10/4 Games Prove Again: Throw the Ball or Be a Loser

[T-RO]

I laugh when fans suggest we are going to ride our running backs to the playoffs. This league is all about the passing game--and it's getting more and more tilted all the time.

Today's samples:
Indy 329 out of 355 yards passing the ball (93%) (28 points in 3 quarters)
Giants - 68% of their yards through the air (27 points in 3 quarters)
Patriots 79% of their yards through the air (24 points in 3 quarters)

These are very typical numbers for the new 2010ish NFL era.

Even if you run the ball well you can't score enough without passing the ball a minimum of 58% of your plays.

Only vertically inclined teams have a chance anymore.

 

[StylisticS]

I bet you won't see those type of numbers come December.

 

[Hypnotoad]

Pass Offenses are usually more prevalent the first four weeks of the year. Defenses are slow to start too. Rushing becomes more critical in the last month of the season. Today's stats just support that.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I laugh when fans suggest we are going to ride our running backs to the playoffs. This league is all about the passing game--and it's getting more and more tilted all the time.

Today's samples:
Indy 329 out of 355 yards passing the ball (93%) (28 points in 3 quarters)
Giants - 68% of their yards through the air (27 points in 3 quarters)
Patriots 79% of their yards through the air (24 points in 3 quarters)

These are very typical numbers for the new 2010ish NFL era.

Even if you run the ball well you can't score enough without passing the ball a minimum of 58% of your plays.

Only vertically inclined teams have a chance anymore.

Correct.

I'm continually dumbfounded by the number of folks that post here that believe that a 1975 offensive philosophy is the "key" to winning football.

This team rushed for over 200 yards vs. Carolina and still only scored 14 points on offense.

That's not going to do it.

And to think that this team can put together 3 long-scoring drives per game that result in TD's without shooting itself in the foot with penalties is well...

It needs to add a long-distance TD or two in order to score more than 20 points per game.

 

[Cochese]

talk to me in december and january.

 

[Hoofbite]

Proof?

Not proof at all.

 

[T-RO]

How is this for December and January:

Super Bowl 2008
Pittsburgh Steelers 87% of yardage by PASSING
Arizona Cardinals 94% of yardage by PASSING

You blind run-lover don't know what they heck you are talking about. You live by mantras you learned in your childhood and are blind to the modern game.

THE NUMBERS ARE THE SAME THROUGHOUT THE SEASON!!!!!!

Passing dominates.

 

[Cochese]

Proof?

Not proof at all.

not proof. indy destroying a terrible seattle team and the nyg destroying a horrible cheifs team is proof of nothing.

running still wins game, it tires and demoralizes a defense, and this will still be true once the weather turns cold and snowy and the games grow even more important.

 

[zeroburrito]

running trams blow plain and simple.

 

[Cochese]

How is this for December and January:

Super Bowl 2008
Pittsburgh Steelers 87% of yardage by PASSING
Arizona Cardinals 94% of yardage by PASSING

You blind run-lover don't know what they heck you are talking about. You live by mantras you learned in your childhood and are blind to the modern game.

THE NUMBERS ARE THE SAME THROUGHOUT THE SEASON!!!!!!

Passing dominates.

of course passing will yield a higher percentage of total yards...jeezus, you dont have a clue what you are talking about.

 

[T-RO]

The "blue collar" Steelers for the SEASON last year were 27th (!) in the league in rushing the ball but 7th in passing.

73% of the Steeler yardage came through passing!!!!!!!! The other Super Bowl team, the Cards threw even more.

The teams of the decade (Colts and Pats) have higher pass bias than average.

 

[AsthmaField]

Jason Campbell won today. That doesn't help any argument about having to pass to win.

 

[T-RO]

of course passing will yield a higher percentage of total yards...jeezus, you dont have a clue what you are talking about.

You are so right. In my naivety I thought the goal of offense was yardage, first downs and touchdowns. I thought you wanted MORE points than the other guys. How silly of me.

And how silly of ALL the recent top teams for passing nearly 60% of time.

Shame on them for winning Super Bowls every year this decade.
:laugh2:

 

[craig71]

I laugh when fans suggest we are going to ride our running backs to the playoffs. This league is all about the passing game--and it's getting more and more tilted all the time.

Today's samples:
Indy 329 out of 355 yards passing the ball (93%) (28 points in 3 quarters)
Giants - 68% of their yards through the air (27 points in 3 quarters)
Patriots 79% of their yards through the air (24 points in 3 quarters)

These are very typical numbers for the new 2010ish NFL era.

Even if you run the ball well you can't score enough without passing the ball a minimum of 58% of your plays.

Only vertically inclined teams have a chance anymore.

To a certain extent I agree with you.The current rules of the game promote scoring,the NFL as a whole believes higher scoring games equate to more fans.More fans equate to more revenue which is the goal of any business.Personally I believe you need a good ground game with the ability to throw the ball if the situation dictates it,a team without the ability to throw the ball is to easy to defend against.

Craig

 

[T-RO]

Jason Campbell won today. That doesn't help any argument about having to pass to win.

Campbell was the better quarterback today--against a rookie. And why are the Skins hopeless to have a winning season? Campbell is a below average quarterback.

Quarterbacks are 3 times more important in this league than running backs. Maybe five times more important.

 

[T-RO]

This season New England has thrown the ball 142 times and ran the ball 82 times. That's a pass rate of 63%.

I guess Bill Belichick doesn't know what he's doing.

 

[Hoofbite]

Campbell was the better quarterback today--against a rookie. And why are the Skins hopeless to have a winning season? Campbell is a below average quarterback.

Quarterbacks are 3 times more important in this league than running backs. Maybe five times more important.

True but there are teams every year who make the playoffs even though they don't have Godly passing games.

Minny, Miami, Carolina and Tenn all made it to the post season.

QB play is only so important because that position handles the ball more than any other. If you have a QB who gives the ball away left and right, you're doomed.

However, having a stud is not a prerequisite to winning. There is no proof to that claim.

 

[T-RO]

However, having a stud (QB) is not a prerequisite to winning. There is no proof to that claim.

No. There is no proof at all. Merely the fact that every year it's a Roethlesberger, a Manning, a Brady or some such all-pro quarterback who hoists the trophy.

Oh and guys like Bradshaw, Staubach, Montana, and Aikman -- they didn't win many Super Bowls either.

I can name countless Super Bowls where people wouldn't even remember who the running backs were (or werent').

And don't make me laugh by brining up Dilfer. That Raven team relied on it's defense not it's offense. That season was also before what I'm calling the truly modern 2010ish era.

 

[T-RO]

Minny, Miami, Carolina and Tenn all made it to the post season.

And how far did they go? Minn has the best running back in the league and an outstanding defense but they only won that division last year because it was so pathetically bad.

Miami has come back to earth. Why? No quarterback.

Carolina is winless. Bad quarterback play.

Tenn also has been awful since the first 10 games of last season.


Is that the best you can give me?

 

[Daudr]

You are so right. In my naivety I thought the goal of offense was yardage, first downs and touchdowns. I thought you wanted MORE points than the other guys. How silly of me.

And how silly of ALL the recent top teams for passing nearly 60% of time.

Shame on them for winning Super Bowls every year this decade.
:laugh2:

Time of possession also plays a huge part. If you can't run, you are not likely to win because you can't keep the good offensive teams off the field. When you play bad teams, passing a lot will get you ahead in points and they can't keep up, with a good team they will keep up and control the clock so you will lose more than you win.