So this is a persuasive essay I did for my English 101 class, and also plays into my love for the Ravens. It was a fun argument to make, and I think it's solid. Leave your thoughts in the commentary!


“Offense wins games, Defense wins championships.” It is a universal sports aphorism, and can be applied to many sports. But it holds especially true for the game of football. A fine example is on January 28th, 2001, in Tampa Bay, Florida. On that day the Baltimore Ravens played the New York Giants, and trounced them 34-7. There were scores on offense, defense, and special teams, but the most curious score was the one not made. The Giants never actually scored on offense, their only touchdown a 97 yard kickoff return. The Ravens defense held them to a paltry 152 yards, and forced 5 turnovers, solidifying their place as one of the greatest defenses in history. But what who cares about defense, people go to watch football for the Tom Brady’s and the Peyton Manning’s and the Drew Brees’, not for the defense. But fly as high as you like, throw as many touchdowns as you please, a great defense can slow down any quarterback, no matter how good. In the end, defense often proves itself vastly important, and having the best defense of the year, much less the best of the decade or even all time, is a title of honor.

Using data found from nfl.com, it becomes very easy to see the success of defensive teams. Since the 2000 season, 22 teams have played for the Lombardi trophy. Of those teams a whopping 17, or 77%, had defenses in the top ten. The Champions? 8/11 were in the top ten, and 7 of those in the top three. Such clearly shows that defense does indeed win championships. So what makes a truly great defense? A legendary defense? It becomes the fodder of fans and analysts. But few would argue that that 2000 Ravens Baltimore Ravens defense and the 1985 Bears defense deserve to be near the forefront. There were other good defenses that show up on many lists, such as the 1976 Steelers or the 1986 Bears. But those teams never made it to the Super Bowl. The Ravens and those '85 Bears did make it to the game, and they won the championships. However, they took two very different routes to do so.

The 1985 Bears are known as one of the greatest teams of all time. They went 15-1 in the regular season, and burned up opponents with the number 2 offense, and consistently overpowered opposing offense with their top ranked defense. They were the number 1 seed in the NFC and shut out both their opponents en-route to a 41-10 win over the New England Patriots. The Baltimore Ravens struggled behind a mediocre offense, not scoring a single offensive touchdown in 5 games, and still winning two of them. They finished 12-4 on the season and took a wild card spot. In 4 games, including Superbowl XXXV, their defense allowed 16 points, and special teams another 7. There's no question both teams are fantastic, and their defenses incredible. But the Ravens had better statistics, had to make up for a much poorer offense, and had an air intangible fortitude about them that makes the Baltimore Ravens defense of the 2000 season the very best ever.

The most easily quantified statistical advantage is, well, the statistics. The entirety of this statistical section was done using a side by side comparison of stats from www.pro-football-reference.com. The Baltimore Ravens defense allowed just 248 yards a game. The '85 Bears allowed only ten yards more a game with 258. This really sets a trend in the statistics, with the Ravens performing slightly better than the Bears. Over their seasons, the Ravens and Bears allowed 165 and 198 points respectively, in the only stat that really matters. But looking at the other stats, a Ravens front led by defensive tackles Sam Adams and Tony Siragusa with Michael McCrary and Rob Burnett at defensive end allowed only 970 yards rushing, for a whoppingly low 2.7 yard average. The Bears with Hall of Famers Dan Hampton and Richard Dent along with Steve McMichael and infamous rookie William “the Refrigerator” Perry, allowed 1319 yards with a 3.7 average, a full yard more per carry. To credit the Bears though, they held passing teams to a total of 2816 yards and a 5.3 average, half a yard and 171 yards better than the Ravens pass defense. In terms of defensive turnovers, the Bears did slightly lead the Ravens with 54 turnovers to 49, but that is the only other category they hold an advantage. In terms of touchdowns, 1st downs, and offensive yards allowed average, the Ravens come slightly ahead, and prove that statistically, they were indeed the better defense.

Now even though the Ravens were statistically better, the 1985 Bears were a much better team overall. The “Monsters of Midway” had a fantastic season, winning 15 of 16 games, their only loss to legendary Dan Marino in one of the best games of his career. The Ravens on the other hand often struggled, winning 12 games and taking a wild card route to their championship. Why the difference? The difference is entirely on the offenses. The Bears had the number 2 overall offense, the Ravens had the 16th. The bears scored 28.5 points a game to the Ravens' 20.8, and forced teams to play from behind. “We know we were absolutely the best defense ever,” [Ravens 2000 defensive end Michael] McCrary said. “The Bears, they were blowing teams out, so they forced teams to pass. Anybody can go after the QB if you know they’re going to pass.” (Mink)

In terms of offensive stats, the Bears had the 20th ranked pass offense, the Ravens had the 22nd. However, when you look at the yards per attempt, you see the Bears were extremely efficient, with 6.5 yards on each attempt, good for 4th in the league. The Ravens offense averaged a paltry 5.1 yards an attempt, good for only 24th of 32 teams. The Bears also had the top rushing attack, number 1 in all categories with Walter Payton as their RB. Baltimore was 5th, with rookie Jamal Lewis and Priest Holmes in the backfield. Both teams had good running games, and good running backs. But Walter Payton could be considered a bit more than good. During the 1985 season he rushed for over 1500 yards, and was selected to the Pro Bowl and as an All-Pro selection, a feat he would accomplish 8 other times in his career. As footballworld.com puts it, “Any list of the greatest running backs of all time would be incomplete without Payton on it.” (Alder) Jamal Lewis, while rushing for 1300 yards, was not selected to the Pro Bowl, and will probably not be named a Hall of Famer.

This does beg the question of why the offense even matters to a defense, and especially the running game. The answer is simple. Clock control. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Football explains that the running game controls the clock, and clock control keeps the offense on the field longer.(Joe Theismann) When a runner goes down in bounds, time is taken off the clock, and the defense is forced to play less snaps. It's not uncommon for a defense on the wrong side of a time of possession battle to look, feel, and play exhausted. So if you're an offense that needs to run the ball, control the clock, and force opponents to catch up, you want to have a guy like Walter Payton running the ball for your offense. The Ravens had a similar style, but not nearly the personnel to employ it effectively, or even a quarterback who could win when the defense wasn't enough. Perhaps the most telling stat of all is the comparisons of first downs. The Ravens made 288 first downs in their season, the Bears getting another set of downs 55 times more over their season. Despite that mediocre offensive play, the Ravens D surrendered 216 first downs, 20 less than Buddy Ryan's 46 defense.

Hard statistical data is an easy way to show fact and do comparisons in a quantifiable manner. But stats don't always show what happens behind the numbers, the play of teams, the emotions that course through each player when they storm into the locker room on the high of victory, or trudge off to the showers with bitter defeat still fresh on their tongues. Both teams struggle, both teams fought, and both protected their rugged reputations as hard-nosed run first teams. But the Ravens defense had to play for their team. The heart and soul of the team wasn't quarterback Trent Dilfer, as is traditional. It was middle linebacker Ray Lewis, the only member of that Raven's team still playing today, and widely recognized as a future first ballot Hall of Famer. Chicago was, and still is, and entrenched staple of the football world, steeped in tradition from the days when players wore leather helmets, when Evansville had a team, and well before the AFL and NFL merged to become the nine billion dollar industry it is today. In contrast, the Ravens were actually a relocated Cleveland Browns team, the owner Art Modell having moved the team in 1996 to Baltimore. (Leone) There was a lot of unrest and anger in Cleveland that their team, only 5 years removed, was able to play for the Super Bowl title. The '85 Bears Defensive Coordinator Buddy Ryan revolutionized defenses with his “46 Defense,” which killed the run and forced quarterbacks to throw in an era where passing took a back seat to runners. This new style was completely new, very different, and forced teams to play in ways they couldn't effectively. In comparison, the Ravens found dominance using well known defensive tactics. No new formations, no tricks, no real advantages over any other defense. As defensive end Michael McCrary put it, “Fans only got to see about 25 percent of our defensive plays. We had blitzes that you wouldn’t believe. Because we were always in games that were close, we had to play conservative, because one play, if we got beat, could cost us the game.” (Mink) And yet in the face of all that adversity, they were able to push through, and become champions.

As stated earlier, the Bears played a magical season to finally win it all, and are considered one of the greatest teams of all time. Baltimore rose from nothing, a surprise out of left field and never believed in until they were hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, triumphant over all who had doubted them. They carried an offense that failed to score an offense touchdown in 5 games. On the dominance of that defense and the foot of kicker Matt Stover, the Ravens pulled out 2 of those games on field goals alone. That kind of performance is rare, and is truly legendary. The game is a team sport. An offense cannot win alone, and a defense cannot win alone. But they can compensate for each other. The 2009 Saints had a defense that allowed a lot, but an offense that scored enough points to overcome their opponents. On the polar opposite, the Ravens scored just enough points on offense to let their defense hold opponents back, sliding through on heart attack endings and razor thin margins. The Bears put both together, and were rightfully dominant. In the end though, looking at their stats on both sides of the ball, and the circumstances surrounding them, the Ravens proved themselves the better defense. If the two teams played today, at their peak? The Bears would most likely win. But not because of a better defense. Because when you compare yourself to that 2000 Baltimore Ravens squad, there is no better defense.















Reference Page


Alder, James. Walter Payton. n.d. <http://football.about.com/od/legends/p/Walter-Payton.htm>.
Joe Theismann, Brian Tarcy. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Football. Penguin, 2001.
Leone, Richard C. Leone and Katherine C. Our Browns, Forever. 21 January 2001. 5 December 2011 <http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/21/opinion/our-browns-forever.html?ref=artmodell>.
Mink, Ryan. http://blogs.baltimoreravens.com/2010/10/30/super-bowl-defense-still-on-top/. 30 October 2010. 24 November 2011.
Pro-football-reference.com. n.d. <http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/chi/1985.htm>.
pro-football-reference.com. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/rav/2000.htm. n.d.