this is a tough one for me but i would have to say o-line they need to get you down the field and have your kicker kick it from the 60 to win :icon_smile: thats how the pats and colts done it now mind you the d-line helped that they were able to get the o-line off the field but when you look at the bears they went to the s.b why their d-line problem grossman didnt keep the o-line moving wore down the d-line game went in colts favor but they did have a good kicker still do.so i agree you need a balanced team not a lopsided :icon_smile:

The best case scenario is to have a top defense... Of course the old addage, "If you don't get scored on, you can't lose..." applies here.

However, how many times have you heard "It's better to be lucky than good"... I noticed on the list, ALL of the superbowl winning teams seem to have a very good defense except for last couple of years, but several teams with not as good offenses have won the superbowl...

So I'd say defense first.

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You misread the list then. The majority of the teams in Zombie's list had offenses and defenses in the top 10, and of those the majority had a higher offensive ranking than defensive. Great D, greater O.

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BTW.. thanks Zombie for the research.. +1

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I will throw a kudos in too. The research made a difference in the quality of this post.

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i wanna thank 93 for starting this thread. good discussion.

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NO, I didn't.

Look at the Ravens, Bucs and the Pats. Their offensive stats weren't too impressive yet they all won the superbowl. Their defenses were top notch.

Other than the last 2 years, Just about EVERY superbowl Champion had stellar defenses... Mind you, they all had great offenses as well, but, The 3 teams I mentioned above did win w/o a stellar offense.
However, There is not a case of the great offensive team who won the superbowl with a mediocre defense... Other than the Giants and the Colts... LAST 2 years.

We also can't really count the Giants because they got VERY hot at the end for the superbowl and rode the momentum throughout teh playoffs.

One more thing, of all the points that the team was credited for in this list, how many of the points scored came by the way of returns/defense?

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Excellent question. That could definitely skew the stats.

It's simple math. Count how many teams that won the Super Bowl had an offensive ranking higher than their defensive ranking. It's 11-6 in favor of a higher ranked offense.

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If Zombie used the official ranks it includes all scores because the NFL game book does not differentiate between an "offensive" and "defensive" score as any team in posession of the ball is defined as being the offense. This might be why many rankings are based on yards allowed/gained instead of points.

Edit: by that same token points allowed includes any int, fumbles, or returns for TDs or safeties taken AGAINST your team so it should even out.

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