The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

SMUs Tyreek Smith dunks as the Mustangs run up the scoreboard against Memphis in Moody Coliseum.
SMU finds new head coach for men’s basketball
Brian Richardson, Contributor • March 28, 2024
Instagram

Pouring on the scoring

Football has become a monster. Nothing else in America can slow its insatiable wrath.

Baseball has almost given up with the gimmicks of trying to compete. Basketball relies too heavily on the same teams and individual talents for each new decade.

Hockey’s decline is nothing short of laughable in the face of supreme talent.

How did this happen so quickly? Was it some sort of drug every red-blooded American took overnight?

Did former NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle’s last gasp of air on this earth curse every other major sport in the U.S. to a battle for second place?

The answer is as simple as it is beautiful: the points and production of the on-field talent in the National Football League have never been bigger or better, and the statistics prove it.

In the history of the most popular domestic league going today, never before have offenses dominated against defenses quite like they are now.

Through week seven of the 2013 season, games are showing more points (23.1) per contest than ever, while total yards and plays have also spiked, according to Pro-football-reference.com.

The average number of points in a contest has steadily increased over the last eight seasons, growing from barely over 20 per outing to what it is now. This may not seem like much, but ask any bookie in Las Vegas, and I’m sure you’ll quickly discover how impactful a field goal difference can be.

So what exactly happened in the league that got its respectability from low-scoring, hard-hitting contests where bloody noses reigned supreme?

This one may be even simpler than the last question. Quarterbacks are so much better than anything the sport has ever seen.

Offenses are so complex and yet the best signal-callers of today’s time are so much better than any of their predecessors that the increase in statistical output is almost expected.

For example, before 1999 there had only been one quarterback in professional football history who had thrown for more than 5,000 yards and 40 touchdown passes, Dan Marino.

By 2013, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford, Kurt Warner and Aaron Rodgers have all done at least one of the two, and all within the past 15 seasons.

Countless other quarterbacks have come close to these high tallies, but all this does is go to show what used to be a good year statistically – say 3,000 yards and 25 plus touchdown passes – is now as prehistoric as baseball’s claim to America’s pastime.

Games did not get longer however, which means something must’ve taken a huge step backward in terms of what plays get called for which individuals.

In other words, the people who originally built this game, running backs, are going down – not literally, but in terms of how many yards and carries they will be receiving per game.

Mid-way through this year, Running backs are getting fewer carries, fewer touchdowns and fewer yards than ever.

While the yards per game have been worse, 107.4 in 2013 as opposed to barely over 104 back in 1994, the attempts teams call for runs have dropped by nearly a full carry and touchdowns are down a tenth to 0.7, the lowest since 2001 and tied for the worst since the AFL/NFL merger in 1970.

Coaches are getting used to throwing the ball so much now, that the grittiest, gutsiest players on the football field are finding out just how replaceable they may be.

With the exception of a few unprecedented talents, the NFL knows what butters its bread week in and week out.

When kids walk into a stadium nowadays, they aren’t there for the excellent blocking ability of the right tackle on a half back draw; they’re there to see Manning, Robert Griffin III or Russell Wilson throw the ball around like a toy and put up points in bunches.

The NFL is a creature that can’t seem to be stopped. A ruthless predator that has so much going for it, but the best trait of all is that the monster looks as beautiful as ever.

 

More to Discover