampa Bay Bucs)
38. Neil Smith (Kansas City Chiefs)
39. Andre Tippett (New England)
40. Howie Long (Oakland/LA Raiders)
41. Aeneas Williams (Arizona Cardinals)
42. Harvey Martin (Dallas Cowboys)
43. Randy White (Dallas Cowboys)
44. Karl Mecklenburg (Denver Broncos)
45. Junior Seau (San Diego Chargers)
46. Randy Gradishar (Denver Broncos)
47. Tom Jackson (Denver Broncos)
48. Dick LeBeau (Detroit Lions)
49. Bryan Cox (Miami Dolphins)
50. Pat Swilling (New Orleans Saints)
51. Darrell Green (Washington Redskins)
52. LaVar Arrington (Washington Redskins)
53. Wilber Marshall (Chicago Bears/Washington Redskins)
54. Brian Urlacher (Chicago Bears)
55. Mark Gastineau (New York Jets)
56. Dexter Manley (Washington Redskins)
57. Bob Brudzinski (LA Rams/Miami Dolphins)
58. Kim Bokamper (Miami Dolphins)
59. Elvin Bethea (Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans)
60. Joe Klecko (New York Jets)
61. Dave Wilcox (San Francisco 49'ers)
62. Deacon Jones (LA Rams)
63. Merlin Olsen (LA Rams)
64. Jackie Slater (LA Rams)
65. Bubba Smith (Baltimore Colts)
66. Willie McGinest (New England Patriots)
67. Ty Law (New England Patriots)
68. Tedi Bruschi (New England Patriots)
69. Chris Doleman (Minnesota Vikings)
70. Trace Armstrong (Chicago Bears/Miami Dolphins)
71. Leslie O'Neal (San Diego Chargers)
72. Sean Jones (Green Bay Packers)
73. Rickey Jackson (New Orleans Saints/San Francisco 49'ers)
74. Robert Porcher (Detroit Lions)
75. Alex Karras (Detroit Lions)

Now To The Present:

1. J.J Watt (Houston Texans)
2. Mario Williams (Houston Texans/Buffalo Bills)
3. Ndamukong Suh (Detroit Lions)
4. Clay Matthews (Green Bay Packers)
5. Julius Peppers (Carolina Panthers/Chicago Bears/Green Bay Packers)
6. Jared Allen (Minnesota Vikings/Chicago Bears)
7. Terrell Suggs (Baltimore Ravens)
8. DeMarcus Ware (Dallas Cowboys/Denver Broncos)
9. Luke Kuechley (Carolina Panthers)
10. Cliff Avril (Detroit Lioms/Seattle Seahawks)
11. Jadeveon Clowney (Houston Texans)
12. Cory Redding (Detroit Lions/Indianapolis Colts)
13. A.J. Hawk (Green Bay Packers)
14. James Harrison (Pittsburgh Steelers)
15. John Abraham (New York Jets/Atlanta Falcoms/Arizona Cardinals)
16. Darrelle Revis (New York Jets/New England Patriots)
17. Dwight Freeney (Indianapolis Colts)
18. Robert Mathis  (Indianapolis Colts)
19. Osi Umenyiora (New York Giants/Atlanta Falcons)
20. Jason Pierre Paul (New York Giants)
21. Elvis Dumervil (Denver Broncos/Baltimore Ravens)
22. DeAndre Levy (Detroit Lions)
23. Justin Smith (Cincinnati Bengals/San Francisco 49'ers)
24. Troy Polamalu (Pittsburgh Steelers)
25. Terence Newman (Dallas Cowboys/Cincinnati Bengals)

The one thing that many of these players had in common is they've caused lots of nightmares for many quarterbacks.

Whether it be that clutch interception or the devastating hit which caused fumbles, season or career ending injuries, these events were a large part of that created many dynasty's.

It will be interesting to see how the rest of the 2014 NFL Season unfolds.

Meanwhile, these 100 players will always leave me wondering what would have been, both past and present.

All we have to reference is by watching highlights on the various sports networks today.

There is always ESPN Classic and the NFL Network to relive the Great Defensive Players along with Teams. Then we can formulate our own conclusions

I'm going to end this post with the following questions:

Would you fear Dick Butkus or Lawrence Taylor the most?

I wouldn't want to get on Taylor's bad side, but I'm running as fast as I can from Butkus.

Taylor ended the career of Joe Theismann on a Monday Night game on November 18, 1985.

Would Peyton Manning be able to take the hits and punishment that Butkus gave opponents?

If Peyton wants an answer, he can ask his father Archie, who played with the New Orleans Saints during the same era.

Could you imagine Ndamukong Suh body slamming or stepping on quarterbacks Terry Bradshaw or Dan Marino?

There are so many ways that a mind can wander about these Cross Over Eras.

I've been fortunate enough to witness many through the years.

First as a fan then as a member of the media.

Until the day that I die, I'll never be able to watch enough film to be a Student Of The Game.

Having spoken to lots of players and coaches, this always seems to enlighten me.

But as the year progresses, I'll be monitoring all of the team's statistics and see where they end up in their quest to get to the Super Bowl.

Plus, what defensive players will emerge in My Future Lists?

Stay Tuned!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.                                                              

Pro & College Football Observations

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

Ever since Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf were selected as the top two QB's in the 1988 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers respectively, I've always been intrigued by Booms VS Busts.

Colts General Manager Bill Polian's selection of Manning produced a Super Bowl Championship for Indianapolis. Meanwhile, Leaf is currently one of the biggest busts in NFL History! He's currently in a Montana Jail because of Burglary trying to steal Prescribed Pain Killers, to go along with his other criminal issues.

When the Detroit Lions defeated the New York Jets 24-17 on Sunday, the fans in The Big Apple had to be biting their lips and nails.

In the 2009 NFL Draft, Lions QB Matthew Stafford (6-3, 232) was the top selection, and the second signal caller was Mark Sanchez (6-2, 225), whom they traded up with the Cleveland Browns for the No. 5 spot.

During this meeting only one of them was at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.

It was Stafford, who led the Lions to the triumph by amassing 293 yards, tossed two touchdown passes and ran for another.

The early returns for Sanchez were good as he led the Jets to a pair of AFC Championship Game appearances in 2009 and 2010.

By no means was Sanchez a bust. He was playing for a defensive coach in Rex Ryan that wanted him to manage the game. Ryan failed to come up with a suitable offense for Sanchez.

How badly did it end for Sanchez in New York? The guy was injured in the final pre-season game in 2013 with the second and third string units, which ended his season before it started as he spent the year on injured reserve.

Sanchez's final numbers with the Jets were 12,092 yards, with 68 TD's and 69 interceptions in a five year stint.

Fortunately, for Sanchez (27), he got released and he's the back-up QB in Philadelphia under offensive genius Chip Kelly.

There is no doubt that Sanchez will start again in the NFL. For now being the Eagles back-up gives him a chance to regain his confidence.

As for Stafford, the Lions made out extremely well as he has shattered every franchise passing record at the age of 26. I can only imagine what his numbers will be like when his career is complete.

What the Jets saw Sunday was their dream of hoping that the Lions would botch the No.1 pick was just that.

Through Sunday's game, Stafford has 18,633 yards, 114 TD's and 76 interceptions in his NFL Career.

This season, he has 1,176 yards with five TD's and three interceptions leading Detroit to a 3-1 record.

Detroit can only hope more playoff wins are on the way, but now New York is trying to develop another franchise QB in Geno Smith. The Jets are currently 1-3.

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I have never been a fan of celebrations and on Sunday September 21 at Ford Field, Lions Linebacker Stephen Tulloch did nothing to change my attitude. He suffered an ACL Injury on a sack of Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers in Detroit's 19-7 win.

Tulloch was trying to do a "State Farm Discount Double Check" and as a result, Tulloch missed his first game in nine NFL seasons against the Jets.

Amazingly, Tulloch says he doesn't regret doing the dance and would again. If Tulloch wasn't making millions of dollars then I wonder if he would change his thought process. He should have played in the 1960's and 1970's when many players had to work two jobs to make a living.

How times have changed. Maybe State Farm will sign Tulloch to an endorsement deal now that he has extra time since he's not playing football.

The only celebration I like is the Lambeau Leap in Green Bay. The Packers have made this celebration a part of them appreciating their fans, thus those normal dreadful end zone seats are extremely valuable!

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Prior to this year, I really never knew how serious Pneumonia was.

But when Detroit Lions Owner William Clay Ford died on March 9, 2014 just days before his 89th birthday, and then I experienced it in late July, then I realized it's extremely rough!

It took me close to four weeks to recover. When I had Prostate Surgery on September 10 at Bethesda Hospital East in Boynton Beach, Florida, I decided to get the Pneumonia Vaccine, which is supposed to last five years.

During the Green Bay Packers 38-17 road thrashing over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Illinois, there was a notable defensive player missing on the sidelines stuck in bed.

His name is Jared Allen (32), the Bears best defensive lineman that missed the contest because of Pneumonia.

Allen is 6-6, 270 pounds and he missed a NFC Norris Division Rivalry Game against the hated Packers. When one of the best defensive players in the NFL misses a game this way, this is serious!

Allen could play football in any era because he's an old school, hard-nosed, hard hitting player that gives 100% effort on every snap.

I'll bet he's had some great football conversations with Bears Hall of Fame Linebacker Dick Butkus. But even Butkus wouldn't be strong enough to play through Pneumonia.

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On to College for a Couple of Points.

Going into Saturday's game against Cincinnati, Ohio State was unbeaten in the last 46 contests VS In-State Opponents with a 45-0-1 record.

Make it 47 contests, as the Buckeyes hammered the Bearcats 50-28 in Columbus to go 46-0-1.


Not having a Major State Rival has everything to do with this overrated streak. I wouldn't classify the Ohio Bobcats, Akron Zips, Toledo Rockets, Bowling Green Falcons and Cincinnati Bearcats as marquee opponents. Instead they're mid major programs that need a big payday to finance their athletic programs.

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Finally, Tennessee Tech Football Coach Watson Brown has entered a club that no major collegiate coach has entered which is nothing to be proud of.

With his team's 50-7 loss to Northern Iowa Saturday Night, Brown has entered the 200 Loss Club.

But I'll be the last to criticize Watson Brown because the fact that he's coached 29 seasons is amazing, and he's coached at schools that are anything but storied programs.

He's coached at Cincinnati, Rice, Vanderbilt, UAB, and Tennessee Tech therefore, it's hard to move up the wins ladder.

Brown was 4-18 at Rice from 1983-84.

He moved on to Vanderbilt in 1986-90 and was 10-45.

UAB was his next stop and one of his longest from 1995-2006 and was one of his better acts, compiling a 62-74 record.

His latest stop on the coaching trail is at Tennessee Tech which began in 2007. He's currently 1-3 this season and 34-49.

Brown's overall record is now 128-200-1.

His first coaching job began in 1979 with Austin Peay and that lasted two years. He produced back-to-back 7-4 campaigns with a 14-8 record. That was his only winning stop.

In 1983, he was 4-6-1 in his lone season with Cincinnati.

Despite the record, Brown is coaching at the age of 64.

There is no telling how many young men he's had a positive influence in their lives both as a head and assistant coach.

But the guy has to have done something right to stay in the coaching profession this long.

He's the older brother of former Texas Longhorns Coach Mack Brown.

The Brown brothers have 372 wins and counting. Mack is 3-0 in their head-to-head match-ups, but I wouldn't be surprised if he got advice from his older brother in every aspect of coaching in addition to dealing with the student athletes.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.