Has the game changed?

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by coggs

I disagree that Pittsburgh is a pass first team, think they are more balanced and rely mainly on their D.

I do think the league has changed for passing. The rules have changed to make it tougher on DBacks, although they finally got rid of that force out rule. The only time the rules do not benefit receivers is when a receiver makes a diving catch. Any hint that the ball even grazed the ground, and it is an incomplete pass. I think offenses need to be balanced, and need to make adjustments. The first 2 weeks, the Skins and Cowboys pretty much sold out to stop the Giants running game, so Eli went to work. This week, the Bucs dropped back to limit the passing, so the Giants ran the ball for over 200 yards. As a fan I love it, especially since it makes it tougher on the fantasy football geeks who can't properly judge whether the Giants will try to run the ball more or pass more in a given week.

Last season Pittsburgh had a 55:45 pass:run ratio.

Of the playoff teams from last season only Tennessee (48:52) Carolina (46:54), Baltimore (44:56) and Atlanta (45:55) had a pass:run ratio slanted to the running game and two of those teams had rookie QB.

The only other team in the league that didn't throw more than they ran was Oakland at 50:50. It's clearly a passing league now, no question.