After watching all or portions of three NFL games during Week 1, it has become apparent that NFL defenses (except for a hopeless few) continue to gain the advantage over NFL offenses again this year.
The NFL’s Week 1 saw six teams score fewer than 10 points while only four teams were able to put 30 or more points on the scoreboard on offense. I do not wager on football games (I play the much safer stock market!), but I understand from reliable sources that 10 of the 15 NFL games played this week finished their games with the total number of points scored by both teams lower than the so-called “over-under” total points predicted by those talented investor groups based in Las Vegas. Vegas likes 50-50 odds much better, so watch for declining values of “over-under” as the market adjusts going forward.
The NFL continues to drift further and further toward extinction as the game has become less spontaneous, more political (thank you, Mr. Kaepernick), and, on the whole, many NFL teams seem to have a tougher time scoring offensive touchdowns every year. For these and other different reasons, viewership in the NFL is on the decline again as the 2017 season begins.
Though I will address the increasing number totally unnecessary (and downright lethal) violent defensive plays caused, in large part, by players leaving their feet and using their helmets/heads as a weapon in an upcoming blog post, fans are clamoring for more offense. Who wants to see New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees continue throwing “dink and dunk” passes for less than 10 yards as one of the NFL’s most accurate passers struggled to find a few seconds to seek a downfield receiver against the Minnesota Vikings? Would anyone have predicted that, on a beautiful clear and warm day in Green Bay, the offensive juggernaut Packers would score only 17 points while, equally shocking, only surrender just nine points to the Seattle Seahawks? Most everyone had expected both of those teams to exceed 20 points apiece in a higher scoring game.
NFL defenses have blossomed of late by adding bigger, leaner, quicker,and meaner players while, on the whole, the number of truly gifted NFL quarterbacks has been in decline. Better defenses versus weaker offenses = an increasing number of lower scoring NFL football games. More boring and more snoring also leads to more viewers who are finding other things to do on Sunday afternoons rather than watch the Texans, Saints, Seahawks, Steelers, and NFL teams kicking field goals instead of scoring touchdowns.
So, what can be done to enhance scoring in the NFL? I have given this some thought, so please hear me out. We can agree that NFL quarterbacks now have less time to locate open receivers because of faster rushers coming at them and better coverage of would-be receivers by defensive secondaries.
Since the quarterback position is the key for more scoring in the NFL, what would happen if defenses had only 10 players instead of 11? On the offensive side, the quarterback’s role (in general) is to (a) hand the ball to the running back and not block anyone or (b) throw the ball to an open receiver. Due to the increasing punishment inflicted by defensive linemen and linebackers which all NFL quarterbacks must be acutely aware of, let’s add (c) run like crazy to get the first down and then duck quickly to avoid receiving a career-ending hit from an oncoming locomotive (ie – defender).
In effect, this practical yet prolific change to the NFL would simply leave a quarterback and his 10 offensive players against 10 defenders. The quarterback (generally) isn’t a running threat anyway. By giving NFL defenses one less player to rush the quarterback or, if they choose, to cover pass receivers, the NFL quarterback would have an extra split second longer to pinpoint an open receiver and, hopefully, deliver the ball downfield more often.
The obvious result would be an increase in points scored on offense and, hopefully, fewer injuries to quarterbacks and offensive players (the Texans lost all three tight ends due to concussions in week 1!) by defenses which have become increasingly more dominant and, unfortunately, much more violent. But more on that next time…