Week 5 thoughts *pass pass pass pass pass! edition*

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

*The NFL is in the midst of serious transition. We're on the verge of an 18 game implementation. Possible lock out.All in a culture where players are being kept out at any sign of head injury and rules are coddling players to a fault.

The best case for change is a league thats high scoring , exciting , with passes flying around everywhere. Its easy to sell all of the above when this occurs. Problem is in the long run. YOU NEED THE PLAYERS TO DO IT !

Coordinators and coaches arent known to be the flexible types. But whats going on in this league is pitiful.

Week 5 featured 7 QBs with over 40 pass attempts , 3 others with 38 or more.
4 out of 5 weeks one or more QBs have passed over 50 times.


Just for comparison between 91-94 Steve Young led the lead in QB rating every year , and led in TDs 3 of them.
Only once in that span did he throw more than 40 times in a game.


Week 5 only had 2 running backs get more than 25 carries.


GB threw 46 times. They had a 10 point lead going into the 4th. Leading rusher had 10 touches.

NO threw 39 times. It was a tie game going into the 4th.
Leading rusher had 10 carries.

Dallas threw 46 times. 28 passes to 7 runs in the first half.
It was never more than a 10 point game , a 7 point game most of it.


I trash Garrett relentlessly but its an epidemic of terrible playcalling. The entire "running back by committee" approach is a miserable failure. What the point of this committee if your going to abandon the run the instant the top RB gets hurt ? Isnt it supposed to protect against this ?

Rule no1 of establishing a running game. KEEP RUNNING THE BALL.
Rule no1 in getting a RB and an Oline into rhythm. KEEP RUNNING THE BALL.

Asking lineman step back and take on fresh pass rushers 45-50 times a game is ludicrous. It naturally leads to penalties , injuries to QBs , difficult clock management, strains on defense , and RBs who cant get anything started. You can only get away with this in 2 ways. You either have a remarkably advanced scheme , or you have a HOF caliber QB.

There are no such schemes in the NFL and only 1-3 QBs that qualify.

But guess what.

Im not complaining.

Im hoping this means defenses have caught up and teams will F'n adjust and start committing to the run game. Say what you want about the pass but there is a true beauty in seeing a team physically dominate another and have a runner impose his will on a defense. It doesnt happen often enough. Theres plenty of RBs in this league capable of taking over games that arent getting the chance.

FYI run pct in the league is 42%. The lowest its been in over a decade.


*The only other thing I have to say enough with the fucking pink. Every year we have to have teams dress like fruitcakes for an entire month ??

 

[ram29jackson]

its been leading up to this the past couple years.

teams with hardly any running game have made it deep into the playoffs and to the Super Bowl.

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

its been leading up to this the past couple years.

teams with hardly any running game have made it deep into the playoffs and to the Super Bowl.

Theres only so many Kurt Warners to go around.

FB development is non existent and HBs just arent getting opportunities save for a handful of teams.

 

[j.hen]

FB development is non existent and HBs just arent getting opportunities save for a handful of teams.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

*The only other thing I have to say enough with the fucking pink. Every year we have to have teams dress like fruitcakes for an entire month ??

NFL grandstanding at it's best. "Look at us, we care!!"

I can live with it for one week, but the entire month is ridiculous. It's ugly and distracting. Do it for one week, let the league make some gigantic donation, and move on. So annoying.

This ties in with the fact that a week cant go by without a few teams wearing throwbacks/alternates/variations of their regular unis. I hate that shit. One home, one away, and there should be ONE WEEK where every team wears the throwbacks.

This isnt the f'n NBA. Enough with this uniform nonsense.

 

[Tailback U]

Do you guys think the spread/option football gaining popularity throughout high schools and colleges has something to do with the lack of good pocket quarterbacks?

It's obviously hard to measure, but I'm seeing more and more teams put the best athlete on the team at QB rather than the guy with the best arm.

I am not big on the HS football scene, but I've seen an increase in spread offenses over the last few years around here. It's like every game I go to the schools either still run the WING-T or have gone to the SPREAD.

I also think it's funny that because injuries to running backs have become such a big deal, more and more teams are going with a 2-back system and at the same reducing the total amount of runs per game. All this has done is lead to more injuries to quarterbacks and receivers.

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

NFL grandstanding at it's best. "Look at us, we care!!"

I can live with it for one week, but the entire month is ridiculous. It's ugly and distracting. Do it for one week, let the league make some gigantic donation, and move on. So annoying.

This ties in with the fact that a week cant go by without a few teams wearing throwbacks/alternates/variations of their regular unis. I hate that shit. One home, one away, and there should be ONE WEEK where every team wears the throwbacks.

This isnt the f'n NBA. Enough with this uniform nonsense.

Agreed entirely.
Always tickles my fancy when a player gets fined for not tucking a jersey or having a misaligned sock. Meanwhile teams are allowed 6 ugly alternate jerseys to use willy nilly.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Do you guys think the spread/option football gaining popularity throughout high schools and colleges has something to do with the lack of good pocket quarterbacks?

It's obviously hard to measure, but I'm seeing more and more teams put the best athlete on the team at QB rather than the guy with the best arm.

I am not big on the HS football scene, but I've seen an increase in spread offenses over the last few years around here. It's like every team either runs the WING-T or the SPREAD.

I've talked about this in multiple threads. The popularity of the spread at all levels is no doubt the prime factor in what's killing the QB play in the NFL.

It's why scouts drool over bums like Jimmy Clausen, because he looks great compared to the 90 starters in D1 who can't complete a 15 yard out to the sideline.

 

[Tailback U]

I've talked about this in multiple threads. The popularity of the spread at all levels is no doubt the prime factor in what's killing the QB play in the NFL.

It's why scouts drool over bums like Jimmy Clausen, because he looks great compared to the 90 starters in D1 who can't complete a 15 yard out to the sideline.

Yeah, I really despise it. I can't even watch college football anymore. It also seems like college teams are leaning toward putting as much talent and speed as they can on offense rather than balancing it out to strengthen their defense.

Outside of a few schools, college defenses are just horrid.

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

Do you guys think the spread/option football gaining popularity throughout high schools and colleges has something to do with the lack of good pocket quarterbacks?

It's obviously hard to measure, but I'm seeing more and more teams put the best athlete on the team at QB rather than the guy with the best arm.

I am not big on the HS football scene, but I've seen an increase in spread offenses over the last few years around here. It's like every game I go to the schools either still run the WING-T or have gone to the SPREAD.

My first year playing ball was a transition from a spread offense to a power I team. Its supposed to be easier to maintain a power/run or option offense because you can rely simply on athleticism. Mush easier for lineman at the lower levels to just get a body on a body.

I think coaches on lower levels have finally gotten a grasp of the Xs and Os of spread offenses. You can run them without option routes ,shifts, and formations most complex schemes run. Really easy to have a QB just call out 4 random numbers and have one of those guys get free. If they dont theres a huge amount of space for a QB to do what he wants.

I have to be honest I havent taken a look at it on lower levels in a long long time. I just recall the conversation with my OC as to why the Vikings 98 chuck it deep offense isnt easy to mimic. So take it fwiw.

Dont kids throw new method curveballs in little/pony league ? It was considered bad to teach it to any kid under 14-15.

If what youre saying is true kudos to the coaches for figuring out a way.I just hope its not at the cost of some fundamentals and running offense.

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

I've talked about this in multiple threads. The popularity of the spread at all levels is no doubt the prime factor in what's killing the QB play in the NFL.

It's why scouts drool over bums like Jimmy Clausen, because he looks great compared to the 90 starters in D1 who can't complete a 15 yard out to the sideline.

I think the slow process of the WCO and the failure to implement it properly scared off alot of teams. Much as I hate the WCO , in its purest form it requires a full understanding of coverages and checkdowns. You cant get by on arm or athleticism alone.

 

[Boucher]

Its just a trend right now, like everything else in life

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

Its just a trend right now, like everything else in life

The trend before it was the dink and dunk wco which plagues the league for almost a decade.

QB play is terrible and has been for a long time. Now you have these under developed under talented guys throwing more and protected less.

Obviously its cyclical but its a yucky to watch one.

 

[ram29jackson]

The trend before it was the dink and dunk wco which plagues the league for almost a decade.

QB play is terrible and has been for a long time. Now you have these under developed under talented guys throwing more and protected less.

Obviously its cyclical but its a yucky to watch one.

welcome to parity

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

welcome to parity

Parity in and of itself doesnt do it.

Owner pressure and impatience leads to 4th year QBs having 3 different coordinators and systems. With parity it should be easier to draft a project QB and bring him along slowly since the margin between good and bad is so small.

Too many owners are stuck on stupid and dont have the patience with Head coaches which trickles down.Thats before you even begin on the unprepared college QBs W2B touched on.

 

[ram29jackson]

Parity in and of itself doesnt do it.

Owner pressure and impatience leads to 4th year QBs having 3 different coordinators and systems. With parity it should be easier to draft a project QB and bring him along slowly since the margin between good and bad is so small.

Too many owners are stuck on stupid and dont have the patience with Head coaches which trickles down.Thats before you even begin on the unprepared college QBs W2B touched on.

like I said - welcome to parity

you just basically repeated what you said in your earlier post that I quoted.
thats what parity is. Everyone is weaker. Starting inexperienced players too fast- coaching carousel- free agents grab bag. trying to learn a new system that was dumbed down anyway because no one was there long enough to fully grasp the playbook. In general, everything is just weaker on a team concept level.
the players are bigger,stronger ,faster than ever. But team play just bites in general.

 

[Senser81]

Asking lineman step back and take on fresh pass rushers 45-50 times a game is ludicrous. It naturally leads to penalties , injuries to QBs , difficult clock management, strains on defense , and RBs who cant get anything started. You can only get away with this in 2 ways. You either have a remarkably advanced scheme , or you have a HOF caliber QB.

The NFL has made numerous rules to protect the QB, but after watching the Bears, Vikings, and Packers this year, it seems that these QBs are being hung out to dry by their schemes. Until the NFL makes a rule to guard against the stupidity of a Lovie Smith, Mike McCarthy, & Brad Childress, QBs are going to get beat up.

The Bears are just brutal. They have a bad offensive line, and no FBs or TEs who can pass block. They refuse to run the ball, they refuse to have any type of protection scheme. Its tough to watch.

The Vikings look lost without Chester Taylor. Not only was he a great outlet receiver, he could also pick up the blitz. The Vikings have no one who can pass block other than Shiancoe, and he was their most reliable receiver so Childress never had him in to block. If you noticed in the Jets game, the Vikings actually moved the ball in the 2nd half when Childress kept Shiancoe in to block.

The Packers have been playing with fire this whole time, relying on Aaron Rodgers' athleticism to avoid the pass rush. McCarthy also refuses to run, and even when they lineup with two TEs and a FB, everyone is running out for a pass after the snap. I don't get it.

 

[Spidey]

I went stat hunting this morning (bored at work). The Packers under McCarthy are 26-5 when they rush the ball 25 times or more in a game. They are 16-25 when they rush 24 or less times in a game. And yet McCarthy insists on not running the ball.

Stats via pro-football-reference.com. Rushing attempts were counted for RB and WR. No rushing attempts counted for the QB or the incredibly rare rush by the punter (Derrick Frost).

EDIT: In fairness though, McCarthy is typically a run when winning type of coach. When the Packers are up big, he gets ultra conservative and tends to go to the run. Which in turn usually allows the other team back into the game.

 

[NAHSTE]

Last night, I made the mistake of listening to Trent Dilfer attempt to speak, and what he said was so dumb, it was almost maddening.

He cited Favre's "magical" second half (if 11-27 passing is magical, then sure) and insisted that the Vikings need to run a pass-first offense.

Is Dilfer fucking retarded? (No need to answer that.) Throwing that many times will get Favre killed soon enough. He already had 3 turnovers and took some really bad sacks at the end of the game, yet this genius Dilfer says to run Peterson less and let Favre make plays.

He had 3 fucking turnovers and had to get scraped off the field by the end of the game...He's fucking old, don't leave him exposed anymore than you have to.

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

Last night, I made the mistake of listening to Trent Dilfer attempt to speak, and what he said was so dumb, it was almost maddening.

He cited Favre's "magical" second half (if 11-27 passing is magical, then sure) and insisted that the Vikings need to run a pass-first offense.

Is Dilfer fucking retarded? (No need to answer that.) Throwing that many times will get Favre killed soon enough. He already had 3 turnovers and took some really bad sacks at the end of the game, yet this genius Dilfer says to run Peterson less and let Favre make plays.

He had 3 fucking turnovers and had to get scraped off the field by the end of the game...He's fucking old, don't leave him exposed anymore than you have to.

He wasnt the only one that said that. I wanted to punch my screen.
I cant fathom drawing that conclusion after watching that game.