30 greatest defenses in NFL history
10. ’73 Dolphins
While Don Shula’s Dolphins underwent the greatest NFL season in history in 1972, when they also had the league’s best defense, it was the season of 1973 where the defense proved to the world they were among the elite. Shula’s ‘No Name’ defense were ferocious. They suffocating offenses, giving them very little space to work with. They were particularly good against the pass, giving up the least yards through the air by more than 300 yards, and the least in history in a 14 game season.
Known as the No Name defense due to the publicity the offense received, the Dolphins’ success against opposing offenses was the brain child of Bill Arnsparger. The defensive coordinator is one of the greatest defensive minds ever to grace the NFL, inventing the zone blitz, which is so commonly seen in football nowadays. The Dolphins’ defense was also known as the 53 defense, due to the way Arnsparger used number 53, linebacker Bob Matheson.
Matheson became a 4th linebacker, the first use of a 3-4 formation, on the field. Arnsparger then created expansive blitz packages that included rushing linebackers and dropping linemen into coverage. It was the confusion of the quarterback, caused by the disguise of the zone blitz, that made this defense so good. Only one player is in the Hall of Fame, that is Nick Buoniconti, and only four went to the Pro Bowl, despite the Dolphins’ utter dominance. The No Name defense certainly gets the recognition it deserves in modern media, however, and is worthy of breaking the top 10.
Next: 9. '58 Giants