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SPORTS Thursday, January 3, 2019 East Oregonian B3 Modern NFL makes it harder for D to lead way to title By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer From Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain in the 1970s to Chi- cago’s Monsters of the Mid- way in the ‘80s to Seat- tle’s Legion of Boom more recently, dominant defenses have often been the story of the NFL postseason. High-powered offenses might generate the high- lights, the fantasy points and victories in the regular sea- son. But more often than not the top defenses have man- aged to hold those dynamic offenses in check when the weather turns colder and the games get more important in the postseason. Yet, after one of the most prolific offensive reg- ular seasons in NFL his- tory, the question is can defenses still lead the way to a championship? “I have no idea,” said San Francisco cornerback Richard Sherman, a key member of Seattle’s 2013 championship defense. “I don’t think the league really wants that or cares to have that thing again. They care more about offensive foot- ball, so that’s what they’ll get. To have a special defen- sive group to play that well for so long would be very difficult to do because of the style of defense and the rules. ... I think it’s going to be harder and harder to make the Hall of Fame from defense.” Playing defense in the NFL perhaps has never been harder, with the intim- idating hits on receivers and quarterbacks now outlawed, even the most minor down- field contact resulting in penalties, and quarterbacks more accurate and efficient than ever while running the new spread offenses. This year featured the highest passer rating (92.9), most yards per play (5.6) and second-most points per game (46.7) in NFL his- tory. It seems like play- ing great defense is almost impossible. “You can’t use it as an AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron, File In this Dec. 23, 2018, file photo, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens (4) is hit by Chicago Bears defensive end Akiem Hicks, left, and outside linebacker Khalil Mack during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif. excuse because they still let us hit, OK?” said Dal- las defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, an assistant on the 2002 Tampa Bay team that won a Super Bowl behind its defense. “I’ve always believed in the speed of the defense. And that’s the hitting. They’ve got holes. We’ve got to hit the holes. We’ve got to hit them. And we’ve got to make it a physical game. We’ve got be smart, helmet to helmet, got to be smart on the quarterback, some of those things. And you try to teach it, keep our speed and playing fast. Some of the things down the field, push-offs and all that stuff, it’s tough.” The story of this NFL season has been the offenses, with the highlight being a 54-51 win for the Los Angeles Rams over the Kansas City Chiefs back in November. That’s been part of a sea- son that had first-year starter AP Photo/Harry Hall, File In this Jan. 12, 1975, file photo, Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Joe Greene (75) gets ready to block a pass as Minnesota Vikings’ Andy Maurer (66), Ed White (62), Mick Tingelhoff (53) and Ron Yary (73) protect quarterback Fran Tarkenton (10) during NFL football’s Super Bowl IX in New Orleans. Steelers’ L.C. Greenwood is at top right. Patrick Mahomes throwing for 50 TD passes and more than 5,000 yards for Kansas City, Drew Brees set more records at age 39 in New Orleans, Tom Brady main- tains his winning ways in his 40s for New England, and Sean McVay’s offense tormenting opposing teams all year long for the Rams. But those teams that fea- ture four of the five most efficient offenses in the league, according to Foot- ball Outsiders, and defenses that have been far less con- sistent will get the opening weekend of the postseason off. That will provide a bit of a throwback look on wild- card weekend with many of the league’s top defenses taking center stage in hopes that they can get on a run like the one the Denver Broncos had three years ago to win a Super Bowl. “I think it’s still defi- nitely possible,” said Bron- cos linebacker Todd Davis, a member of that title-win- ning team. “I don’t feel like it has to be (54-51). It really doesn’t. I feel like you can really stop teams if you play close defense, you play tight on receivers, play great in man coverage and you can really stop people.” Many of the teams play- ing this weekend have shown that ability this sea- son, led by the NFL’s top- ranked scoring defense in Chicago. An already-strong unit only got better with the acquisition of elite pass rusher Khalil Mack before the season. With Mack and Akiem Hicks wreaking havoc up front and Eddie Jackson and Kyle Fuller provid- ing big plays from the sec- ondary, the Bears appear to have the defense best equipped for a long postsea- son run, starting with Sun- day’s home game against defending champion Phila- delphia Eagles. “Dominant, that’s it,” Hicks said. “We are aggres- sive. We like to hit. All the stuff that I was (saying) before the season started, we’re everything that we said we were. And hope- fully we can get to another level for these playoffs.” The Bears aren’t alone. Six of those 10 most effi- cient defenses are playing this weekend: Baltimore, Houston, the Chargers, Dal- las and Indianapolis. Ball-control offense and dominant defense have been a tried-and-true formula for teams like Baltimore and Seattle, who have combined for three Super Bowl cham- pionships and five appear- ances in the title game this century with that recipe. The Seahawks still have that capability despite the absence of most of the stal- warts from the Legion of Boom such as Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chan- cellor, Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril. But Bobby Wagner remains at middle line- backer, Frank Clark has been an elite pass rusher, and coach Pete Carroll’s scheme is still effective after all these years. “You either believe in something or you don’t,” Carroll said. “I think just staying the course and knowing we’re on to some- thing. Believing in the his- tory. We know what we’re capable of doing. We’ve shown it over a lot of years. You’re always adapting, but it’s staying what you’re true to. I think that’s what is hap- pening. We look like a team that we have seen before, and that’s powerful.” Seahawks place safety Delano Hill on injured reserve By TIM BOOTH Associated Press Scott Clause/The Daily Advertiser via AP New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas makes a catch during an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in New Orleans. Saints, Rams and Bears finish as top 3 in AP poll By SIMMI BUTTAR Associated Press NEW YORK — The chase to Atlanta is on. The regular season is over and there are 12 teams remain- ing in the run to the Super Bowl. And at the top of the AP Pro32 poll, the new year starts right where the previous one ended. The New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears, the top three seeds in the NFC, retained their top three spots in the final AP Pro32 poll of the season. New Orleans received 11 of the 12 first-place votes for 382 points in balloting on Wednes- day by media members who reg- ularly cover the NFL. New Orle- ans will open the playoffs at home in the divisional round on Sunday, Jan 13. “The Saints lost in Week 1 and Week 17, both at home,” said Ira Kaufman of Fox 13 in Tampa, Florida. “In between, Drew Brees and company estab- lished themselves as the team to beat in the Super Bowl chase.” The Rams, who also finished 13-3 in the regular season, will start their postseason at the Coli- seum on Saturday, Jan. 12. The Bears will close wild- card weekend when they host the defending Super Bowl cham- pion Eagles on Sunday. The next six spots in the poll are all taken by the AFC’s play- offs teams. The Chiefs, who have the AFC’s top seed, are No. 4. Kan- sas City, which received the remaining first-place vote — from John Czarnecki of Fox Sports — has won the AFC West for three consecutive seasons. Patrick Mahomes, who fin- ished with 5,097 yards and 50 TD passes, will try to get Kansas City its first home playoff win since the 1993 season. “MVP front-runner Patrick Mahomes finished a brilliant first season as a starter with 50 touch- down passes,” said Newsday’s Bob Glauber. “With home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs, is a Super Bowl berth next?” The Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots fin- ished in a tie at No. 5 in the poll. The Patriots, who won the AFC East for the 10th straight season and 15th time in the past 16 seasons, are the No. 2 seed in the AFC. They are try- ing to reach their ninth Super Bowl in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era. They are also trying to become the first team since the 1990s Buffalo Bills to return to the Super Bowl after losing it the previous season, and the first since the 1992 Bills to make a third successive trip to the big game. The Chargers, despite fin- ishing with the same record as the Chiefs at 12-4, lost the tie- breaker and are the No. 5 seed in the AFC. They will head to Bal- timore to face the AFC North champion Ravens on Sunday. The Ravens are No. 9 in the poll. AFC South rivals Houston and Indianapolis are Nos. 7 and 8 in the poll. Those teams will open the postseason in Houston on Saturday when they meet for the third time after splitting their previous meetings. “Just wish they had another WR,” Czarnecki said of the Tex- ans. Houston’s DeAndre Hop- kins finished second in the NFL with 1,572 yards, but the depth took a hit when Demaryius Thomas was lost for the season with an Achilles tendon injury. Seattle and Dallas, who meet Saturday night in Texas, are 10th and 11th in the poll. The Sea- hawks and Cowboys both fin- ished 10-6. They met in Seattle in Week 3, when the Seahawks won 24-13. The team that made the big- gest climb from the first poll, which was released before the season started, was the Bears, who started out at No. 28 and finished at No. 3. And the team that had the biggest drop was the Jacksonville Jaguars, who began at No. 7 and ended up at No. 28. RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Sea- hawks placed safety Delano Hill on injured reserve after suffering a non-displaced frac- ture in his hip in the regular-season finale against Arizona. The loss of Hill is somewhat countered by the expectation that fellow safety Tedric Thompson will be able to play after missing the past two games with a pair of injuries. Seattle coach Pete Carroll said on Tues- day that Hill’s injury didn’t become appar- ent until the day after the Seahawks closed the regular season with a 27-24 win over the Cardinals. Hill started the final two games of the regular season at strong safety while Thompson was dealing with chest and ankle injuries that forced Bradley McDougald to switch to free safety. Hill had a fumble recovery in the Week 16 win over Kansas City and had five tack- les last week against the Cardinals. The loss of Hill will also have a trickle-down in some of Seattle’s special defensive pack- ages, as Hill has played extensively when the Seahawks have gone to six and some- times seven defensive backs. “He can get around and all that but he can’t play. He was playing great ball. ... He played his best game. He played really well, hits, running, tackling, all kinds of good stuff. Pressuring. So a very bright future for him.” The expected return of Thomp- son is an important boost for Seattle, but there remain questions about cornerback Shaquill Griffin after he suffered an ankle injury in the first half against Arizona. Car- roll said the hope is Griffin may be able to practice some on Thursday before the team leaves for Dallas. On the offensive line, D.J. Fluker will return to the lineup, but J.R. Sweezy is con- tinuing to rehab his sprained foot and will be a game-time decision. Carroll has said Sweezy’s injury is typically a three-to-four week recovery, but Sweezy is trying to return after being hurt in Week 16. “Sweezy is getting around pretty good. We’ll have to see. It’s going to go all the way until game time,” Carroll said. “He’s getting around OK. He’s not in a boot or any of that kind of stuff. He’s moving around, but he’s very positive he can make it back.”