NFL Lost Its Way Making Game So Offensive (Bob McGinn)

titmfatiedNo Code

This is one of those articles where it's probably best to just read the whole thing instead of the excerpts below. If I could have posted the whole thing I would have.

quote:
NFL has lost its way in making game so offensive
jsonline.com
by Bob McGinn on Sunday, October 7tb, 2012

Forgive me for giving no attention to Drew Brees being on the threshold of breaking Johnny Unitas' record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass.

All those individual and team records on offense mean nothing to me, at least when compared to marks established a decade or more ago.

It's a vastly different game now than it was 10 years ago, let alone 20, 30 or 40. The game isn't as good, either.

...

Nothing bothers a rusher more than when he chases a passer out of the pocket and the ball is tossed away at the last instant to avoid a sack. It can be done because of more liberal grounding rules.

...

Through four weeks, the NFL's average passer rating is 86.6. Using full-season figures, it was 83.2 in 2008, 78.4 in '03, 76.7 in '93 and 75.9 in '83.

Among those with career ratings below the current NFL average are Hall of Famers Dan Marino (86.4), Jim Kelly (84.4), Roger Staubach (83.4), Troy Aikman (81.6), Bart Starr (80.5), Dan Fouts (80.2), John Elway (79.9) and Unitas (78.2).

The four-game numbers for scoring (23.3), total yards (353.3) and passing yards (243.5) all are on record-breaking pace. Teams have chosen to run the ball an all-time low of 41.6% because every rule urges them to pass.

After the Saints game, the jolly Packers D-lineman Ryan Pickett said, "It's all for the offense. I hate it."

...

Now the league must be very careful not to legislate out too much violence. This is a society that wants to sit in on Sunday violence, and football is a game of injuries, anyway.

As you watch, if not dote on the NFL, just remember that it has been and could be a better game.continue

I feel exactly the same way. The grounding rules for the QB are maddening. I hate the crap where they can throw it into the feet of the RB behind the line on a screen when the defense actually has the play broken up or that any time they're out of the tackle box they're free to toss it away at will and start over with the same down and distance. Give the defense something. Let the QB protect himself but spot the ball where he threw it from.

It's ridiculous how rookie QB's come in with little fear of contact, sling the ball all over the place, and heaven forbid if the defense tackles RGIII, He's out there crying about the few legal hits he actually has to take when he runs down the field. He's been brought in to take over not overcome and he knows it. The NFL loves it's rags to riches stories and the rookie QB is the centerpiece of the forlorn franchises redemption.

I understand they want to protect the players but the balance of the game is off. There's something wrong when you can't build a great defense to take a team to the Superbowl.

Watching that old Ravens defense dominate was fun and when the Packers offense took on the challenge and took them to school it made for one of the most memorable games of the last 20 years,

The hard hitting safety position is nearly gone. We may never again see it come back even though the talent to play that way is still out there.

The left tackle position has also been seriously devalued because the holding is so persistent. It's hard to say there are elite left tackles anymore because they all hold so much you can't tell the great ones from the good ones.

Running backs don't matter as much because there's little need to wear a defense down when you can just chuck the ball all over the place.

Anytime the defense catches up with the offense they change the rules. I think they've gone so far against the defenses that there's no hope of them catching up anymore. A shootout used to be more memorable because they happened less often. Now it seems it's the rule more than the exception.

The rule bias also seems to have made the offenses stop innovating. Offensive coordinators used to be renowned for their creativity. There were more trick plays to try and crack the defense. Has a RB even thrown a ball in any game yet this year? I can only remember seeing one flea flicker so far this season. There's no need to be creative when the rules are so skewed in your favor.

It's not a bad game now but it's not the same game either. The exceptional becomes ordinary when everyone's doing it.

10/7/124:33 AM

Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

fightphoe93Member

Defenses are at a severe disadvantage nowadays. Officials are constantly calling game changing penalties in favor of the offense. Remembering that Eric Walden perfectly legal hit on Russell Wilson a couple weeks ago that was called roughing and wiped out a hard earned INT, that's the type of play ruining the NFL and cheapening it.

Those types of calls seem pretty typical in NFL games nowadays. It's pathetic, but I don't think there is any turning back. This is how it's going to be from here on out. Sad, but it 's just something we'll have to get used to, a much poorer product than what we used to see.

10/7/124:51 AM

FLPACKERMember

The college game is beginning to look like basketball on a football field! Load the skill positions with incredible athletes, spread the defense out, get your athletes in space & throw 3-7 yard passes to them & let them run. fast break all game long.

10/7/126:00 AM

trumpMember

agree with Tit except for the QB ability to just ground the ball ... a QB should be able to ground the ball as long as it is past the line of scrimmage or an offensive player is near it(screen). They lose the down, so it is not like it is a gimme, its the game of football ... I don't like legislating the degrees of incomplete passes.

I would give this is because I would then take away all that crap that the QB has been given ... if he runs out of the pocket he has to be fair game especially past the line of scrimmage.

Any changes has to begin with getting steroids and supplements out of football. get guys back down to some semblance of what they are suppose to be and not ballooned up monsters. Real football would return. The impacts would have a lesser degree of damage on joints and melons would not be bruised as much.

10/7/128:06 AM

FedyaMember

I'd take away from the offenses by assessing 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on all those wide receivers who make the flag-throwing gesture every time they think the DB committed pass interference.

Then again, there would probably be 15-yard penalties on every pass play, at least for a week or two.

10/7/128:12 AM

LarseeBearMember

I'm canceling Directv as soon as my two year contract is up.

I played football. This crap is unrecognizable. Everything is a razor's edge judgement call because of the bastardization of the rules. Make them all where skirts along with their pink accoutrements.

10/7/128:32 AM

Pikes PeakMember

For those scoring at home...there are currently approx 2000 suits by former players against the NFL. To think that the league is not aware of this fact and is not trying to adjust is product and thus perhaps lightening it's culpability is foolish. They are doing what they have to do....protecting their product.

And if I am not mistaken the NFL's popularity continues to grow and this to me indicates that the NFL has not lost it's way.

This is not to say that I like the new rules or style of play but we do not reside in the 1960's anymore. It is what it is.

10/7/129:10 AM

mr21mr21Member

quote:
Originally posted by FLPACKER:
The college game is beginning to look like basketball on a football field

I watched the Oregon Ducks game last night and this sums it up perfectly. Their strategy is to play no huddle and get as many plays in as possible. Defenses barely have time to get in place let alone make any substitutions before the ball is snapped.

10/7/129:58 AM

trumpMember

quote:
Originally posted by Pikes Peak:
For those scoring at home...there are currently approx 2000 suits by former players against the NFL. To think that the league is not aware of this fact and is not trying to adjust is product and thus perhaps lightening it's culpability is foolish. They are doing what they have to do....protecting their product.

And if I am not mistaken the NFL's popularity continues to grow and this to me indicates that the NFL has not lost it's way.

This is not to say that I like the new rules or style of play but we do not reside in the 1960's anymore. It is what it is.

Its popular just like reality TV programming, its mass appeal is due to marketing, fantasy football, pre-game entertainment bullcrap, an emphasis to women. Its just a numbers game and money when it comes to mass appeal now.

The game itself is NOT better, not by a long shot.

JMO.

EDIT: sorry Satori ... we were on the same page.

Oh and BTW, from the Old Skoolers ... NFLFU !!

10/7/1210:15 AM

TschmackMember

Northwestern and Purdue ran spread offenses earlier than Oregon although Oregon has taken it to the next level because of the kind of athletes they recruit.

Still, some of the best teams in college run traditional style offenses (see Alabama) but what has changed the most isnt the style of play in college football but the rules and penalties. The 5 yard chuck rule is one of them. Rules protecting hard hits on QBs and WRs make a big difference as well.

Everything at some point comes full circle. If you see QBs getting hurt by virtue of more dropbacks per game (and potential for more hits) then it'll swing back the other way with running the ball more often. The WCO was all the range 10 to 15 years ago but how many teams run it now?

10/7/1210:37 AM

FandameMember

I loved the old snot-flying, bone-crushing, body slamming, tape-all-over-the-hands-and-arms games of the past. Today it's almost like watching tennis: up and down the field, the spectators' heads on swivels as teams match score for score. Add the indoor stadiums and it's a cleaner (dirt-wise), more sterile, corporatized game. I think the fans don't feel as close to the teams, except in GB. It's become an antiseptic product that is thought first of all as a money generator. All of this is slowly sucking the soul out of the NFL.

The only "new" part I like over the past is the penalty for hitting the head. In the old,old days guys didn't use their helmets as much because the helmets weren't as good so they weren't weapons, and because I think players had a certain respect for each other. They hit, they knocked a guy out but didn't play to the crowd. Today that respect is gone. It's all about "the show." It think it was Lou Holtz who once told a player that it was okay for him to celebrate after doing something well, as long as he also celebrated after he screwed up so everyone would know where the fault lie. That showed some respect for the game, and I guess I'm looking for that attitude again.

10/7/1211:14 AM

CUPackFanMember

The NFL needs to do 3 things to even out the playing field:

1) Start to really focus on offensive holding. Offensive lineman are practically taught to hold pass rushers now b/c the odds of getting called are so low. Because holding protects the QB, it's considered ok by the NFL. In most cases, 5 offensive lineman shouldn't be able to block 4 pass rushers. 15 years ago, this was the case and to appropriately protect the QB, you had to leave a TE and RB in protection. Now, having 4 guys running routes is commonplace and having 5 guys is typical too (which rarely happened 15 years ago). This is because offensive lineman can hold all day long to protect the QB. Change this, and teams will respond by keeping an extra blocker in, thus giving the defense 1 more player in pass defense. And this isn't even a rule change, it's just enforcing an existing rule.

2) Allow the DB's to contact the receivers up to 10 yards. 5 yards is too little, as the WR only needs to beat the initial bump to get into his route. But give the DB 10 yards, and the DB can play defense throughout the route. The WR's would need more time to complete their route and get open, thus giving the pass rush more time to get to the QB. Of course, the PI rules would still be in place, where a DB can't hit a guy when the ball is in the air. But in that 10 yards, a DB has much more time to actually play defense. And this really doesn't increase injuries, as WR's don't usually get hurt due to contact in the initial 5 yards.

3) Lay off the personal fouls for hitting "defenseless receivers". Sorry, but the offense is part of the reason why players are put in danger. 15 years ago, few players would run across the middle of the field with such reckless abandon. Now, everyone does it and the results are two-fold: WR's are at more risk of concussion (ie: Austin Collie), and the defense is at risk of more penalties and fines. Fact is, guys shouldn't be running across the middle without risk of getting hit. QB's shouldn't be throwing those passes. And coaches shouldn't be calling those plays. The middle of the field used to be owned by the defense. Now it's owned by the offense.

#1 and #2 are no brainers to me. Neither increase injuries and either aren't changing a rule (in the case of #1) or are only expanding on an existing rule (in the case of #2). #3 will never happen but IMO, a WR should be scared to go over the middle. The league has taken that fear away and it's resulted in more injuries, more fines and more offense.

10/7/1211:30 AM

titmfatiedNo Code

quote:
Originally posted by Fandame:
I think players had a certain respect for each other. They hit, they knocked a guy out but didn't play to the crowd. Today that respect is gone.

Found this while I was looking up a video in the Unitas thread:

Art Donovan talks about the respect players had for each other in the the old days at 5 minutes 11 seconds

10/7/1211:43 AM

FandameMember

Thanks, Tit! You're awesome!

10/7/1211:57 AM

trumpMember

quote:
Originally posted by CUPackFan:
The NFL needs to do 3 things to even out the playing field:

1) Start to really focus on offensive holding. Offensive lineman are practically taught to hold pass rushers now b/c the odds of getting called are so low. Because holding protects the QB, it's considered ok by the NFL. In most cases, 5 offensive lineman shouldn't be able to block 4 pass rushers. 15 years ago, this was the case and to appropriately protect the QB, you had to leave a TE and RB in protection. Now, having 4 guys running routes is commonplace and having 5 guys is typical too (which rarely happened 15 years ago). This is because offensive lineman can hold all day long to protect the QB. Change this, and teams will respond by keeping an extra blocker in, thus giving the defense 1 more player in pass defense. And this isn't even a rule change, it's just enforcing an existing rule.

2) Allow the DB's to contact the receivers up to 10 yards. 5 yards is too little, as the WR only needs to beat the initial bump to get into his route. But give the DB 10 yards, and the DB can play defense throughout the route. The WR's would need more time to complete their route and get open, thus giving the pass rush more time to get to the QB. Of course, the PI rules would still be in place, where a DB can't hit a guy when the ball is in the air. But in that 10 yards, a DB has much more time to actually play defense. And this really doesn't increase injuries, as WR's don't usually get hurt due to contact in the initial 5 yards.

3) Lay off the personal fouls for hitting "defenseless receivers". Sorry, but the offense is part of the reason why players are put in danger. 15 years ago, few players would run across the middle of the field with such reckless abandon. Now, everyone does it and the results are two-fold: WR's are at more risk of concussion (ie: Austin Collie), and the defense is at risk of more penalties and fines. Fact is, guys shouldn't be running across the middle without risk of getting hit. QB's shouldn't be throwing those passes. And coaches shouldn't be calling those plays. The middle of the field used to be owned by the defense. Now it's owned by the offense.

#1 and #2 are no brainers to me. Neither increase injuries and either aren't changing a rule (in the case of #1) or are only expanding on an existing rule (in the case of #2). #3 will never happen but IMO, a WR should be scared to go over the middle. The league has taken that fear away and it's resulted in more injuries, more fines and more offense.

This post should go into X4 Archives ... IMO exactly right.

10/7/1212:10 PM

BorisPerson Man Camera Dildo Shop - NFLFU®

The problem with CUPackfan point #1 is if the QB's get killed, then the quality of football on the field goes way down. WAY down.

Regarding point #2, if you agree to point #1 you can't then also allow an extra 5 yds of chucking a WR. Seriously, we're going to see scores of 6-3 in every game. You want that?

To point #3 Ronnie Lott would've been suspended for half his career if the rules today were in place in the 80's.

So the question is...

Do you want high quality football?

If so, you've got to keep your marquee players on the field.

If you want a rugby scrum and every teams defense looking like the 70's Steelers plus poor quality of football, you're going to have a lot of people turning the channel....and THAT is something nobody in the NFL wants.

10/7/1212:27 PM

phaedrusMember

quote:
Regarding point #2, if you agree to point #1 you can't then also allow an extra 5 yds of chucking a WR. Seriously, we're going to see scores of 6-3 in every game. You want that?

Hmmm, I don't see the connection.

It seems to me if you keep the changed rules that protect the QB and if you don't want a flying circus, the way to temper helping the quarterback is to give the defense more field.

There is only one way I see of doing that. They have to be able to have more yards to chuck the receiver.

What other options are there?

10/7/1212:42 PM

TschmackMember

Games were plenty entertaining before the NFL decided to handcuff defenses with the 5 yard contact penalty.

It was 1996 when the NFL really started cracking down on this. It was 5 years later the NFL started enforcing protecting the passer and in 2006 defenders started getting called for the hitting below the knees (QB) as a 15 yard penalty.

What I don't like is that the rules changes have made good, but not great QBs look like elite QBs and the same thing has happened with mediocre receivers.

10/7/1212:50 PM

trumpMember

quote:
Originally posted by Boris:
The problem with CUPackfan point #1 is if the QB's get killed, then the quality of football on the field goes way down. WAY down.

Regarding point #2, if you agree to point #1 you can't then also allow an extra 5 yds of chucking a WR. Seriously, we're going to see scores of 6-3 in every game. You want that?

To point #3 Ronnie Lott would've been suspended for half his career if the rules today were in place in the 80's.

So the question is...

Do you want high quality football?

If so, you've got to keep your marquee players on the field.

If you want a rugby scrum and every teams defense looking like the 70's Steelers plus poor quality of football, you're going to have a lot of people turning the channel....and THAT is something nobody in the NFL wants.

Take the roids out of it completely and then do what CU said ... its up to the Offense to change then, I guarantee you the running games would go back to a lead back again and a TE that can block on every team.

10/7/121:06 PM

H5Keyboard Warrior, troll hunter

Seems the NFL found exactly what they were looking for.

‏@gregaiello
NFL games are the 9 most-watched TV shows since Labor Day. Those games averaged 24.5 million viewers. #1 is Pitt-Den SNF 9/9 w/27.6 million.

10/10/124:02 PM

BorisPerson Man Camera Dildo Shop - NFLFU®

...and that's all folks.

As long as you keep watching, they'll keep doing whatever the hell they want

10/10/124:38 PM

DH13Member

Reminds me of a Simpsons halloween episode where all the company mascots came to life and started destroying the town. Lisa said "don't look at them! the more attention you give them, the bigger they get!".

10/10/127:12 PM

TdogProspective Member

I love this thread!

Take the skirts off the QBs and half, if not all, of the problem is solved. Don't want to see your QB carted off the field? Block for him, call plays that don't get him murdelized. This means more people have to stay in if they respect their QB's health. This means you actually do run the ball because it takes the target off your QB's back and sets up play action.

Just make it legal to hit the QB like any other player on the field again. Aren't we all equal?

10/10/128:38 PM

Grave DiggerMember

Great post CU. Everything you said there would make the game much more competitive and entertaining, but it would also decrease the offensive output and decrease fantasy numbers. The NFL doesn't want any of that.

Goodell needs to take a page out of Paul Tagliabue's book. That guy got a lot of criticism for being out of touch and not proactive, but really I think he realized that it wasn't his job to stand in the way of the NFL. He also got criticism because he couldn't get the owners to get together and agree on anything, something Goodell has done, but that's looking like a really awful decision also. You get 31 multimillionaires in one room and ask them to make decisions for the NFL, they're going to do what is best for the pocket book, not what's best for the quality of the game. People shouldn't be surprised by this, you're talking about guys who probably made their fortunes by doing exactly what they're doing now, doing what's best for themselves. Goodell is a puppet, an extension of the owners, and if they say suspend players because we think money is changing hands that we can't regulate or we want to see more offense, he's going to do what it takes to do that.

10/11/129:05 AM

LarseeBearMember

quote:
Originally posted by Tdog:
I love this thread!

Take the skirts off the QBs and half, if not all, of the problem is solved. Don't want to see your QB carted off the field? Block for him, call plays that don't get him murdelized. This means more people have to stay in if they respect their QB's health. This means you actually do run the ball because it takes the target off your QB's back and sets up play action.

Just make it legal to hit the QB like any other player on the field again. Aren't we all equal?

No, you can go for DL knees with impunity.

10/11/129:11 AM

GBP1Member

I said this last year. While the NFL is still the number one game in town, I think we are beginning to see the erosion of what has made it the greatest team sport ever.

An over-abundance of rules that has begun to distort how the game is played. Mico-managed procedures that hinder players, coaches and refs from executing plays, strategies and rule interpretations.

They keep trying to make an imperfect game...perfect. "oh, the nose of the ball touched the ground while the receiver gained control... ruled an incomplete pass". "There is no fumble on the play...the runner was down by contact". What the heck is "down by contact" anyways?

Far, far too much money is involved. Many owners dont want to win, they just want to go to the bank. Alot of players dont worry if they make mistakes because they get paid anyway.

I see opposing players talking and visiting before/after and during the games. Makes me wonder just how badly they want to win against each other. Especially seeing the little sideline chats that these guys are having during a timeout.

McGinn makes some excellent observations. Just too bad they are falling on deaf ears in the NFL.

If the Packers did not exist, I would not waste time making time to watch the NFL. MLB, NBA and NHL...just not the same anymore.

10/11/129:59 AM

LarseeBearMember

10/11/1210:10 AM

TdogProspective Member

quote:
If the Packers did not exist, I would not waste time making time to watch the NFL.

agreed

10/11/1210:35 AM

LarseeBearMember

Any other game beyond the Pack is dead to me.

10/11/1210:41 AM

The GBP RulesMember

quote:
Originally posted by Pikes Peak:
For those scoring at home...there are currently approx 2000 suits by former players against the NFL. To think that the league is not aware of this fact and is not trying to adjust is product and thus perhaps lightening it's culpability is foolish. They are doing what they have to do....protecting their product.

And if I am not mistaken the NFL's popularity continues to grow and this to me indicates that the NFL has not lost it's way.

This is not to say that I like the new rules or style of play but we do not reside in the 1960's anymore. It is what it is.

How much are those collisions to be blamed for their problems? How much can be blamed on using massive amounds of steroids and cocaine in the 70s and 80s?

10/11/1212:58 PM

Skip to main content

Add Reply

Membership Required

Remove From Your Block List

Manage Follow Preferences

Block

Please wait...