Through two weeks, NFL teams are struggling to find the end zone

[OldSchool]

NFL teams are struggling to find the end zone
didn't destroy NFL ratings .... Spoiled millionaire athletes, political correctness and the liberal media.Time for the -NFL-players- to take a pass on politics.. And it needs to stop, before liberal activists wreck the game and destroy something people enjoy.

There was a youth team near St. Louis of 8 year olds that all knelt during the national anthem because their coach said the NFL players were honoring victims by doing it. Now 8 year old peewee football players are political activists instead of kids enjoying a game.

 

[Prime Time]

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/09/19/nfl-scoring-touchdown-problem/

The NFL Has A Scoring Problem – Potentially The Worst In Decades
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) — Through two weeks of the 2017 season, NFL offenses are on a historically low pace. Touchdowns and points are both down from the same point in 2016, and the issue could end up going far beyond just one year.

With Week 2 in the books, NFL teams have scored 132 total touchdowns so far in 2017, or 2.13 per team per game. That’s down from 2.44 touchdowns per game through two weeks last season. Points are also down, as teams are averaging 20.1 per game as opposed to 22.6 in 2016. When the scoring has been high it’s typically been on one side, as 14 of 32 games so far have been won by 14 or more points.

Teams ended up with 2.55 touchdowns per game in 2016, so some improvement is to be expected. But even if scoring increases at the same rate as last season, teams would average about 2.23 touchdowns per game by the end of the 2017 season.

Barring a more drastic jump, that would be the lowest touchdown average since (wait for it) the 1993 season, when teams averaged 2.02 touchdowns and 18.7 points per game. Steve Young led the league in passer rating (101.5) and passing touchdowns (29) that year.

It’s too early to tell if the current dip in scoring will last, or to know whether 2017 is just an outlier or a harbinger of a steep decline across the NFL. And it’s nearly impossible to pinpoint a singular reason as to why the points are falling off.

Quarterbacks and passing games could be blamed. Passer ratings are astronomical compared to 1993, as Drew Brees’ 102.0 rating (10th in NFL) would have led the league in 1993, but the total passing yards per game (220.7) so far are off the pace from 241.5 per game last season. Still, there should be enough competent quarterbacks in the league right now who can move the ball and score more consistently.

Another issue that has been pointed to is offensive line play. Through two weeks in 2017, only two offensive linemen in the entire league have graded as “Elite” according to Pro Football Focus: Falcons center Alex Mack and Steelers guard David DeCastro. Even the vaunted Cowboys offensive line, which features three former first-round picks, has averaged a poor 59.6 grade.

It also could have little to nothing to do with the offenses in the first place. Perhaps defenses are simply catching up, effectively counteracting the scoring jump seen in recent seasons. Considering the abundance of sub-packages and smaller units you’re seeing these days, defenses have certainly become faster and more skilled.

But forget the players; it could simply be the coaches. After Bill Belichick as the obvious No. 1 choice, it immediately becomes a debate as to who’s No. 2. Top-10, forget it. The lack of effective coaching may also be a byproduct of the league’s reduction in full-pad practices in the preseason, leaving teams less prepared for the start of the season than usual.

For fans who are sick of the fantasy football crowd and the NFL’s emphasis on offense in recent seasons, a tilt back toward defense would be a welcome change. But it hasn’t exactly looked like that kind of change. It’s not a case of offenses playing well and simply getting outplayed by better defenses. Execution has been off, defenses haven’t had to earn their stops, and it’s resulted in an ugly early-season product.

The league’s mostly sloppy first two weeks have ostensibly contributed to a continued dip in TV ratings. Besides Monday Night Football and the Fox 4PM national TV window, all other NFL broadcasts were down in Week 2 compared to the same time in 2016, according to ShowBuzzDaily. It’s hard to tell how much the drop in scoring has directly impacted the ratings, but it surely hasn’t helped.

Scoring doesn’t need to get back to the levels of 2013, when the record-setting Broncos lit defenses up with little to no resistance (until the Super Bowl). But offenses at least need to look capable out there. The Bengals, 49ers, Giants, Seahawks, Texans, Colts, and Panthers have a whopping eight total touchdowns between them through two games each; like the rest of the league, they have nowhere to go but up. But the improvement must be even greater than in previous seasons, or else the NFL is in for an historic loss of offense – and entertainment value.

 

[bubbaramfan]

Figure out how to put a better product on the field instead of a progressively shytty one and may people will quit turning away.

The articles posted here give reasons why. Fix it,

 

[HellRam]

Add competent officiating to the list as well. Hard to score or gain a rhythm when every other play is a flag.

So tired of watching poor quality refs every game.

 

[Prime Time]

Here's our buddy Belichick explaining why O-lines are struggling.
******************************************************************
Posted by Mike Florio

Poor overall play can be traced to poor offensive play which can be traced to poor offensive line play. And that, in the opinion of many, can be traced to limited opportunities to practice playing on the offensive line.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick, in a conference call with Houston reporters, seemed to confirm that reduced padded practice have reduced the opportunities of offensive linemen to perfect their craft.

“I just think in general, fundamentally it’s difficult to play on the offensive and defensive line,” Belichick said. “You’re playing a contact position with pads, and you’re practicing it without pads the majority of the time. That usually develops a lot of bad habits, and a lot of the techniques that a player would have the chance to work on and improve with pads, that opportunity just isn’t there without pads.

“So it’s hard to improve at those positions when, a lot of times, you’re practicing techniques that are really not the ideal technique or, in some cases, incorrect, and it just develops bad habits, especially on the offensive line. . . . [W]ithout being able to practice, [this] favors the defensive players a little more, whereas the offensive unit has to work together and be able to block things at more of a game tempo with pads and penetration and combination blocks and things like that.

It’s just hard to simulate those and hard to get the timing of those when you’re just standing up watching each other without pads on a lot. So, I mean, look, we’re all coaching under the same rules, but I think it’s harder, especially at that position, to improve when you really can’t practice your skill.”

To make his point, Belichick opted for an example from another sport.

“It’s like, you go out to the driving range and hit drives and hit balls, but you can’t go on the putting green,” Belichick said. “And then, to think that your putting is going to be at the same level as your driving when you can’t really practice it, it’s not really realistic. But, again, all teams are operating under the same set of rules, so it is what it is. But it’s hard. It’s hard at that position. It’s hard to tell a guy, ‘This is what you should do,’ but he really can’t go out and practice it.”

The challenge for every team will be to come up with ways to get the most out of whatever is allowed within the confines of the rules, and to supplement padded practices with virtual reality or other technologies that allow the brain to get the reps, even if the body can’t. Even if there’s no replacement for putting the right club in your hands and hitting the ball.

 

[Ram65]

1. How much football can people watch?

The market is a little satchurated. Before Sunday Night Football I watched the Rams (internet) and the Eagles TV and saw some other bits and pieces. I don't think scoring matters. I like defense just as much. These days you get to see your team play one way or another. The other games don't matter as much unless you're doing fantasy football.

2. Practice and Preseason
Teams don't want to risk injuries. First week had sloppy play. A little better week two. Takes three to four games before they are really ready to play

3. Replays and inconsistent officiating
Slows the game down so much.

4. Could be the play it safe throws take the excitement out of the game.

5. Everything Peaks
Even the NFL. Overall hours are probably up when you consider the draft and free agency. Lot's of time spent on the NFL but, not only on games.