Brett Kiesel tells it like is

[stillers4me]

And he's not wrong.

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[pczach]

No, he is not.

[Fire Goodell]

#Facts

[AtlantaDan]

Good article in SI linked below that sums up the points Keisel and a number of posters here have made.

IMO long article worth a read - some excerpts

Football’s Unfixable Problem

For at least a decade, and in some ways much longer than that, the National Football League has been trying to thread the eye of a tiny sewing needle with a thick strand of barbed wire. A sport once left unchecked to grow its own mythology through 16-millimeter homages to manliness has found itself under fire from a force of activists, researchers, media, even its own former players, all demanding that the game be made safe. It is, by consensus, both a reasonable and wholly unachievable mandate....

Make no mistake, the game has changed.... And it’s not necessary to go back three decades to trace the evolution. The trigger for many recent changes was the so-called “Bloody Sunday” of Oct. 17, 2010, when a series of big hits propelled the safety discussion forward by years, all at once. Steelers linebacker James Harrison’s head shot on the Browns’ Mohamed Massaquoi, on a shallow cross? That kind of hit has been completely legislated out of the game....

Most of the rules changes and adaptations over the last decade-plus have been presented as safety initiatives. And they are. Partly.... And that is good for business.

Something else is good for business: Offense. Long passes. Short passes. Yardage. Touchdowns. Offense is very good for business. Shootouts are very good for business....

There is a very strong possibility that the world’s richest sports league is gambling it can survive the loss of sack-centric entertainment because it has, above all, offense. ...

The NFL’s fiscal plan is thinly veiled. Big hits are bad business. Touchdowns and healthy quarterbacks are good business. The eye of the needle grows smaller, and societal pressure to protect the performers while also protecting the bottom line grows more urgent. This is the new football.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/10/02/roughing-passer-2018-nfl-rules-change

I agree with the author that the James Harrison hit on Massaquoi in the October 17, 2010, Browns game was a tipping point. Not because what happened that day was that extraordinary, but because Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison went off about it that evening on the Sunday Night Football pregame show. After that show reactive Roger Goodell went after Harrison and the game changed some more.

NFL is in a tough spot since the violence is a big part of what made the NFL. If I want to watch graceful athletes make leaping plays the NBA has more action without as much dead time and the games are not as long.

[Count Steeler]

Fantasy football was the beginning of the end for me.

[pczach]

Good article in SI linked below that sums up the points Keisel and a number of posters here have made.

IMO long article worth a read - some excerpts

Football’s Unfixable Problem

For at least a decade, and in some ways much longer than that, the National Football League has been trying to thread the eye of a tiny sewing needle with a thick strand of barbed wire. A sport once left unchecked to grow its own mythology through 16-millimeter homages to manliness has found itself under fire from a force of activists, researchers, media, even its own former players, all demanding that the game be made safe. It is, by consensus, both a reasonable and wholly unachievable mandate....

Make no mistake, the game has changed.... And it’s not necessary to go back three decades to trace the evolution. The trigger for many recent changes was the so-called “Bloody Sunday” of Oct. 17, 2010, when a series of big hits propelled the safety discussion forward by years, all at once. Steelers linebacker James Harrison’s head shot on the Browns’ Mohamed Massaquoi, on a shallow cross? That kind of hit has been completely legislated out of the game....

Most of the rules changes and adaptations over the last decade-plus have been presented as safety initiatives. And they are. Partly.... And that is good for business.

Something else is good for business: Offense. Long passes. Short passes. Yardage. Touchdowns. Offense is very good for business. Shootouts are very good for business....

There is a very strong possibility that the world’s richest sports league is gambling it can survive the loss of sack-centric entertainment because it has, above all, offense. ...

The NFL’s fiscal plan is thinly veiled. Big hits are bad business. Touchdowns and healthy quarterbacks are good business. The eye of the needle grows smaller, and societal pressure to protect the performers while also protecting the bottom line grows more urgent. This is the new football.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/10/02/roughing-passer-2018-nfl-rules-change

I agree with the author that the James Harrison hit on Massaquoi in the October 17, 2010, Browns game was a tipping point. Not because what happened that day was that extraordinary, but because Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison went off about it that evening on the Sunday Night Football pregame show. After that show reactive Roger Goodell went after Harrison and the game changed some more.

NFL is in a tough spot since the violence is a big part of what made the NFL. If I want to watch graceful athletes make leaping plays the NBA has more action without as much dead time and the games are not as long.



Good link Dan. That's a good breakdown of the timeline.

The only thing that I disagree with is everyone saying big offense is big business. Big offense only matters when a few teams stand out from everyone else. When everyone is putting up silly offensive numbers, it hurts the NFL. It also doesn't help fantasy football. Everyone's numbers are bigger?...…….So what? How does that help fantasy if everyone's numbers are up across the board?

Having no defense isn't good for business. Having less hitting and physicality isn't good for business. It may be better for lawsuits down the road, but it's not better for the game now or in the future. Fans will probably start leaving in droves at some point. It has already started.

[Fire Goodell]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyV5eqBx7ws
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyV5eqBx7ws

The year I became a football fan, I saw this. Hard to believe this would fly now without someone getting suspended lol.

[vasteeler]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyV5eqBx7ws
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyV5eqBx7ws

The year I became a football fan, I saw this. Hard to believe this would fly now without someone getting suspended lol.

I can see rule against that hit...Totally unnecessary

[AtlantaDan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyV5eqBx7ws
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyV5eqBx7ws

The year I became a football fan, I saw this. Hard to believe this would fly now without someone getting suspended lol.

How about this one? I am not advocating blows to the head, just noting not a peep out of the NFL about this being a problem for decades after it happened


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU2r5telg7c

[Dwinsgames]

as a fan from the 1969-70 the game played today barely resembles the game I fell in love with as a child

[BlackAndGold]

Lawsuits/discovery of CTE are two reasons why the game has changed.

[steelreserve]

This is what happens when you try to make the activists happy. It wrecks things for normal people, and for the activists it's never enough. You have to ignore them.

Really the whole thing should've ended with the initial concussion settlement and no on-field rule changes. The whole point of the activist bitching was that players had been exposed to risks unknowingly up until the point where science made the link between concussions and CTE. Well, once that was established, everyone was aware of the risk and therefore there should be no more liability for future problems. They have the information they need to decide whether it's worth it or not to keep playing and make their own decision. Many choose not to.

But like I said, its never enough for the activists. Give them any concession at all, and all they see is an open door.

[Edman]

Because rule changes are the reason for all the 12 men penalties and players being out of position the Steelers Defense. Rule changes didn't stop the Ravens D from shutting down the Offense in the 2nd half Sunday Night.

Keisel is just digging up excuses for the crap play of this team.

[Steeler-in-west]

Agreed. Miss watching the big hits, including on the QB, love defense but appreciate offense too, in fact a touchdown pass meant more back then because the defense was allowed to be physical. I’ll always contend that a QB like Tom Brady would never be that effective back then because his accuracy goes way down when he’s getting hit. While tougher QB’s like Bradshaw, Kilmer, and Elway are under appreciated. It’s become a glamorous game today, the grittiness is mostly gone. The NFL is politically correct and safe, but it’s soul is dying. Even a lot of the new uniform designs around the league (you know which ones) suck.

[Dwinsgames]

Lawsuits/discovery of CTE are two reasons why the game has changed.

started long before that though ... Mel Blount rule was the beginning of the end

[Mojouw]

Not sure what recent rule changes everyone wants to blame for what we are seeing league-wide this year.

I mean a lot of this started decades ago. Sure the roughing the passer stuff this year is out of hand, but that is the only new rule.

When did hitting guys across the middle get outlawed? Late 70's? I mean you read "Paper Lion" and the pass catchers talk about how you just DO NOT go over the middle of the field and get caught in the "pit". Now offenses make their big plays between the hash marks.

I suspect it would be far easier to rush the passer if you could still head slap the snot out of offensive lineman.

The five yard chuck rule is what 10-12 years old now?

It is the fact that offensive schemes and plays are light years ahead of defenses. Just so far out in front that it is almost unbelievable. Offenses are trotting out play designs and personnel packages specifically tailored to tear the heart out of a say a cover 2 shell and teams are still just lining up in cover 2 and being like "this is how you play defense. we have always played defense this way. no reason to think we can't get this sorted out." Meanwhile their CB just had to decide which of 3 guys buzzing through his zone he was going to try and pick up and hope he picked a different one than the safety behind him did. Even if they both got a guy, the third dude is likely running under a perfectly thrown ball from a QB who got it out in 2 seconds or less. All because due to the pre-snap motion, the QB and the ENTIRE offense knew where your defensive pressure was coming from and what your coverage was.

Defenses are not physical because they can not get to the ball quickly enough to deliver violence. Adapt and innovate. Offenses are experience the culmination of several years of innovation and defenses have been staying fairly static. There is a steep price to be paid for that and we see it across the league.

[Fire Goodell]

I can see rule against that hit...Totally unnecessary

Idk, football was more enjoyable with the violent collisions at least IMO, what was the allure of football for me was the danger element. Of course you don't want to see any career ending injuries, but you did want to see people get roughed up pretty good.

Not to mention back in those days, there was a lot less of the diva syndrome going on with the players. The players were a lot more humble and respectful knowing that anybody, no matter how popular you are, or how much you make, you can 'get got' on any play.

It was a true man's sport where you had to be tough enough to play. I can't say the same about a lot of the crybaby players now, and the defense not being allowed to punish said crybabies

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How about this one? I am not advocating blows to the head, just noting not a peep out of the NFL about this being a problem for decades after it happened


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU2r5telg7c

Damn! lol. Like I said it was a man's game before. Now it's a bunch of overgrown man-children that cry about players being dirty for 'hitting too hard'

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When did hitting guys across the middle get outlawed? Late 70's? I mean you read "Paper Lion" and the pass catchers talk about how you just DO NOT go over the middle of the field and get caught in the "pit". Now offenses make their big plays between the hash marks.

Had to have been in the early 2000's. Safeties slamming people over the middle were happening well into the 90s. Ronnie Lott, John Lynch, and Steve Atwater made careers out of it. Ryan Clark would have, but was unfortunate enough to be playing when they started fining people for it.

[AtlantaDan]

Not sure what recent rule changes everyone wants to blame for what we are seeing league-wide this year.

I mean a lot of this started decades ago. Sure the roughing the passer stuff this year is out of hand, but that is the only new rule.

When did hitting guys across the middle get outlawed? Late 70's? I mean you read "Paper Lion" and the pass catchers talk about how you just DO NOT go over the middle of the field and get caught in the "pit". Now offenses make their big plays between the hash marks.

I suspect it would be far easier to rush the passer if you could still head slap the snot out of offensive lineman.

The five yard chuck rule is what 10-12 years old now?

It is the fact that offensive schemes and plays are light years ahead of defenses. Just so far out in front that it is almost unbelievable. Offenses are trotting out play designs and personnel packages specifically tailored to tear the heart out of a say a cover 2 shell and teams are still just lining up in cover 2 and being like "this is how you play defense. we have always played defense this way. no reason to think we can't get this sorted out." Meanwhile their CB just had to decide which of 3 guys buzzing through his zone he was going to try and pick up and hope he picked a different one than the safety behind him did. Even if they both got a guy, the third dude is likely running under a perfectly thrown ball from a QB who got it out in 2 seconds or less. All because due to the pre-snap motion, the QB and the ENTIRE offense knew where your defensive pressure was coming from and what your coverage was.

Defenses are not physical because they can not get to the ball quickly enough to deliver violence. Adapt and innovate. Offenses are experience the culmination of several years of innovation and defenses have been staying fairly static. There is a steep price to be paid for that and we see it across the league.

There are a lot of laws on the books in the U.S. criminal code that are not regularly enforced until they are under prosecutorial discretion. Same with how the game has been called since what the SI article notes was the crossing the Rubicon moment when Harrison lit up the Browns receiver in 2010. So you get a vigorous enforcement of rules such as what constitutes a "defenseless" receiver and, as you note, the ludicrous interpretation of roughing the passer. As the league ratchets up enforcement of what is on the books offenses adapt over time rather than immediately (it took Dan Marino in 1984 to take full advantage of the late 70s rules changes that opened up the passing game) and defensive players pull up rather than risk being flagged.

And then here we are in 2018

On Sept. 30, Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky threw six touchdown passes in a win over the Buccaneers. Two weeks earlier, the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes also put up six. According to Pro Football Reference, only 40 times in NFL history has a QB thrown six or more TD passes in a single game—and it happened twice in the first four weeks of the season (by two guys with a combined 20 games of starting experience, mind you)....

On Sunday, the apotheosis of the most explosive passing week in NFL history (608.9 yards per game), an unprecedented five quarterbacks passed for more than 400 yards—the same number of passers who accomplished that in the entire decade of the 1970s. Only once before, in October 2014, had four quarterbacks ever exceeded that mark in a game week. Here’s another ridiculous stat: Through four weeks, five players are completing more than 70% of their passes. A year ago only Drew Brees finished above that mark—and he’s currently sitting at 75.8%, easily his career high. At age 39. Troy Aikman led the league 25 years ago with 69.1%, and only he and Steve Young were above 63.2% that year; today, 24 QBs are above that number. Oh, and you want to hear real silly? Four quarterbacks—Roethlisberger, the Rams’ Jared Goff, Cousins and Carr—are on pace to break Peyton Manning’s single-season passing record of 5,477 yards.

Raise your hand if you think the Steelers and Gruden's Raiders are running cutting edge offenses, that Ryan Fitzpatrick was channeling the spirit of Ken Stabler the first three weeks of the season, or that Trubisky is a QB prodigy like Mahones to account for that. Instead I have to agree with (please forgive me) Tony Dungy

“Already, I’ve seen quarterbacks holding the ball longer,” says former NFL coach Tony Dungy, co-host of NBC’s Football Night in America. “It’s like, Hey, they can’t hit me? I’m going to wait. The same thing happened with defenseless receivers. Once quarterbacks knew defensive backs wouldn’t hit guys in that situation, they started throwing the ball into tighter windows.’’

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/10/02/roughing-passer-2018-nfl-rules-change

[Mojouw]

There are a lot of laws on the books in the U.S. criminal code that are not regularly enforced until they are under prosecutorial discretion. Same with how the game has been called since what the SI article notes was the crossing the Rubicon moment when Harrison lit up the Browns receiver in 2010. So you get a vigorous enforcement of rules such as what constitutes a "defenseless" receiver and, as you note, the ludicrous interpretation of roughing the passer. As the league ratchets up enforcement of what is on the books offenses adapt over time rather than immediately (it took Dan Marino in 1984 to take full advantage of the late 70s rules changes that opened up the passing game) and defensive players pull up rather than risk being flagged.

And then here we are in 2018

On Sept. 30, Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky threw six touchdown passes in a win over the Buccaneers. Two weeks earlier, the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes also put up six. According to Pro Football Reference, only 40 times in NFL history has a QB thrown six or more TD passes in a single game—and it happened twice in the first four weeks of the season (by two guys with a combined 20 games of starting experience, mind you)....

On Sunday, the apotheosis of the most explosive passing week in NFL history (608.9 yards per game), an unprecedented five quarterbacks passed for more than 400 yards—the same number of passers who accomplished that in the entire decade of the 1970s. Only once before, in October 2014, had four quarterbacks ever exceeded that mark in a game week. Here’s another ridiculous stat: Through four weeks, five players are completing more than 70% of their passes. A year ago only Drew Brees finished above that mark—and he’s currently sitting at 75.8%, easily his career high. At age 39. Troy Aikman led the league 25 years ago with 69.1%, and only he and Steve Young were above 63.2% that year; today, 24 QBs are above that number. Oh, and you want to hear real silly? Four quarterbacks—Roethlisberger, the Rams’ Jared Goff, Cousins and Carr—are on pace to break Peyton Manning’s single-season passing record of 5,477 yards.

Raise your hand if you think the Steelers and Gruden's Raiders are running cutting edge offenses, that Ryan Fitzpatrick was channeling the spirit of Ken Stabler the first three weeks of the season, or that Trubisky is a QB prodigy like Mahones to account for that. Instead I have to agree with (please forgive me) Tony Dungy

“Already, I’ve seen quarterbacks holding the ball longer,” says former NFL coach Tony Dungy, co-host of NBC’s Football Night in America. “It’s like, Hey, they can’t hit me? I’m going to wait. The same thing happened with defenseless receivers. Once quarterbacks knew defensive backs wouldn’t hit guys in that situation, they started throwing the ball into tighter windows.’’

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/10/02/roughing-passer-2018-nfl-rules-change

Interesting. Different take then I've been thinking about. Let me think on it.

[steelreserve]

When did hitting guys across the middle get outlawed? Late 70's?

It was after ESPN Concussion Sunday in the late 2000s that it started being a penalty. Then the penalties just kept getting more random over time.

The QB rules started with the Carson Palmer Rule and the Tom Brady Rule, and once the concussion thing came into it, forget it, it has just spiraled out of control.

Really the early to mid 2000s were where it had its roots, but after the media dogpile on the concussion issue is when it took off and ruined the game. It is not something that's been a gradual transformation since the '70s, there is a clear before-and-after line roughly 10-15 years ago when it switched from being relatively small and technical changes, into activism that ripped the soul out of the sport.

[Mojouw]

Wasn't the Mel Blount rule passed in like 1978?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tube517]

Wasn't the Mel Blount rule passed in like 1978?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


The five yard chuck rule is what 10-12 years old now?


The Mel Blount rule is the original 5 yd chuck rule. And, yep, it was in 1978.

EDIT: I think the NFL did the "Emphasizing" crap again after the 2003-04 AFCC game between the Colts and Cheats** when they mugged the Colts receivers all game.

[AtlantaDan]

I think the NFL did the "Emphasizing" crap again after the 2003-04 AFCC game between the Colts and Cheats** when they mugged the Colts receivers all game.

Yep - unlike the Mel Blount rule in the late 70s, no rules change that time. After the Pats disrupted the Colts passing game in the AFC championship game and passing yardage was down, the league told the refs to "emphasize" enforcement of the rule against receiver contact more than five yards past the line of scrimmage.

It was soon after the Patriots' second Super Bowl win on Feb. 1, 2004, that the competition committee, the NFL's rule-making body, acted to try to help quarterbacks and receivers. Passing yards per game had dipped to an 11-year low in the 2003 season, and the members of the competition committee determined that game officials were not enforcing a longstanding rule prohibiting a defensive player from making contact with a receiver more than five yards downfield. The committee made properly enforcing the "illegal contact" rule a point of officiating emphasis for the 2004 season. The hands of NFL defensive backs were, in effect, tied.

Many observers attributed the competition committee's action to the Patriots' defensive play in their 24-14 triumph over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC championship game on Jan. 18, 2004.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/16/AR2008011603650.html

That had nothing to do with safety and was simply intended to help offenses. If more offense is what you want, telling the refs to start throwing more flags without explicitly changing any rules will get you there.

[Born2Steel]

Fantasy sports has become huge, that is true. And it has changed the landscape somewhat. But I can remember talking with an uncle of mine back in the 80s about fantasy football and how they had a league at work. He was telling me how that season he was bad luck for QBs because the ones he drafted had gotten hurt and the subsequent pickups had gotten hurt after he replaced them. Point being fantasy football is not this brand new thing that just suddenly appeared and started killing the game. Money is killing the game. Greed is killing the game. IF...big IF....The NFL went the other direction. Let players use whatever PEDs they want, smoke whatever, drink whatever, let them be like the true gladiators we think we remember as kids. Make sure the players know every risk involved and if they still want to play, then let's play. BUT...you're only getting paid a living wage.

[86WARD]

Fantasy Football has a little to do with it but this is based on TV ratings and higher ratings equals higher revenue. A 10-3 Defensive slug fest isn’t going to appeal to the average or new fan. They’ll turn that off in an instant. However, a 38-36 offesnsive fireworks show, those fans will hang in there. That’s what Roger wants. He wants new fans. He wants more fans and he wants worldwide fans...why? Because more fans = more ratings = more revenue. It has NOTHING to do with player safety...if it did, he wouldn’t be putting players out there on short rest or losing a day of rest to jump on a plane to go to Mexico or London or somewhere across the country on short rest.

[AtlantaDan]

This article today in The Ringer attributes the 2018 passing explosion to both my theory it is primarily based on rules enforcement as well as Mojouw's contention that defenses simply are not designed to stop current offensive schemes

There’s No One Reason for the NFL’s Offensive Explosion

The first and most obvious explanation for this incredible spike in production is the combination of rule tweaks and points of emphasis the NFL enacted for 2018....

The NFL has also experienced a spike in quality quarterbacks, is in the middle of a sea change in offensive philosophy (https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/9/25/17899586/the-scheme-war-is-over) (in part due to extraordinary levels of offensive-coordinator turnover this year (https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/8/29/17794818/offensive-coordinator-turnover)), has gotten a little luck in the health department, and is likely benefiting from some good old-fashioned variance. ...

The league’s new quarterback dynamic may never have emerged if not for decision makers’ reluctant acceptance of college-style offenses. Coaches and GMs around the the NFL seem to have finally accepted that trying to fit a square peg (college QB) into a round hole (pro-style offense) just doesn’t work—and that building an offense around college-style concepts does.

It’s not that the Air Raid (https://www.theringer.com/2018/8/14/17685080/air-raid-offense-mike-leach-lincoln-riley), the read option (https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2017/10/11/16456776/option-offense-resurrection-chiefs-panthers-bears), and RPOs (https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/8/14/17687896/run-pass-option-evolution-chiefs-eagles-college-offense) are new to the NFL, exactly, but in the past they’ve typically been reserved for the handful of teams forward-thinking and bold enough to implement them at any given time. Now, as Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley told The Ringer’s Kevin Clark (https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/9/25/17899586/the-scheme-war-is-over), the difference is that the so-called college offense is now woven into every pro scheme (https://www.theringer.com/2018/8/14/17687380/college-offense-nfl-pro-system-college-effect-day). Shotgun looks, three- and four-receiver sets, and the simple ideas of using deception and playing fast are here to stay.

The NFL game is now played like basketball on grass, where spacing and tempo have replaced old-school smashmouth principles.

https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/10/3/17930962/offensive-explosion-no-one-reason

As I posted earlier, if I want to watch basketball I can watch the NBA, which plays it more quickly and with more action, rather than "basketball on grass."

[Mojouw]

This article today in The Ringer attributes the 2018 passing explosion to both my theory it is primarily based on rules enforcement as well as Mojouw's contention that defenses simply are not designed to stop current offensive schemes

There’s No One Reason for the NFL’s Offensive Explosion

The first and most obvious explanation for this incredible spike in production is the combination of rule tweaks and points of emphasis the NFL enacted for 2018....

The NFL has also experienced a spike in quality quarterbacks, is in the middle of a sea change in offensive philosophy (https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/9/25/17899586/the-scheme-war-is-over) (in part due to extraordinary levels of offensive-coordinator turnover this year (https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/8/29/17794818/offensive-coordinator-turnover)), has gotten a little luck in the health department, and is likely benefiting from some good old-fashioned variance. ...

The league’s new quarterback dynamic may never have emerged if not for decision makers’ reluctant acceptance of college-style offenses. Coaches and GMs around the the NFL seem to have finally accepted that trying to fit a square peg (college QB) into a round hole (pro-style offense) just doesn’t work—and that building an offense around college-style concepts does.

It’s not that the Air Raid (https://www.theringer.com/2018/8/14/17685080/air-raid-offense-mike-leach-lincoln-riley), the read option (https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2017/10/11/16456776/option-offense-resurrection-chiefs-panthers-bears), and RPOs (https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/8/14/17687896/run-pass-option-evolution-chiefs-eagles-college-offense) are new to the NFL, exactly, but in the past they’ve typically been reserved for the handful of teams forward-thinking and bold enough to implement them at any given time. Now, as Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley told The Ringer’s Kevin Clark (https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/9/25/17899586/the-scheme-war-is-over), the difference is that the so-called college offense is now woven into every pro scheme (https://www.theringer.com/2018/8/14/17687380/college-offense-nfl-pro-system-college-effect-day). Shotgun looks, three- and four-receiver sets, and the simple ideas of using deception and playing fast are here to stay.

The NFL game is now played like basketball on grass, where spacing and tempo have replaced old-school smashmouth principles.

https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/10/3/17930962/offensive-explosion-no-one-reason

As I posted earlier, if I want to watch basketball I can watch the NBA, which plays it more quickly and with more action, rather than "basketball on grass."

Key part for me is the ending paragraph:

"Football is a zero-sum game, and this season’s offensive explosion has come at the expense of defenses that have, for the most part, struggled to adapt. The season’s long; scoring may wane as defensive coaches adjust to new players and new play-callers; passing efficiency may drop as players get hurt and as the weather gets colder. But that’s no sure thing, and with offenses showing little sign of slowing down, we might be getting closer to talking about how the league’s going to solve its defensive crisis."

The article details all the recent innovating (at least for the NFL) that offenses have done to make their job (scoring points) easier. What was the last defensive innovation? Most of the stuff a team like the Rams is doing is run every Saturday in colleges across the country but NFL coordinators act like they've never considered it before. This is the same league that took over a year to understand how to defend the Wildcat. That is inexcusable. It is the 2000's. Download some games to your computer and get in the lab and figure some stuff out. But, whatever, you've got your system Mr. NFL DC. Keep running the same old crap. And keep watching offenses just rip it apart.

I am not clever enough to know what the answer is, but I know there is always a counter for any move your opponent makes. Offense has moved ahead of defense and now the stodgy old conservative coaches on the defensive side of the ball need to innovate and adapt. Offenses have done it with many coaches redesigning their schemes from the ground up over the last 2-4 years. Where are the Sean McVay's of defense? Or the defensive version of Andy Reid who incorporates new ideas into older concepts to create something new?

[Fire Goodell]

Fantasy Football has a little to do with it but this is based on TV ratings and higher ratings equals higher revenue. A 10-3 Defensive slug fest isn’t going to appeal to the average or new fan. They’ll turn that off in an instant. However, a 38-36 offesnsive fireworks show, those fans will hang in there. That’s what Roger wants. He wants new fans. He wants more fans and he wants worldwide fans...why? Because more fans = more ratings = more revenue. It has NOTHING to do with player safety...if it did, he wouldn’t be putting players out there on short rest or losing a day of rest to jump on a plane to go to Mexico or London or somewhere across the country on short rest.

That's not really true, I was a new fan that got hooked on seeing defenses play. Scoring doesn't necessarily make the game more exciting. I still wouldn't watch hockey, baseball, or soccer if the final scores all of a sudden were 20-18. Maybe if there was a soccer game that high scoring, I'd keep it on the channel for a bit to just see how it happened (before changing the channel again), but if it's the norm it's boring all over again. If I wanted to see scores of 100+ I'd watch basketball

[Steeldude]

as a fan from the 1969-70 the game played today barely resembles the game I fell in love with as a child

It's not football any longer. It's actually getting very boring to watch. I used to be glued to the set when I watched the Steelers. I didnt want anyone bugging me during game time. Nowadays I find myself reading news articles on my iPad during the game.

- - - Updated - - -

It's time for a new USFL. Bring back football.

[tube517]

It's not football any longer. It's actually getting very boring to watch. I used to be glued to the set when I watched the Steelers. I didnt want anyone bugging me during game time. Nowadays I find myself reading news articles on my iPad during the game.

- - - Updated - - -

It's time for a new USFL. Bring back football.

Alliance of American Football

https://aaf.com/

Troy and Hines are on the Executive Board.

[86WARD]

That's not really true, I was a new fan that got hooked on seeing defenses play. Scoring doesn't necessarily make the game more exciting. I still wouldn't watch hockey, baseball, or soccer if the final scores all of a sudden were 20-18. Maybe if there was a soccer game that high scoring, I'd keep it on the channel for a bit to just see how it happened (before changing the channel again), but if it's the norm it's boring all over again. If I wanted to see scores of 100+ I'd watch basketball

I would argue that you are an exception to the rule. Your new “uneducated” or casual “lady fan” is what I am taking about.

[Fire Goodell]

I would argue that you are an exception to the rule. Your new “uneducated” or casual “lady fan” is what I am taking about.

Not going to disagree entirely, but what attracted me to the game was the intensity of it. Seeing players fly all the place and seeing collisions get the blood flowing haha. One of my ex girlfriends got into football watching it with me, and her favorite player was Troy Polamalu cause he was the dude flying all over the place and making crazy tackles. I think an intense 20-17 game is a lot more entertaining than seeing a 38-35 shootout with players posing for pics or showboating whenever they score a TD.

Of course seeing teams like "Greatest Show On Turf", or Manning vs Brady games weren't just exciting because of the points scored, it's just because they were the best in the damn business. If every other team is scoring 40 pts a game, it's nothing special, but the team that's the best will be scoring 50+ and THAT's the team people will want to see play. In this case, it's not wanting to see higher scores, the fans just want to see the best players / teams play.

What I'm trying to say is an intense game would attract more viewers than just high scoring games. I could be wrong, but there's been a downward trend in viewership while average scores have been going up.

[Mojouw]

I'm not going to dispute anything anyone is saying, but the trend to fondly remember "yesterday" over "today" is really strong here!

We have fans who started watching the NFL ranging through the past 4 or 5 decades. Each saying football was better when they first started watching. The funny thing is that it is all true!

We all tend to more fondly remember things from the past than appreciating current things.

[Fire Goodell]

I'm not going to dispute anything anyone is saying, but the trend to fondly remember "yesterday" over "today" is really strong here!

We have fans who started watching the NFL ranging through the past 4 or 5 decades. Each saying football was better when they first started watching. The funny thing is that it is all true!

We all tend to more fondly remember things from the past than appreciating current things.

Well, if you do like defense and hard hits, then it is true. Of course I like seeing AB do AB things, but man there was nothing like seeing Hines Ward and James Harrison do what they did. And it was upsetting that they played in that transitional era where at first it was ok, then all of a sudden out of nowhere they start racking up penalties and fines.

[Mojouw]

Well, if you do like defense and hard hits, then it is true. Of course I like seeing AB do AB things, but man there was nothing like seeing Hines Ward and James Harrison do what they did. And it was upsetting that they played in that transitional era where at first it was ok, then all of a sudden out of nowhere they start racking up penalties and fines.

Right. But there are people older than you that think that era was too regulated and not physical enough.

I started watching a bit before you and argue that the hits were harder and the game more ferocious 10-15 years before Ward started playing.

My dad would argue that it was way more physical 10-15 years before that. His father would've talked about 10-15 year prior to that. Pretty soon we are back to leather helmets and the flying wedge.

[Steeler-in-west]

I'm not going to dispute anything anyone is saying, but the trend to fondly remember "yesterday" over "today" is really strong here!

We have fans who started watching the NFL ranging through the past 4 or 5 decades. Each saying football was better when they first started watching. The funny thing is that it is all true!

We all tend to more fondly remember things from the past than appreciating current things.

If one appreciates defense and played any kind of organized ball ‘back then’ specially on the defensive side, or even just watched and loved football for the hitting - can’t help but see the game changing for the worse. All change is not good, nor is it all bad (equipment, training, conditioning are all better today for example)

[AtlantaDan]

I'm not going to dispute anything anyone is saying, but the trend to fondly remember "yesterday" over "today" is really strong here!

We have fans who started watching the NFL ranging through the past 4 or 5 decades. Each saying football was better when they first started watching. The funny thing is that it is all true!

We all tend to more fondly remember things from the past than appreciating current things.

True that about some games being remembered by me as better than they probably were

I was searching for something else online recently and stumbled across a full game replay of what I recalled as one of my favorite regular season games from the 70s, a 1976 Steelers 7-3 victory over the Bengals in a snowstorm that I had never seen on replay

As I said in posting the game link in the Video Cabinet here, after watching some of the game I realized not a lot happened during the game (except for a great snowstorm in the second half) and recognized why the first wave of rules changes to help the offense were implemented a few years later :chuckle:

[Mojouw]

If one appreciates defense and played any kind of organized ball ‘back then’ specially on the defensive side, or even just watched and loved football for the hitting - can’t help but see the game changing for the worse. All change is not good, nor is it all bad (equipment, training, conditioning are all better today for example)

Sure. But see my other post. What "back then" are we talking about?

I started watching football in the 1980's. I remember my father, grandfathers, and uncles talking then about how the game wasn't as physical as it used to be and whatnot.

Fire Goodell is talking about the 1990's!

Who is correct? Likely everyone is...but that would mean there is no conclusively "better" era of football - simply the era we each fell in love with the game...

[Steeler-in-west]

Sure. But see my other post. What "back then" are we talking about?

I started watching football in the 1980's. I remember my father, grandfathers, and uncles talking then about how the game wasn't as physical as it used to be and whatnot.

Fire Goodell is talking about the 1990's!

Who is correct? Likely everyone is...but that would mean there is no conclusively "better" era of football - simply the era we each fell in love with the game...

mine started near the same era, late 70’s through the 80’s. But yeah, it’s all opinion in the end, there is no right or wrong really. Some may like the new NFL, maybe for the prolific passing and high scores, maybe the safety issue, can’t be for the hitting, but you have to admit the toughness of the game was what it was all about, today they’re starting to change the game fundamentally: QB’s are basically untouchable and so are receivers, that’s huge.

[Mojouw]

mine started near the same era, late 70’s through the 80’s. But yeah, it’s all opinion in the end, there is no right or wrong really. Some may like the new NFL, maybe for the prolific passing and high scores, maybe the safety issue, can’t be for the hitting, but you have to admit the toughness of the game was what it was all about, today they’re starting to change the game fundamentally: QB’s are basically untouchable and so are receivers, that’s huge.

FWIW, I agree but there are a generation of fans learning the game right now that in 10 years will be talking about this current era as a "better time". It's all relative.