Reply #8: Ignorant coaches are putting too much pressure on NFL QBs [View All]

[Awsi Dooger]

Correct, short passes are now very much in vogue, partially due to bullshit TV analysis by ex-QBs who insist those short passes are equivalent to a run. Rushing attempts are gradually declining leaguewide, to the complete detriment of the sport.

My job is in sports statistical analysis. Yards Per Pass Attempt (YPPA) has actually been going down, in direct correlation to the fewer amount of rushing attempts. What you see now is many teams averaging a paltry 25 or fewer rushing attempts, and therefore a pathetic 6.5 or less YPPA alongside. Only the superior and intelligent teams that average a robust 30+ rushing attempts can still get the ball downfield sufficiently to average well over 7.0 YPPA. There used to be about 8 or 10 teams manage those numbers over the course of a season. Now maybe a handful at best.

My belief is NFL coaches are amazingly lazy now, in this era of the "West Coast offense." Instead of using the offseason to emphasize the running game and "creat a seam here, and a seam here" a la Vince Lombardi, they apparently think it's the Don Coryell Trophy and design pantyhose passing plays.

Granted, defensive linemen are superior athletes to offensive linemen. Pushing the defenders aside enough to create a suitable hole is a monumental task. But the reason so many QBs are either overrated or fail completely is that they have no running game to fall back on or set the tone. This week, among the 14 games there are 11 teams averaging 100 or less rushing yards per game, and only 3 above 150. When I look at the rushing stats from the '60s,'70s and '80s, almost every team was well over 100 YPG and the premier QBs blossomed as a result.