Points-a-Palooza

[Eric]

I'm not entirely just talking about the college game, although some of this applies to the college game.

In the NFL, I'm seeing record-offensive output. I don't have the stats on hand to back this up, but I would assume this year would have to set the all-time points per game record. Peyton Manning threw for 7 TDs. Nick Foles threw for 7 TDs. New England had 629 yards of offense against Pittsburgh while Pittsburgh put up over 500 yards of their own. These offensive numbers are crazy. I think a lot of it has to do with the officiating and how the rules have changed to be biased against traditional defense. The QBs are basically untouchable and defensive backs almost have no chance with the way the contact rules are set up.

But, I also think offensive smarts on the rise and that comes with the advent of the spread offense and how some of the elements have trickled up to the NFL. In the college game, most people assume that this means that teams chuck the ball around 70 times, but if you check out the box scores, the spread teams that go crazy like Oregon and Baylor do most of their damage on the ground. The spread rushing games have really taken off as well as the big passing plays. Tackling is a lost art form for a lot of colleges though.

It's fun for fantasy football though (I had Foles this week )

[donovan]

Couple what you say with players, in all sports, being bigger, faster and stronger, the scores will explode. I watche Drew Bledsoe in Spokane at a training camp, throw the ball, flat-footed from the 50 yard line into the end zone and the ball never went higher than 7 or 8 feet and it hit the receiver right in the chest, fortunately he caught the ball. How are you going to defend against a bullet?

The rules have become so scrutinized that every play is going to have holding and interference. And we will take two to three minutes to microscopically analyze a call that was made in a split second.

This all goes against defense, because they can not control the speed of play and the speed of the ball. Teams like Oregon run more plays per game, and that is becoming the norm.

What I do not like about high scoring games, is it almost always means the defense is helpless...not bad nor good, just helpless and so you miss half of the excitemnt. The main problem is the game loses some interest. When Ohio State's game is over, for all intents and purpose, at the end of the first quarter, you are changing games.

When I go to the game, I want to be entertained. That's why I go. I never forget I have paid money for a three hours time frame that could feed a lot of hungry kids and pay someone's rent. (I on the other hand, do not have a $200 month cable bill that could do the same.) I think rules and officiating are contiunally changed to increase scoring. That is what people want. Despite my frequent prattlings about defense, mainly to get Spence going, who wants the Jack Tatum's of the world on both sides of the line of scrimage and if there isn't even a ball, that would work too, I think the defense is getting ruled out.

Interference calls, I believe, use to be called by officials based on "common sense and observation." Did what the defender do interfere with the receiver catching the ball?" They got it right most of the time. Now they rule based on a micro list of things the are to observed and if they see that happen, they blow the whistle without any overall subjective call as to whether or not the receiver was obstructed. And consequently they miss a lot of interference and whistle a lot of just plain football contact.

The number of plays run I think are the main reason. I am sure someone has those stats...

[Spence]

I don't think bigger, faster, stronger has a lot to do with it. I would think that would be relative. I think the new rules limiting what defenses can do is causing it.