The Evolution of Football
I like to know where the game is going just as much as where it's been. Two years from now? In five years?
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I grew up in the late 1970s and the most influential coaches were Woody Hayes, Bear Bryant, and Joe Paterno. These three men liked to run on first and second down and maybe throw on third if the situation called for more than four yards. At the time, I thought, "That's football. That's the way the game will always be played."
The game changed. The "Run and Shoot" started with, I think, Mouse Davis and Jim Kelly in the USFL but really didn't gain much traction at the time. A lot of other coaches clung to their belief that with a pass, three things can happen and two are bad. And since the stadiums were usually packed, there wasn't much need to change.
But change did come, and is coming even quicker these last couple of years. Coach Chip Kelly first at UNH as offensive coordinator for Sean McDonnell and then out at Oregon gets a ton of credit, as he should, but a lot of coaches are changing their styles. Bob Stoops at OU completely changed the way one of the most important football schools played, and quickly won a national championship in 2000 with the spread style and has won a ton of games since.
The spread option offense and the use of picture cards to send in signals have changed offenses, and, consequently, defenses. It's like a 3.5 hour basketball game now. And that has led to, in my mind, the coolest new thing: the inclusion and evolution of the black quarterback. I grew up in a time when blacks were too "dumb" to play QB. Doug Williams of the Redskins winning a Super Bowl in 1988 was a very big deal. Nineteen eight eight! Just twenty three years ago! There are college redshirt senior players who were born that year. Hopefully their parents have told them about Doug Williams. Warren Moon was a Rose Bowl winning QB at the University of Washington in 1978, had a rocket arm and great size, AND WENT UNDRAFTED because he was black. He played in Canada for a few years, then came down and tore up the NFL and is a Hall of Famer. Bitter? I think he should be (nice man, apparently and hasn't let that kind of crap take over his life from what I can tell through the media).
Literally, up until just a few years ago black kids who were good athletes were NOT allowed to play the QB position, starting in peewee/Pop Warner. It was the way things were done. Today, the game belongs to the black quarterback at the college level. When will it hit the NFL? No one knows. But some desperate coach will take a chance and win some games, and then blacks will own that position at the NFL level. Book it.
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It's my belief that with offenses controlling the ball better with the short passing game, turnovers become even more important. It's hard to get a team to punt nowadays, so the only way to get the ball back is by a strip or a pick. Tacklers have long been taught to strip the ball on the tackle, but it's more important than ever.
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The home field/crowd advantage is almost nonexistant for good teams on the road. All the nonverbal signals and signs coming in from the sidelines mean that no team really should wilt on the road. It's not like hockey, where the home team gets the last line change. The officials may be affected by the crowd noise (read "Scorecasting") but the players shouldn't.
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I think speedy receivers with stone hands are a thing of the past. Wes Welker type receivers are going to play a much bigger role than Braylon Edwards types. Edwards drops always cost his team more than his big plays help. Welker is the future at wide receiver.
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The Linebacker position as fans have known it is extinct. First and ten is not a run down anymore. It's a passing down. Teams need defensive backs to cover and lineman and outside rushers to get to the quarterback. Jered Mayo was on the cover of SI this week. How many more middle linebackers will ever have that privilege?
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In the NFL field goals are about 80% automatic, so it's good strategy to kick from just about anywhere on the other team's side of the field. But I am sick and tired of seeing conservative coaches in the college game let shitty kickers try a 44 yarder and having it leave the stadium through a gate on the side of the field. STOP kicking field goals if it's not a percentage play! Go for it on 4th and 5 at the 30. Go for it! You're hurting your team if you don't.
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My two cents worth for the morning.
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I grew up in the late 1970s and the most influential coaches were Woody Hayes, Bear Bryant, and Joe Paterno. These three men liked to run on first and second down and maybe throw on third if the situation called for more than four yards. At the time, I thought, "That's football. That's the way the game will always be played."
The game changed. The "Run and Shoot" started with, I think, Mouse Davis and Jim Kelly in the USFL but really didn't gain much traction at the time. A lot of other coaches clung to their belief that with a pass, three things can happen and two are bad. And since the stadiums were usually packed, there wasn't much need to change.
But change did come, and is coming even quicker these last couple of years. Coach Chip Kelly first at UNH as offensive coordinator for Sean McDonnell and then out at Oregon gets a ton of credit, as he should, but a lot of coaches are changing their styles. Bob Stoops at OU completely changed the way one of the most important football schools played, and quickly won a national championship in 2000 with the spread style and has won a ton of games since.
The spread option offense and the use of picture cards to send in signals have changed offenses, and, consequently, defenses. It's like a 3.5 hour basketball game now. And that has led to, in my mind, the coolest new thing: the inclusion and evolution of the black quarterback. I grew up in a time when blacks were too "dumb" to play QB. Doug Williams of the Redskins winning a Super Bowl in 1988 was a very big deal. Nineteen eight eight! Just twenty three years ago! There are college redshirt senior players who were born that year. Hopefully their parents have told them about Doug Williams. Warren Moon was a Rose Bowl winning QB at the University of Washington in 1978, had a rocket arm and great size, AND WENT UNDRAFTED because he was black. He played in Canada for a few years, then came down and tore up the NFL and is a Hall of Famer. Bitter? I think he should be (nice man, apparently and hasn't let that kind of crap take over his life from what I can tell through the media).
Literally, up until just a few years ago black kids who were good athletes were NOT allowed to play the QB position, starting in peewee/Pop Warner. It was the way things were done. Today, the game belongs to the black quarterback at the college level. When will it hit the NFL? No one knows. But some desperate coach will take a chance and win some games, and then blacks will own that position at the NFL level. Book it.
=============
It's my belief that with offenses controlling the ball better with the short passing game, turnovers become even more important. It's hard to get a team to punt nowadays, so the only way to get the ball back is by a strip or a pick. Tacklers have long been taught to strip the ball on the tackle, but it's more important than ever.
=============
The home field/crowd advantage is almost nonexistant for good teams on the road. All the nonverbal signals and signs coming in from the sidelines mean that no team really should wilt on the road. It's not like hockey, where the home team gets the last line change. The officials may be affected by the crowd noise (read "Scorecasting") but the players shouldn't.
=============
I think speedy receivers with stone hands are a thing of the past. Wes Welker type receivers are going to play a much bigger role than Braylon Edwards types. Edwards drops always cost his team more than his big plays help. Welker is the future at wide receiver.
=============
The Linebacker position as fans have known it is extinct. First and ten is not a run down anymore. It's a passing down. Teams need defensive backs to cover and lineman and outside rushers to get to the quarterback. Jered Mayo was on the cover of SI this week. How many more middle linebackers will ever have that privilege?
=============
In the NFL field goals are about 80% automatic, so it's good strategy to kick from just about anywhere on the other team's side of the field. But I am sick and tired of seeing conservative coaches in the college game let shitty kickers try a 44 yarder and having it leave the stadium through a gate on the side of the field. STOP kicking field goals if it's not a percentage play! Go for it on 4th and 5 at the 30. Go for it! You're hurting your team if you don't.
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My two cents worth for the morning.
posted by joe sweeney at 7:03 AM
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