There is a very interesting piece on ESPN this morning from Michael Wilbon of PTI fame. He discusses the radical shift in football offensive philosophy from a run-oriented game to the pass-wacky game of the present day and how defenses have had to cope with it. New rules designed to protect the quarterbacks have given the field generals more freedom than ever to dictate the flow of a game. Case in point: Tom Brady throws for 517 yards in Week 1, 3 quarterbacks throw for over 400 yards, and 14 quarterbacks throw for over 300 yards. At over 7,800 yards, more yards were gained passing in week 1 than ever before. As a result, defenses are left dazed and confused, without really anything they can do about it.
Why is this happening? In discussions with Darren Woodson and Herm Edwards, Wilbon argues that new research into concussions and head injuries have made the game softer than it 20th century counterpart. Throw on top of that rules such as the 5-yard chuck rule on receivers, as well as rules protecting defenseless receivers, the NFL is a league ripe for huge amounts of yards to be gained and points to be scored. Defenses are not allowed to hit hard anymore, and the days of big-hitting defenses are, in fact, over. Quarterback is the most important (and highest paid) position on the field. Teams just cannot afford big time quarterbacks to get injured. Look at Indianapolis today without Peyton Manning. New England had to go a season without Tom Brady and missed the playoffs (granted, they were still 11-5 that year). Bill Parcells has declared the end of the era of the strong safety. Running offenses allow 11 guys to possibly tackle the ball carrier, whereas passing offenses make a ball carrier worry about only 3 or 4. You are seeing a domino effect as well in lower levels (college and high school). Even schools like Notre Dame, Alabama, and Penn State have dramatically shifted from option and run-oriented offenses to more shotgun spread, 4-wide receiver sets.
Do I think that the defense has died in football? No I don't. However, it is licking its wounds as it were. Like all sports, there are certain periods of time that favor offense, and certain periods of time that favor defense. Think about in baseball, you have the dead ball era and the live ball era (and the steroid era...). In football, we have entered the era of spread formations and the over-protection of the quarterback, and offenses are taking advantage. However, coaches in football are smart. They will learn to adjust. Wilbon makes an excellent point in saying that the way to stop premier quarterbacks like Manning is to let them get inside the 20, and exploit the shrunken field. These teams make their hay on spreading the field out, and big fields are exactly what they want to see. Shrink the field, and that takes a very key weapon away. Unfortunately, the days of true big-hitting defenses are in fact over, as I don't see the league relaxing on the rules any time soon (and rightfully so). This just means that teams are going to have to get smarter on defense, and I feel like they will. Instead of the mantra of "kill the quarterback," the mantra will become "take the ball away" or "get to the spot before he does" or something like that. Football is a game built on speed moreso than power in the 21st century, and you're already starting to see that with guys like Revis and Reed patrolling the secondary. Defense will be fine, and so will quarterbacks. So they will enjoy their 500 yard passing games now, but eventually everyone will come back down to Earth...or just back to under center.
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