Peyton Manning cleared to play.

So a middle of the pack defense gets it done.....I don't see a lot of middle of the pack Quarterbacks getting it done.

I'll be happy with or without Manning because I have faith in Locker. But to say signing Manning would be the dumbest thing this franchise can do is pretty ignorant.

 

How does this compare to average offense rank? How about average passer rating ranking of the QB? I'm genuinely curious, its an interesting stat.

 

You have to be careful with those average numbers.....You have real high powered offenses in N.O., Ind, and GB that skew those numbers.

I do not like reading too much into numbers in sports. They never tell the whole story.

 

Off the top of my head, the last QBs to win Super Bowls are.....

Rogers
Brees
P Manning
E Manning
Brady
Big Ben

I do not know if I am missing any, but all of those guys played big parts in helping their team win. In fact, Brad Johnson with Tampa is where I would stop the list.

 

You can't infer that a middle of the pack defense is all you need to win a Super Bowl from that fact. By doing so, you are warping the information.

That number (13th) is simply an average. What it means is that some teams that win the Super Bowl have an awesome offense and a not-so-great defense, while some have an awesome defense and a mediocre offense. Some are good in both areas. It is simply an average and it says nothing about a "minimum" level of defense that you need to win the Super Bowl.

 

You're right, you can't infer that it is all you need, but it is a fact that teams with defenses ranked 13th or lower have indeed won the Superbowl in the past decade. This means that a top defense is not required. Obviously, if your defense is not great, you have to make up for it somewhere else (offense, special teams, luck, etc.).

Basically, the stats show that it's possible to make up for an average defense based on the teams from the last decade. I'm curious to see if many teams have made up for an average offense in that same period?

The other thing is ranking of defenses is really skewed. Some people rank them based on yards, others on points against. The first doesn't take red-zone defense and turnovers into account. The second doesn't take the game as a whole into account. Neither takes the opponent's offense into account. Both suck IMO.