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Dear commissioner Roger Goodell,
You and the rest of the NFL's white collars have ruined what was once a great game.
Television pays billions of dollars to broadcast your games, and television wants entertainment. That translates into offense _ yards, points, passes and celebrity quarterbacks. So you gave it to them.
You've handcuffed defenses. All the rules have been stacked against that side of the ball to encourage, promote and sell offense. Defenses can't touch receivers and can't touch quarterbacks. Pass blockers can extend their arms and open their hands to impede pass rushers.
So NFL teams would be crazy not to throw the ball. And they do. In 1991, teams threw an average of 498 passes per season. In 2001, the average jumped to 522 passes per season. This season, teams threw an average of 544 times.
Remember the football adage defense wins championships? Not any more. The two top seeds in the 2011 playoff bracket, 13-3 New England and 15-1 Green Bay, rank 31st and 32nd respectively in defense.
The more you throw, the better your chances of winning. Defenders have become the Christians at the Roman Colosseum. They are going to be devoured by the league's offensive lions on a weekly basis and the paying public knows it. And television loves it.
What happened to a fair fight?
In the first 91 years of the NFL, there were two quarterbacks who passed for 5,000 yards in a season. In this the 92nd season, there were three. There were 14 quarterbacks in the 1980s who threw for 4,000 yards in a season. There were 10 this season alone.
The great defenses of the past _ the Dallas Doomsday, the Steel Curtain and Buddy Ryan's 46 _ would use bone-rattling hits to keep an offense in check. If you want to throw it, we're going to punish your quarterback. If your receivers catch the ball across the middle, we're going to lay them out. There was a price to pay for putting the football in the air.
Not any more.
Offenses can send four and five receivers out in the pattern to give the quarterback more options. Offenses don't need to protect the quarterback. The rules protect him. Pass rushers can't hit quarterbacks high, low or in the chest. The NFL doled out almost $1 million in fines to defensive players this season for hits on quarterbacks.
Quarterbacks can scramble out of the pocket and rush up the field for 10 to 15 yards, then slide so the defense can't hit him. Quarterbacks can escape the pocket and then throw the ball into the stands without fear of intentional grounding. So there is no penalty an offense must pay for a pass play gone awry.
The NFL assessed another $255,000 in fines to defenders this season for hits on "defenseless" receivers. Ronnie Lott wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame today if the NFL cracked down in the 1980s for hitting "defenseless" receivers.
Back then, those hits sent a message to offenses, offensive coordinators, quarterbacks and receivers. It was like a brush-back pitch in baseball. There's a price you must pay for your success. If you catch it, it's going to hurt.
But not any more.
If a receiver leaves his feet, he's considered defenseless. You can't clobber him. The NFL wants defenders to coddle him to the ground. The league has done everything in its power to strip defenses of any aggression.
And it shows up on the scoreboard each week.
There have been 16 teams in NFL history to score 500 points in a season. A record three teams accomplished that feat this season. In fact, the Packers (560 points) and Saints (547 points) became two of the four highest scoring offenses of all time.
New Orleans beat the Colts 62-7 this season, and Green Bay put a 45-7 licking on the Vikings. Detroit and San Francisco both won by 48-3 scores, and New England scored 49 consecutive points in the season finale against Buffalo. That's entertainment?
There's so much scoring your games have become boring, Mr. Commissioner. You're turning your sport into basketball on turf. If you want your games to become competitive again, let the defenses compete. Football has always been a game of blocking and tackling. Let the defense tackle again. Dick Butkus, Mean Joe Greene, Willie Lanier, Deacon Jones and I all wince at what your sport has become.
Respectfully yours,
Rick
Rick Gosselin writes for the Dallas Morning News. His column is distributed by MCT Information Services.
You and the rest of the NFL's white collars have ruined what was once a great game.
Television pays billions of dollars to broadcast your games, and television wants entertainment. That translates into offense _ yards, points, passes and celebrity quarterbacks. So you gave it to them.
You've handcuffed defenses. All the rules have been stacked against that side of the ball to encourage, promote and sell offense. Defenses can't touch receivers and can't touch quarterbacks. Pass blockers can extend their arms and open their hands to impede pass rushers.
So NFL teams would be crazy not to throw the ball. And they do. In 1991, teams threw an average of 498 passes per season. In 2001, the average jumped to 522 passes per season. This season, teams threw an average of 544 times.
Remember the football adage defense wins championships? Not any more. The two top seeds in the 2011 playoff bracket, 13-3 New England and 15-1 Green Bay, rank 31st and 32nd respectively in defense.
The more you throw, the better your chances of winning. Defenders have become the Christians at the Roman Colosseum. They are going to be devoured by the league's offensive lions on a weekly basis and the paying public knows it. And television loves it.
What happened to a fair fight?
In the first 91 years of the NFL, there were two quarterbacks who passed for 5,000 yards in a season. In this the 92nd season, there were three. There were 14 quarterbacks in the 1980s who threw for 4,000 yards in a season. There were 10 this season alone.
The great defenses of the past _ the Dallas Doomsday, the Steel Curtain and Buddy Ryan's 46 _ would use bone-rattling hits to keep an offense in check. If you want to throw it, we're going to punish your quarterback. If your receivers catch the ball across the middle, we're going to lay them out. There was a price to pay for putting the football in the air.
Not any more.
Offenses can send four and five receivers out in the pattern to give the quarterback more options. Offenses don't need to protect the quarterback. The rules protect him. Pass rushers can't hit quarterbacks high, low or in the chest. The NFL doled out almost $1 million in fines to defensive players this season for hits on quarterbacks.
Quarterbacks can scramble out of the pocket and rush up the field for 10 to 15 yards, then slide so the defense can't hit him. Quarterbacks can escape the pocket and then throw the ball into the stands without fear of intentional grounding. So there is no penalty an offense must pay for a pass play gone awry.
The NFL assessed another $255,000 in fines to defenders this season for hits on "defenseless" receivers. Ronnie Lott wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame today if the NFL cracked down in the 1980s for hitting "defenseless" receivers.
Back then, those hits sent a message to offenses, offensive coordinators, quarterbacks and receivers. It was like a brush-back pitch in baseball. There's a price you must pay for your success. If you catch it, it's going to hurt.
But not any more.
If a receiver leaves his feet, he's considered defenseless. You can't clobber him. The NFL wants defenders to coddle him to the ground. The league has done everything in its power to strip defenses of any aggression.
And it shows up on the scoreboard each week.
There have been 16 teams in NFL history to score 500 points in a season. A record three teams accomplished that feat this season. In fact, the Packers (560 points) and Saints (547 points) became two of the four highest scoring offenses of all time.
New Orleans beat the Colts 62-7 this season, and Green Bay put a 45-7 licking on the Vikings. Detroit and San Francisco both won by 48-3 scores, and New England scored 49 consecutive points in the season finale against Buffalo. That's entertainment?
There's so much scoring your games have become boring, Mr. Commissioner. You're turning your sport into basketball on turf. If you want your games to become competitive again, let the defenses compete. Football has always been a game of blocking and tackling. Let the defense tackle again. Dick Butkus, Mean Joe Greene, Willie Lanier, Deacon Jones and I all wince at what your sport has become.
Respectfully yours,
Rick
Rick Gosselin writes for the Dallas Morning News. His column is distributed by MCT Information Services.
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