Credit: Marvin Gentry-US PRESSWIRE
Offense sells tickets, and defense wins championships. It may be cliche, but teams like Alabama, LSU and Florida have proved it to be true over the past few years. The commitment to playing tough defense seems to be limited to teams in the SEC though, as the rest of the country seems to have decided that things like tackling opposing ball carriers and actively trying to prevent opponents from scoring just isn’t for them.
The mood of the fans seems to be undergoing a shift where they want to see scoring on every possession, turning every game into an absurd shootout where whomever has the ball last will win. I am here today to praise defense, and stand athwart the trend towards pinball like scoring that has become all too prevalent.
As a case study, let us examine two teams with identical 5-0 records that are currently ranked in the top 5; Alabama and West Virginia. Through 5 games West Virginia has allowed a total of 175 points, with an average of 35 points allowed per game. In contrast, Alabama through five games has allowed a total of 35 points, with an average of seven points allowed per game.
West Virginia surrenders four more touchdowns each game than does Alabama. These numbers illustrate the stark differences in philosophy that govern the two programs. Alabama prefers to use a balanced, methodical attack on offense, and attempts to physically dominate the opponent at the line of scrimmage, causing them to wilt over the course of 60 minutes. On defense the Crimson Tide also likes to physically punish opponents at the point of attack with their defensive lineman, and emphasizes sound tackling by the linebackers an defensive backs which forces offenses to earn every yard gained.
West Virginia, on the other hand, focuses their energy almost solely on the offensive side of the ball. The version of the Air Raid offense they run relies on a fast tempo, spreading the field, and precision passing. The defensive attitude seems to be one of simply getting off the field as quickly as possible and getting the ball back to the offense, whether it be by forcing a punt or (more often) surrendering a score.
A few weeks ago West Virginia beat Baylor by a score of 70-63 and the game was essentially unwatchable. The Scorched Couch defensive system that was on display was an affront to sound, fundamental football. That type of up-tempo offense and matador defense may be suited to winning Big 12 conference games in September, but is hardly built to win conference championships in December and national championships in January.
The problem with relying on a high octane, timing-based passing offense is that it cannot be relied on to fire on all cylinders week in and week out. Every team has a game or two each season where the offense just is not in synch and struggles to move the ball. Teams can withstand those games if they play tough defense, especially if the offense only has to manage two or three scores to be victorious. A sound defense can also force a turnover at a key moment, further lightening the load the offense must bear. When a team like West Virginia inevitably has their bad game on offense, they have no such luxury to bail them out. Though they face no danger of this in the Big 12, what happens when they run into a team with an actual defense that will not allow them to run up and down the field every possession?
They get beat. By having no semblance of a defense they do not allow themselves the opportunity to win ugly if need be.
To win a national championship, a team needs to get a few breaks as the season goes on. Alabama fans saw this in 2009 against Tennessee, thanks to Terrence Cody’s blocked field goals in a game where the offense was listless and flat. In 2011, Alabama again needed to catch a break after losing to LSU in a game that featured two excellent defenses. Iowa State provided that break when they beat an Oklahoma State team that featured a high-speed passing offense but did not bother to field a legitimate defense.
High scoring offenses may get the lead on the highlight shows, but I will remain content to cheer for a team that believes that if they can’t score, we can’t lose. Hopefully that philosophy will allow Alabama to collect a few more crystal footballs along the way.
I like their chances.
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