Dr. Z Sports Illustrated picks Vikes for Super Bowl

[nathaniel]

Is he talking about actual rushing yards or is he talking percentages? Teams may not rush against you as much because of your horrible secondary, but you still have to stop the rushes they do attempt. If he's talking yardage, his point might be valid, but if he's talking percentages, then maybe not. After all, Green Bay's defense was considered one of the best in the league last year, but when all the numbers were finalised we ended up as the 11th best defense in the entire league. Really good, but not necessarily elite.

Correct. The Vikings D was second in yards per rush attempt last year and 14th in yards per pass. That is a much better way to rank the defense.

I would like to see a link putting GB at 11 though. Everything I have seen puts them at 8 or 9 overall.

EDIT: NEver mind, I see where you got it. That is the ranking on nfl.com when you view game stats overall. In all actuality it is just the yards per game. Again, a poor way of ranking a team.

FYI: In points per game, GB is #6 and Minnesota is #12. That is probably the most important stat. :wink:

Yeah, nfl.com is where I got it. Thats the thing; which stat do people take the most seriously when looking over a team? Points per game, to me, is the most important one. A team can run 99 yards down the field and get stuffed at the line, making the 99 yards essentially meaningless.