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With three of the past five Super Bowl winners ranked below average in total defense, it seems safe to wonder whether having a great defense is still a requisite to win it all in the NFL. As rule changes spurred by player safety concerns further handcuff defensive units in football, the old adage "defense wins championships" may be on its last legs.

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

Benjamin Franklin died in 1790, while the first football game is reported to have been played in 1869. Had he been alive in the football era, he might have added a few words to his famous quote: "...death, taxes and defense wins championships."

Defense wins championships. We have all heard it said and we believe it to be true for the most part. The wittier ones have even added to the adage by saying: "offense wins games, but defense wins championships." This has led my over-inquisitive mind to ponder the difference between games and championships much longer than was necessary.

A cliché is very much like a stereotype: a general statement about an observed trend, which perhaps stood true at the moment it was witnessed and stays engraved in our collective memory. Yet, as the trend evolves or changes, our minds are neither quick nor keen to do the same. Thus the truism endures, even when its veracity has waned.

With that in mind, I decided to test the consistency of one of the NFL's favorite sayings by taking a closer look at the regular season defensive ranks of the Super Bowl winners of the past 10 years. Does defense really always win championships? Let's take a look.

Among the many defensive statistics available nowadays, I chose to focus on four significant categories:

1) Yards allowed per game (YAG), commonly referred to as "Total Defense."

2) Number of points allowed per game (PAG), commonly referred to as "Scoring Defense."

3) Number of interceptions (Int.)

4) Number of fumbles recoveries (FR)

Read more: Defense Wins Championships... Sometimes - Canal Street Chronicles

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Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.

All little common sense goes a long way.