The New NFL
 

Im curious how you guys feel about this 'NEW' NFL ... where essentially it is no longer a battle offense vs defense, but rather a competition to see who can calculate a way to posses the ball one more time than your opponent. Defenses have been so marginalized that the game now resembles a computer RTS ... essentially a race.

38-35
24-21 at the half

Id love to compare the average scores of todays games vs the games of the 80s and early 90s.

its ridiculous, and somewhat boring to watch IMHO. I have a sneaking suspicion that you are going to see a huge discrepancy between offense and defense as far as athleticism goes. As all teams realize that a football game is nothing more than an offensive exhibition, guys with the most athletic ability will migrate to the offensive side of the ball ... making the game even more unbalanced than it is today.

The sad thing is that the casual fan thinks its awesome.

=(

Blame it on Bill Polian and the COlts. Once they began emphasizing contact by the DBs, the offense exploded. Add the "can't touch the qb" rules and the can't hit receiver rules and you have what you have.

Lol ... 74+ points in the nines game ... Wtf.

I definitely agree. I enjoy football less than I used to because while great players still make great plays, the games still seem to come down to who has the ball last or one more time.

I always thought scoring was exciting - but it just doesn't seem to happen in as exciting ways anymore; so much feels like pitch and catch.

Bingo...can't touch the QB, much tougher PI calls, defenseless receiver, horse-collar, tougher holding calls...pretty soon they are going to call it the TFL: Tantric Football League: as much fun as you can have on the field without touching each other. :eek:

You're absolutely right. If you want to win you need to be able to consistently score 30+ points. Period. There is no defense wins championships, ground and pound :rolleyes: , none of it. I'm not interested in Quinton Coples, Darrel Revis, Muhammed Wilkerson....they're dressing on a ghost. I don't care if our D can't stop anoyone, nobody can. This is plahyoff football and all these D's are just about useless. You win if you can score again and again and again at will. Period. Goodell and the concussion craze have changed the game forever.

LOL

Well hold on - the absence of a D makes this problem much more acute. The packers tonight are a great example. SF is actually the least 'shoot-out' team left in the playoffs - so there is hope for well-rounded teams yet.

Love this line ... Stealing it.

That 'least shootout team' just put up 45 points in the playoffs ... It's a bad joke of a league now. Katie Perry could play in this league.

I'd pay to see that. She's dirty.

I agree, Dunnie. I still think the Defense is important, though, because a good Defense could have kept those scores down. Plus the D was responsible for some interceptions and fumble recoveries that were game changers.

Strictly passing games are boooooorriiing, but it seems that even in college football nobody cares about the defense except the SEC teams. But then again, that's why SEC teams win the BCS more often than those teams with high-scoring offenses but crappy defenses.

FWIW Denvers offense only scored 21 points over 4 periods. The special teams got them the other 14.

Lets not also forget about the picks sixes today.

Offense is the most important facet of the game right now, but defense and ST still matter.

The defense is important in the manner that once in a while they can get a sack or a turnover that wins one possession here or there that stems one scoring drive in the race to score on every possession. But the idea you're gonna win a game while scoring 17-24 points because your D can hold the opponent to less is gone, outdated, lost, goodbye. Every D no matter what will get gashed eventually. The weapons on O these days are 4-6 deep. Stop my #1 WR and I'll beat you with my #2. Stop both and my TE will gash you (NE's approach). Stop my TE and Jacoby Jones will make you my *****. Stop them all and my QB will gash you with a 20 yard run. Think you can stop him, hit him and watch your D get punished with a 15 yard personal foul. It's over, Defense is a dinosaur. You wanna win today, figure out a way to score on the last drive of the first half while then getting the ball first in the second half.

Defense is the new Special Teams. Do well in it and it might help you win a game or two, but it's a luxury not a necessity.

Here's how I see it if I'm a GM in today's game. You do try to draft guys like Von Miller, Aldon Smith, Demarcus Ware, Revis, etc... You get thm on the team young and sign them for rookie contracts. You invest roughly 70% of your cap on offense. When guys like Smith, Miller, Revis, etc...are up for their big pay contracts..let them go. When guys like Kaepernick, Flacco, Crabtree, Gronk, Brady, D Thomas, Wilson, etc.. are up, pay them. RB's that really are game changes like Lynch or Rice, pay them too otherwise go young and cheap. Invest veteran contracts on guys who are proven to put points on the board and keep trying to draft young on defense and keep the money on the guys that put points on the board. You will not win with a top 10 D if it means your offense is deficient. This has been the case for a while, but is amplified even more today with the rules that now govern the game.

That's not a bad parallel ... if your D comes up with three TO's / stops, and the other guy only gets one, it'll work in your favour. (But only if your O can capitalize ... :))

far less enjoyable now. Arena football.

There is no longer dominant defenses, the rules havent helped

Allow the DB to chuck until the ball is in the air (pre 1978). Make pass interference a 15 yard (or spot) penalty unless the receivers arms are grabbed. That is it.


You have to keep the qb healthy as that was generates income and ratings.