- Joined
- Jul 31, 2010
- Messages
- 8,874
Are Rams the NFL's toughest team?
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/23490/are-rams-the-nfls-toughest-team
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- There's no quantifiable way to measure toughness in the NFL and, if we're being honest, every team is tough because it requires an incredible amount of the stuff just to play a game that is so physical and violent.
But ESPN's Tedy Bruschi attempted to find a way to translate toughness into numbers late last week, and the results were good for the St. Louis Rams.
Bruschi's formula involves a look at offensive yards before and after contact, defensive yards allowed before and after contact and opponents' kick and punt return average allowed.
Bruschi then took each team's ranking in all of those categories and averaged them out with the lowest number the best.
As it turned out, according to Bruschi's homemade metric, the Rams are the NFL's toughest team with a score of 7.33. The Oakland Raiders came in second and the New England Patriots were third.
Of course, the events of this past Sunday have some wondering whether toughness is actually akin to dirty. Rams coach Jeff Fisher and Vikings coach Mike Zimmer have exchanged comments on whether cornerback Lamarcus Joyner's hit on Minnesota quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was a cheap shot. Former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison also interjected with Fisher firing back at him on Monday night.
Braschi weighed in on that in his ESPN SportsNation chat as well, also offering strong words about how good the Rams defense is.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/23490/are-rams-the-nfls-toughest-team
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- There's no quantifiable way to measure toughness in the NFL and, if we're being honest, every team is tough because it requires an incredible amount of the stuff just to play a game that is so physical and violent.
But ESPN's Tedy Bruschi attempted to find a way to translate toughness into numbers late last week, and the results were good for the St. Louis Rams.
Bruschi's formula involves a look at offensive yards before and after contact, defensive yards allowed before and after contact and opponents' kick and punt return average allowed.
Bruschi then took each team's ranking in all of those categories and averaged them out with the lowest number the best.
As it turned out, according to Bruschi's homemade metric, the Rams are the NFL's toughest team with a score of 7.33. The Oakland Raiders came in second and the New England Patriots were third.
Of course, the events of this past Sunday have some wondering whether toughness is actually akin to dirty. Rams coach Jeff Fisher and Vikings coach Mike Zimmer have exchanged comments on whether cornerback Lamarcus Joyner's hit on Minnesota quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was a cheap shot. Former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison also interjected with Fisher firing back at him on Monday night.
Braschi weighed in on that in his ESPN SportsNation chat as well, also offering strong words about how good the Rams defense is.