#35: Better Defense: 2000s Ravens or Seahawks Legion of Boom

Defense wins championships. It’s the most cliche phrase in football (alongside it’s a game of inches). This episode we compare two of the greatest defenses of the latest 20 years, the Legion of Boom Seahawks with the 2000s Ravens.

The LOB, or Legion of Boom, were different in the fact that they were spearheaded by their DBs, specifically Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, and Kam Chancellor. With a pair of Linebackers in KJ Wright and Bobby Wagner, and a cast of solid rushers led by Michael Bennet, they had talent at all 11 positions and all 3 levels, which led to a great defense. Their best year was probably 2013 where they won the super bowl and picked off nearly twice as many passes as touchdowns allowed through the air in the regular season. In their 3-5 year run, they went to back to back Super Bowls and won one of them, demolishing one of the most statically proficient scoring offenses in the 2013 Broncos.

The Ravens defense’s best year statistically was 2000, where they won the Super Bowl and were led by a young Ray Lewis and a veteran Rod Woodson. We take a look at their entire 2000s run though, as Ed Reed was drafted in 2002 and Terell Suggs in 2003 to complete a 3 headed monster that collected 4 Defensive Player of the Year Awards in 12 years (2 by Ray, 1 for Reed and Suggs each) in that span of dominance. 2 Super Bowls in 2 appearances 11 years apart isn’t bad either.

But who was better? It’s always hard to compare eras, but looking at the way they were built (Ravens with HOFs at each level that were all first round picks), vs. the LOB (many of them draft steals on their rookie contracts and a team defense that gelled well) it provides for a fun comparison. Let us know which defense you in on via Instagram @in_n_outpodcast or email us at [email protected] to lets us know!

LOB highlights
The 2000 Super Bowl, where the Ravens defense forced 5 turnovers on a way to a dominating performance.

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