Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips waited a long time for his first Super Bowl ring. And now he'll wait a little longer because his ring had a major flaw. IRVING -- Something that got lost in the Cowboys' 27-13 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon is Wade Phillips tying his father, Bum Phillips, with 82 career victories.Phillips tried to downplay the significance of tying his dad, but later said, "It proves I've been in it a long time. Now we have Wade Phillips back as our defensive coordinator. Wade Boggs. Position: Third Baseman Bats: Left • Throws: Right 6-2, 190lb (188cm, 86kg) .
I'm going to focus on the defensive stats that I think are the most relevant and I am going to view the stats in terms of league rank (I can give you actual values in the comments if you want them).
Thankfully, we have the best CB duo that Wade has ever coached playing for us, so for the 2015 Broncos pressure should equate to low opponent QB ratings.What separates a great defense from a good defense? Phillips has worked as either a head coach or defensive coordinator in the NFL for 36 years of his coaching career. Plant HS (Tampa, FL) Debut: April 10, 1982 (Age 23-299d, 12,178th in MLB history) Playing career. That team only had 53 sacks, but teams did not throw that much against them because they were in the bottom third of the league in terms of stopping the run.Now we have Wade Phillips back as our defensive coordinator. There have been some really bad units (and the 3-4 is known for having glaring holes if it's played poorly), but these have generally been the exception and not the rule. Interestingly, despite being able to generate many sacks, Wade's defenses have been generally poor at stopping the opposing QB from succeeding. This led to defenses that were very good in terms of stopping the other team from gaining yardage and generally poor at forcing turnovers. He served as head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers from 1975 to 1980 and the New Orleans Saints from 1981 to 1985. Wrap your mind around what Wade's defense is going to be able to do this year with two of the premier edge rushers currently in the NFL (and Shane Ray who may or may not become one of the premier edge rushers in the NFL). The average league rank for his defenses since 1995 in forcing turnovers is 16th.
Four of his fourteen defenses have been in the bottom five of the league in forcing turnovers.Wade's defenses have never led the league in points allowed (going back only to 1996). The 2006 Chargers were his best team in terms of total sacks with 61 (3.8 per game) - 9.1% of all dropbacks against the Chargers that year ended in a sack.
The ability to force turnovers. What have his defenses been able to accomplish statistically? Wade Phillips (born June 21, 1947) is an American football coach who is the former defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). Plant HS (Tampa, FL).. High School: H. B. The line of thought generally follows that teams which can pressure the QB effectively will force more turnovers (interceptions and strip sacks). His team's average ranking in sack% since 1995 is 8th. His defenses were great at stopping the other team from gaining yards (we were 2nd, 16th and 1st in yards allowed per play in his three years) but not so great at stopping the other team from scoring points (we were 16th, 22nd and 4th in points allowed).Wade Phillips is a great defensive coordinator, right?
Only twice in 14 seasons has his team NOT been in the top half of the league in sack%.
The average YPP ranking for Wade's defenses is 14th - same as points allowed.The statistical area where Wade's defenses have consistently done the best is sacks. While Wade's defenses have done a good job generating sacks (next section), they have not generally done a good job of forcing turnovers.
Frankly, I was expecting that number to be better. Over these 14 seasons, the average ranking for his D in scoring is 14th.
His stingiest D was 2009 Cowboys who allowed only 15.6 points per game. I think he's one of the greatest coaches that I've ever been around. I mean, he's my hero. This is a valid criticism of the defenses that Wade has coached since 1995. That's the prevailing sentiment in Bronco Country, but what does that mean?