Call me ‘old school’ – at least when it comes to NFL football.
The current explosion of NFL scoring has been overshadowed during the first three weeks of the 2012 season by the controversies surrounding the use of replacement refs. But, there is no doubt that scoring is off the charts.
Maybe it is because the NFL has become a pass-happy league; maybe it is because of rules that limit what defenses can do to stop (or slow) offenses from scoring at will. Maybe the replacement refs even play a part. Whatever the case, scoring totals are definitely up.
Through the first two weeks of the 2012 NFL season, teams had scored a total of 1,556 point, which is a new record. The previous record of 1,502 was logged last season. That total eclipsed the previous record of 1,442 from 2002. An average jump from 24.3 points per game to 22.5 doesn’t sound like a lot but watching the wild and wacky end of the Titans-Lions game on Sunday sure felt a lot different, to me, than watching the first Titans game (Titans 17 Chiefs 14) I attended back in 2000.
In case you missed the frenetic finish, the Lions scored 14 points in the span of 18 seconds to tie the game 41-41 and send the game into OT. The Titans kicked the winning field goal in OT to win 44-41. That sure felt a lot different than the end of the Titans game when Holly & I saw them beat Green Bay in OT back in 2008.
It’s not just the Titans, though. Check out some of the other results from this week: Raiders rally from 10 down to nip the Steelers 34-31; Ravens score 10 points in the last minutes to edge New England 31-30. And so on and so on.
The great games from yesteryear were exciting in their own right. I guess I’m used to scores like 24-17 or something. Check this out: the final score of the “Immaculate Reception” game was 13-7; the final score of “the Hail Mary” game was 17-14. Even ‘the Catch,’ finished with a respectable 28-27 score.
And folks, those games are considered to be ‘the classics.’
In this modern era, though, scoring sells. The modern fan likes this pass-first game that routinely produces 30+ scores and super high television ratings. While modern QBs easily throw for 300+ yards game after game (sometimes they top 400 or, as Eli Manning did earlier this season, 500), modern fans can’t get enough of the game.
I don’t imagine things will change anytime soon.
So, for old schoolers like me, it’s time to re-calibrate; time to join the crowd, time to get on board (insert your own favorite cliche here).
According to the old NFL proverb, “Defense wins championships.” That may be technically true. But the corollary states, “Defense may win championships. But only if they can find a way to stop the offense!”
JG
(Source: businessweek.com)
Originally posted 9/26/2012
No comments:
Post a Comment