The Ringer: How football stopped being fun

[Section446]

Good read...

https://www.___GET_REAL_URL___/s/ww...chability-fun-football-boring-quality-of-play

We are living in the golden age of failed completions, a statistic as grim as it sounds. Tracked by Football Outsiders, failed completions occur when a team doesn’t get 45 percent of the yards it needs on first down, 60 percent on second down, and 100 percent on third or fourth down. The stat goes back to 1989, and last season Joe Flacco set the record with 144. Nothing encapsulates this era of football as well as the failed completion: allegedly a success, but ultimately a bleak disappointment.

 

[ChronicCowboy]

Good read. The NFL is much less watchable than in eras past. I think it is an accumulation of lots of things. Players aren't as likable; offenses too conservative; too many penalties; too many play stoppages; no more big hits without a flag; less talent overall; poor overall coaching. It all plays a part.

 

[Jenky]

Gooddell.

 

[sean10mm]

I don't know how you'd measure "coaching parity," but whatever it is, we sure as hell don't have it. Everybody is outright stupid compared to Belichick, and it makes everything about the games real dumb and bad to watch.

Pick a random year in the 1980s and you could have some combination of Tom Landry, Joe Gibbs, Don Shula, Bill Walsh, Chuck Noll and/or Bill Parcells duking it out.

In the 1990s those ranks are thinning, but some are still alive and kicking and even winning titles, plus you've got Jimmy Johnson's dominance, and many guys who were not historically great but still seen as really good like Holmgren, Shanahan, Vermeil. The 90s also had Coughlin and the insanely good job he did with the expansion Jacksonville team, and Cowher winning a ton without a real QB before they got Big Ben, and probably some others I'm forgetting. Some of those guys burned out in 2000+ but at their 1990s peaks they were very respected.

Plus I know I'm leaving some guys out.

Tomlin, Harbaugh, Reid, McCarthy, and Carroll are the best of the rest, but all of them strike me as deeply flawed in various ways, and would all be seen as 2nd or even 3rd tier coaching talents in the 70s, 80s or 90s.

 

[Stryker44]

I don't know how you'd measure "coaching parity," but whatever it is, we sure as hell don't have it. Everybody is outright stupid compared to Belichick, and it makes everything about the games real dumb and bad to watch.

Pick a random year in the 1980s and you could have some combination of Tom Landry, Joe Gibbs, Don Shula, Bill Walsh, Chuck Noll and/or Bill Parcells duking it out.

In the 1990s those ranks are thinning, but some are still alive and kicking and even winning titles, plus you've got Jimmy Johnson's dominance, and many guys who were not historically great but still seen as really good like Holmgren, Shanahan, Vermeil. The 90s also had Coughlin and the insanely good job he did with the expansion Jacksonville team, and Cowher winning a ton without a real QB before they got Big Ben, and probably some others I'm forgetting. Some of those guys burned out in 2000+ but at their 1990s peaks they were very respected.

Plus I know I'm leaving some guys out.

Tomlin, Harbaugh, Reid, McCarthy, and Carroll are the best of the rest, but all of them strike me as deeply flawed in various ways, and would all be seen as 2nd or even 3rd tier coaching talents in the 70s, 80s or 90s.

Reid destroyed and broke Belichick. Mind, body, and soul.

 

[sean10mm]

Reid destroyed and broke Belichick. Mind, body, and soul.

LOL OK yeah, one regular season game did that. You're dreaming buddy.

Meanwhile Belichick dunked on Reid in the Super Bowl, and again against the Chiefs in the playoffs a couple years back, in basically the exact same way.

Carroll has a regular season win against the Patriots too, but he was *****made in the Super Bowl, when real coaches make their reputations.

Winners count their rings, losers get excited about regular season upsets as if they were the Super Bowl.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I was saying something similar to this about 2 years ago. The offensive designs are not fun to watch anymore. All of these pick plays mean a lot of dink-n-dunk and the big plays come off either a missed assignment or more likely, an offensive player getting away with offensive PI.

I watched this in the Saints vs. Patriots game. Guys only got open when both sides were getting away with offensive PI's. I think the fans prefer watching a player get open or the DB make a pick thru athletic ability and skill rather than scheme and/or getting away with PI.

I also think that this year the refs have slacked off on illegal contact and defensive holding. It's been bad league wide, but particularly with the Cowboys as Dez is getting mugged out there.

Another hidden factor is the over-protection of the QB. You see a great defensive play or stop and it's negated by either a bad call for roughing the passer or too ticky-tack of a penalty. What's crazy is you see QB's around the league looking for flags all of the time just at the mere thought of being slightly tapped on the helmet.

Lombardi said it best...football is a game of controlled violence. Whether you like it or not, you must have both. And in the 70's and prior there was too much violence and not enough control. Now we have swung it the other way and it's all about control and nary a peep of violence.





YR

 

[DandyDon52]

Bad coaches indeed , diva players. Bad refereeing and rules the whole process of the catch crap. A whole month of pink shoes Etc I think Goodell is a big part of the reason that the game isn't as fun to watch.

 

[Nova]

Good read. The NFL is much less watchable than in eras past. I think it is an accumulation of lots of things. Players aren't as likable; offenses too conservative; too many penalties; too many play stoppages; no more big hits without a flag; less talent overall; poor overall coaching. It all plays a part.

It wasn't the best idea to expand the league after the implementation of the cap.

The level of competition is lame because talent is spread so thin and some of the talent is trapped in irrelevance.

Teams like JAX, CLE, NYJ etc just suck up talent with lopsided contracts and high draft picks, dooming the rest of the league.

 

[Blackspider214]

Reid destroyed and broke Belichick. Mind, body, and soul.

This is hilarious. Fat Andy Reid has gotten to Bill in the regular season in the past. 2014 to be exact. What happened later that year? Pats won a Super Bowl. Won another one last season. Regular season doesn't mean much to Bill at this point.

Go check the record of Andy Reid against Bill in the playoffs. Lost a Super Bowl in 2004 and then got drilled in the divisional round a few years ago. Bill owns Reid when it matters.

 

[Blackspider214]

I think teams are scared to take chances. Go watch highlights of the older eras. I ran through the NFL America's Game in order. Back then, QBs were not bashed for incomplete passes or turnovers at all. QBs would have multiple turnovers a game and it didn't matter. They still won rings. Now it's all about completion percentage and trying to be too perfect too often. Hence why we now have offenses predicated on short gains and the safer plays. QBs rarely take chances these days unless it is absolutely necessary. This also goes to the rule changes for defense. You can't play defense any longer. WRs are allowed to run free. You can't sneeze on a QB any longer. This makes for easy pitch and catch every game. It's not even a struggle to move the ball most games these days.

The offenses of the past like the 98 Vikings, 99 Rams, 80s Chargers, 07 Pats and some others are almost dead. Those teams took chances and aired it out. Almost every offense today is pretty much the same thing. 60% pass, 40% run, short to intermediate, safe throws to move the sticks. No offense is that unique any longer. It took the character out of the game. Also you can't celebrate anything without a 15yd penalty.

 

[KB1122]

I read that the other day. Good article. Here's another factor: Who are the three most charismatic players to come into the league in the past decade? Tim Tebow, Johnny Manziel and Robert Griffin. Where are they now? Andrew Luck has the personality of a turnip.

You hear all the time about players with personalities being "distractions." But playing Scott Tolzien or Case Keenum as your quarterback isn't a problem. Because if you're Jeff Fisher, you just want somebody that keeps their mouth shut and doesn't turn the ball over.

This league, like this country, has a bad problem with conservative corporatism. The NFL used to be full of characters. It's not now.

 

[mahoneybill]

I think teams are scared to take chances. Go watch highlights of the older eras. I ran through the NFL America's Game in order. Back then, QBs were not bashed for incomplete passes or turnovers at all. QBs would have multiple turnovers a game and it didn't matter. They still won rings. Now it's all about completion percentage and trying to be too perfect too often. Hence why we now have offenses predicated on short gains and the safer plays. QBs rarely take chances these days unless it is absolutely necessary. This also goes to the rule changes for defense. You can't play defense any longer. WRs are allowed to run free. You can't sneeze on a QB any longer. This makes for easy pitch and catch every game. It's not even a struggle to move the ball most games these days.

The offenses of the past like the 98 Vikings, 99 Rams, 80s Chargers, 07 Pats and some others are almost dead. Those teams took chances and aired it out. Almost every offense today is pretty much the same thing. 60% pass, 40% run, short to intermediate, safe throws to move the sticks. No offense is that unique any longer. It took the character out of the game. Also you can't celebrate anything without a 15yd penalty.

Agree. Bradshaw had almost as many ints as TD's and with his arm an int on a 3rd down was like a punt taking into account the D he had to back him up

 

[Blackspider214]

Agree. Bradshaw had almost as many ints as TD's and with his arm an int on a 3rd down was like a punt taking into account the D he had to back him up

Yep. But stat readers will tell you that some QB today was better because of that reason. Which is false. If Bradshaw played today, he'd fit right in to today's way of thinking. A lot of QBs back then did not have the greatest TD/INT ratio. No one cared about that stuff at all. You won the game and moved on. Not so hung up on all these metrics. Teams are so afraid to make a mistake or turnover these days. You can't tell teams apart these days at all.

 

[Sarge]

Yep. But stat readers will tell you that some QB today was better because of that reason. Which is false. If Bradshaw played today, he'd fit right in to today's way of thinking. A lot of QBs back then did not have the greatest TD/INT ratio. No one cared about that stuff at all. You won the game and moved on. Not so hung up on all these metrics. Teams are so afraid to make a mistake or turnover these days. You can't tell teams apart these days at all.

Agree. QB ratings are entirely overrated in general.

 

[Blackspider214]

Agree. QB ratings are entirely overrated in general.

Exactly. They are convoluted stats created for discussion purposes only. You can spit out this stat and claim this QB is better than this one. The formula to arrive at these numbers is not straight forward at all. All you have to do is watch the games and you can tell if a QB had a good game with all the circumstances around it.

Then ESPN created their own QB rating and it's even worse.

 

[erod]

Spread offenses are painfully boring to watch and produce too much dink and dunk uselessness.

 

[Stryker44]

Its not meant to be fun. It is battle, and a simulation of war between enemies.

 

[KB1122]

I think passer rating was a very useful stat for a long time, and still pretty good. But nowadays there are players who intentionally try to inflate it. Sam Bradford.

 

[Sarge]

If you read the article, it explains precisely why you can't compare Tony Romo to Roger Staubach.