Random NFL Observations 2023-24 Thread

[VegetasHairline]

 

[Swagnificent]

Why do you consistently have the worse takes. “Real football”, no it’s just you like defensive football and don’t like competent offense. Balance is good but shytty offense isn’t nice to watch same for shytty defense

Also there’s a talent deficit at qb more than anything

Nah. The League is more talented at QB than ever before. We had a record number of black QBs starting in week 1. The adjustment defenses have made is everyone now plays 2 safeties deep and everyone underneath. In the mid-2010s everyone played single high safety to stop the run. Now teams are basically daring each other to run the ball every down and methodically move the chains rather than scoring on explosive plays. This is why the passing yards have decreased.

Todd Bowles basically popularized this defense after he used it to shut down the Chiefs in the 2020 Super Bowl. Everyone has pretty much been doing it ever since.

 

[Flex Luger]

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

@Pressure

This who y'all got down in Carolina on the beat?

 

[FAH1223]

Joe Barry becoming a competent coordinator?

With seven former 1st round picks…

 

[ReturnOfJudah]

 

[FAH1223]

 

[Dem313wayz]

Eckler calling out Brandon Staley on coaching. He's gone after this year

 

[8WON6]

 

[Street Knowledge]

Eckler calling out Brandon Staley on coaching. He's gone after this year

Lol kellen Moore promotion

 

[Street Knowledge]

I think He really thought after he quit on Tampa he was gonna get another job

 

[Stop_It_5]

 

[Flex Luger]

 

[904]

Feel bad for dude.. this tape is brutal

 

[IIVI]

Death of the long pass? Air yards are down across the NFL, and here's why

While NFL passing offenses remain prolific, the actual length and distance of attempts is trending down. Why? One-year blip or broader trend?

www.espn.com

There were 3,416 attempts at least 15 yards downfield during the 2022 regular season, the fewest in any season since 2006.

Instead, defenses are using more two-high looks, putting two safeties back deep and making it more difficult for receivers to get open on the vertical routes. And it's not just the secondary adjustments that discourage quarterbacks from throwing deep. As the game evolved, defenses went from static zone coverage where defenders were only active if someone was in their assigned area to more dynamic, man-match coverages that blend zone concepts with varying degrees of man-to-man defense. Think Pete Carroll's Legion of Boom to Vic Fangio's counterpunch developed with the San Francisco 49ers.

Part of the chess match is the evolution and usage of pass rushers.

That's exactly the goal, Peterson said. Blanketing over the top, forcing the quarterback to hold on to the ball longer and progress through his reads gives the pass rush the extra tenth of a second needed to get to the quarterback.

Hill's prowess as a speedy, vertical threat forces defenses to back up, but his quick-footed shiftiness makes him -- and players like him -- uniquely capable of taking advantage of the space created underneath with the defenses protecting the deep ball.

"The best [situation] is when you know the true wideouts are threatening people all the time on the outside, and when they do, that allows the rest of the game to become a lot easier," Shanahan said. "And then if they're tough with the ball in their hands, then they usually get to really change the game."

It's like I said in the Bills/Jets thread - put the ball in your playmakers' hands and let them go to work.

It's why players like Tua will do fine this era. Make good pre-snap reads, enough evadability to stay upright and go through progressions. As long as they can make a quick pass to their best players they don't have to make crazy downfield passes except maybe once-in-a-while to keep a defense honest. Especially when you have a player like Tyreek who can go crazy vertical at any second, but also insanely shifty enough to do insane damage with YAC.