Offense or Defense?

[djnemo65]

What does the Giants win over the Patriots prove? The Patriots had a higher ranked defense than the Giants in 2007. While that stat is a tad misleading because of the degree to which their offense dominated time of possession, that game was not a triumph of defense over offense so much as health over injury, with a little bit of luck thrown in (helmet catch anyone?). How about mentioning the 2006 Colts who had the worst run defense of all time? The 04-09 Skins who have been largely dominant on defense and haven't won a thing. And the 09 Cardinals? Give me a break, they were a tremendous underdog who made it all the way to the Superbowl and almost won by outscoring people all through the playoffs. That proves that offense isn't important?

If we are looking at Superbowl winners you will be hard pressed to find a recent winner that wasn't extremely competitive on both sides of the ball. With a few historical anomalies (the 00 Ravens come to mind) that has always been the case. The Steelers had one of the great defenses last year, but they also have a top five quarterback in his prime, a solid line, and excellent skill position players. Their offense underachieved for a large part of last season due to injury, but they got it together for the playoffs and were able to move the ball. They also won the championship on a last minute drive after their defense failed in the clutch. The old adage defense wins championships ignores the degree to which things like rule changes favoring the offense have changed the complexion of the game.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that this question is superfluous. You gotta have both.