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.

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

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.

I didn't realize that Oakland was so balanced. Yet they still cannot win.

One quick question about simple math though. Does 10 win Talent -10 win Coaching= 0-16 Season? At what point does subtraction become addition?

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by Angry

I didn't realize that Oakland was so balanced. Yet they still cannot win.

One quick question about simple math though. Does 10 win Talent -10 win Coaching= 0-16 Season? At what point does subtraction become addition?

Lol, I never claimed to be a math genius. Fortunately we cannot go 0-16, but anything beyond that-all bets are off.

[SouperMeister]

For how much the rules are slanted to help the passing game, we still have problems getting the ball to Kelly, Thomas, and Davis. As long as our passing attack is limited almost exclusively to Moss, Randle El, and Cooley, we will continue to have drives bog down. Almost every team running a WCO spreads the ball to a larger number of receivers. Perhaps it's still a trust issue with the youngsters, but we certainly make it look harder than most teams.

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by SouperMeister

For how much the rules are slanted to help the passing game, we still have problems getting the ball to Kelly, Thomas, and Davis. As long as our passing attack is limited almost exclusively to Moss, Randle El, and Cooley, we will continue to have drives bog down. Almost every team running a WCO spreads the ball to a larger number of receivers. Perhaps it's still a trust issue with the youngsters, but we certainly make it look harder than most teams.

And we have for years and years. I have a hard time remembering when we were not a slow, plodding team.

[44Deezel]

Originally Posted by SouperMeister

For how much the rules are slanted to help the passing game, we still have problems getting the ball to Kelly, Thomas, and Davis. As long as our passing attack is limited almost exclusively to Moss, Randle El, and Cooley, we will continue to have drives bog down. Almost every team running a WCO spreads the ball to a larger number of receivers. Perhaps it's still a trust issue with the youngsters, but we certainly make it look harder than most teams.

Trust my ass. We have a bad coach and an average QB. Just about every "bomb" hasn't even been close and fade routes and sideline passes have routinely fallen short or way out of bounds. We will be dead last again in pass interference calls.

[44Deezel]

Originally Posted by jamf

In previous years( Decades...), The good teams could run the ball down your throat.

There have always been passing teams ( Houston Run and Shoot ) but when it came down to December and January football, The successful teams were the ones that could run ball first and pass to maintain some balance.


Looking at the dominant teams now, I can't help but think it's turned into a passing league.
Cornerbacks can no longer play a true press coverage.
Quarterbacks draw atleast 2 roughing the passer calls a game.
Why not throw it 40 times a game and make 4 big plays.

Look at the previous Superbowl teams:
Patriots
Steelers
Giants
Cardinals

Only the Giants are a run first team and still they have the ability to throw it 40 times a game.

Is it time to adjust to a pass happy offense and take advantage of the new rules protecting QBs and WRs or is the old Smashmouth football strategy the best way to go?

The Skins ARE a pass happy team. They just aren't good at it. Towards the end of the Lions game, Stafford was throwing downfield at will, and each time he had a WR in single coverage and the ball was thrown accurately enough to give his Receiver a chance to make a play. We were lucky Calvin Johnson got called for pass interference. We should take a page from their playbook. How awful does that sound?

But yes, it's a passing league. That's why I draft 2 WRs first in Fantasy when a few years ago the rule of thumb was to draft RBs in the first 2 or even 3 rounds.