Is this Defense better than 05 and 06?

(Edit- I added 1985 stats for fun)

As I watched the game and read some tweets randomly throughout, I started to hear and see things that caused me to pose the question above. Is the 2012 Defensive edition of the Chicago Bears better than their couter parts from 2005 and 2006? There is no question I would accept either overall record from the previous teams 11-5 and 13-3 respectively. Does it all come down to record? Many have said that the 05 group was better than the 06 group but the 06 group had the better record and the Super Bowl apperance. So there is really the only way to find out and that is to dive into the stats. All stat information can be found here at Pro Football Reference. To keep it fair I've left in the Offensive numbers to show the contrast in Defensive numbers. Basically if the Offense was bad the Defense may look worse than they actually were.

2005- Through 7 weeks

Record: 3-3

				Score		Offense					Defense
Week			Opp	Bears	Opp	1stD	TotYd	PassY	RushY	TO	1stD	TotYd	PassY	RushY	TO
1	L	@	Washington Redskins	7	9	11	166	125	41	2	18	323	159	164	3
2	W		Detroit Lions	38	6	18	336	149	187		14	234	205	29	5
3	L		Cincinnati Bengals	7	24	16	255	149	106	6	11	244	161	83	1
4			Bye Week
5	L	@	Cleveland Browns	10	20	16	266	90	176	3	15	278	202	76	2
6	W		Minnesota Vikings	28	3	16	192	97	95	3	16	283	203	80	2
7	W		Baltimore Ravens	10	6	17	276	133	143		12	199	133	66

2006- Through 7 weeks

Record: 6-0

				Score		Offense					Defense
Week			Opp	Bears	Opp	1stD	TotYd	PassY	RushY	TO	1stD	TotYd	PassY	RushY	TO
1	W	@	Green Bay Packers	26	0	18	361	252	109	1	14	267	164	103	3
2	W		Detroit Lions	34	7	22	383	294	89	1	15	245	199	46	3
3	W	@	Minnesota Vikings	19	16	19	325	274	51	2	11	286	189	97	2
4	W		Seattle Seahawks	37	6	21	362	219	143	0	14	230	153	77	2
5	W		Buffalo Bills	40	7	23	351	195	156	1	10	145	87	58	5
6	W	@	Arizona Cardinals	24	23	9	168	130	38	6	17	286	220	66	2
7			Bye Week

2012- Through 7 Weeks

Record: 5-1

				Score		Offense					Defense
Week			Opp	Bears	Opp	1stD	TotYd	PassY	RushY	TO	1stD	TotYd	PassY	RushY	TO
1	W		Indianapolis Colts	41	21	26	428	314	114	1	22	356	293	63	5
2	L	@	Green Bay Packers	10	23	11	168	74	94	4	19	321	215	106	2
3	W		St. Louis Rams	23	6	20	274	171	103	1	12	160	101	59	2
4	W	@	Dallas Cowboys	34	18	18	360	267	93	1	26	430	389	41	5
5	W	@	Jacksonville Jaguars	41	3	26	501	287	214	1	10	189	129	60	3
6			Bye Week
7	W		Detroit Lions	13	7	19	296	125	171	0	21	340	241	99	4

1985- Through 7 Weeks

Record- 7-0

					Score		Offense					Defense
Week				Opp	Tm	Opp	1stD	TotYd	PassY	RushY	TO	1stD	TotYd	PassY	RushY	TO
1	boxscore	W		Tampa Bay Buccaneers	38	28	27	436	251	185	3	17	307	141	166	2
2	boxscore	W		New England Patriots	20	7	18	369	209	160	2	10	206	179	27	4
3	boxscore	W	@	Minnesota Vikings	33	24	21	480	353	127	1	23	445	411	34	5
4	boxscore	W		Washington Redskins	45	10	16	250	159	91	1	19	376	184	192	3
5	boxscore	W	@	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	27	19	22	433	286	147	3	19	373	346	27	3
6	boxscore	W	@	San Francisco 49ers	26	10	22	372	183	189	1	11	183	116	67	2
7	boxscore	W		Green Bay Packers	23	7	24	342	167	175	4	16	319	223	96	5

Here is a breakout of the averages; I highlighted the best stat:

Year	Score		Offense					Defense
	Bears	Opp	1stD	TotYd	PassY	RushY	TO	1stD	TotYd	PassY	RushY	TO
2005	16.66	11.3	15.66	248.5	123.83	124.66	2.8	14.33	260.16	177.16	83	2.166
2006	30	9.83	18.66	325	227.33	97.66	1.83	13.5	243.16	168.66	74.5	2.83
2012	27	13	20	337.83	206.33	131.5	1.33	18.33	299.33	228	71.3	3.5

Year	Score		Offense					Defense
	Bears	Opp	1stD	TotYd	PassY	RushY	TO	1stD	TotYd	PassY	RushY	TO
1985	30.28	15	21.42	383.14	229.71	153.42	2.14	16.42	315.57	228.35	87	3.42

As you look at the averages a few things jumped out to me Offensively the 2012 Bears lead all stat categories with the exception of pass yards per game. On Defense the 2006 squad is tops with the exception of Rush yards and turnovers.

So to answer the question I posed this defense is better than 2005 but not 2006 statistically. So what are your thoughts?

This FanPost was written by a Windy City Gridiron member, and does not necessarily reflect the ideas or opinions of its staff or community.

Poll

What defense do you think was the best?

2005 (4 votes)

11%

2006 (5 votes)

28%

2012 (12 votes)

50%

1985 (Ditka) (21 votes)

42 total votes

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