Is the NFL Broken?
There has been a drastic realignment of offensive power vs defensive power this year in the NFL. Scoring is up, game time is up, defenses are handcuffed and rules are not enforced equally. Is the NFL broken?
NFLfootballinfo 10/7/11 A reason for high scoring offense? Healthy QB's. 30 teams started same QB in all 4 games - most at this point in NFL history.
ESPNStatsInfo 10/9/11 The 4 highest weekly passing yardage totals in NFL history have been recorded during the first 4 weeks of the 2011 season.
ESPNStatsInfo 10/9/11 with 2 more 400-yd pass perf. today (Schaub, Manning) there have been 10 already this season... the NFL record is 13 set in 2004 and 1986.
NFLfootballinfo 10/9/11 Year of the great comebacks. KC win marks 7th time a team trailing by at least 17 points comes back to win - most thru 5 weeks EVER
NFLfootballinfo 10/9/11 10 individual 400-yard games is most ever thru 1st 5 weeks & already ranks 4th most in single season all-time.
ProFootballTalk 10/10/11 NFL experiencing record run of 400-yard passing games.
NFLfootballinfo 10/10/11 Aaron Rodgers is 5th player with 100+ passer rating in each of 1st 5 games of season since 1970.
NFLfootballInfo 10/25/11 The 4,629 points scored is most through 7 weeks of a season in NFL history.
ClaytonESPN 10/25/11 The biggest improvement in stats top this point is passing yards. The average game features 472.7, 28.6 more than the next closest year.
Is anyone really surprised by this offensive explosion? The NFL has completely, and very unequally, changed the way defenses are allowed to play.
· Most hits on QB's are illegal now and the ones that are legal in one game are illegal in another.
· Receivers can go across the middle with complete impunity. They are all allowed to catch the ball and then they get hit, but only in the body.
· Every time a long pass is sent down the sidelines, the entire defense holds its breath to make sure no flag was thrown for pass interference.
· Horse collar tackles are illegal. Why is pulling someone down by the shoulder pads illegal? The tackle controls only the torso, never the neck or head.
· Due to the kickoff change, almost all offensive drives are started on the 20 yard line. Every offense now has the requirement of driving 80 yards to score a touchdown.
Receivers can go across the middle with complete impunity. They are all allowed to catch the ball and then they get hit only in the body.
Every time a long pass is sent down the sidelines, the entire defense holds its breath to make sure no flag was thrown for pass interference. And when the receiver gets up, they act like they were interfered with and call for the flag.
Soccer has floppers and the NFL has flaggers.
I don’t know if the NFL is broken but it sure hasn’t gotten better.