Teams Are Not Rushing the Ball Well

[Shouright]

Looking through yesterday's box scores, it's apparent that the vast majority of teams in the league did not rush the ball well, as evidenced by their yards per carry. I've rarely seen teams generate more than four yards per rush, with three or even two being the norm.

Not sure what to make of this, but I do know that if we don't rush the ball well tonight, we may have to entertain an explanation for it that encompasses the game at large nowadays and not just our offensive line.

 

[JCane]

Running the football hasn't been a priority in this league for years now. It's a passing league. It's all about throwing the football down the field...hence why we need an elite QB in order to get to the top.

Take a look at the past few Super Bowl contenders. See any elite running games on those teams or do they rely more heavily on their franchise QB?

 

[CalDolFan10x14]

The game has pretty much tilted to a pass first league, but the rushing game isn't going anywhere and is still important if you want to win. There were only 5 players to rush for over 100 yards this week so far, but if your team had one, you won your game. I hope this team doesn't get too pass happy that the Pats D gears itself solely to stopping our passing game. The line better be ready for this game and create some lanes for our backs!

 

[Shouright]

The game has pretty much tilted to a pass first league, but the rushing game isn't going anywhere and is still important if you want to win. There were only 5 players to rush for over 100 yards this week so far, but if your team had one, you won your game. I hope this team doesn't get too pass happy that the Pats D gears itself solely to stopping our passing game. The line better be ready for this game and create some lanes for our backs!

And there were nine winners of games that didn't have these rushers, as well, so you stand more of a chance of winning if you don't have a player who rushes for over 100 yards.

 

[randomname]

And there were nine winners of games that didn't have these rushers, as well, so you stand more of a chance of winning if you don't have a player who rushes for over 100 yards.

Odds do not work that way!

 

[Fin Thirteen]

I think the game has migrated more to a "defense-first" league than a "pass-first" league. Defenses are evolving quicker and more extensively than offenses, IMO.

It has become more pronounced with the run as it's probably the easier of the two to make an impact on, but the trend will continue (without more rule changes to favor the offense) and you'll see the pass stats falling too. That probably does agree with the theory that you now need a top QB to pick his way through these many and varied defensive combinations, but you also need an offense that is every bit as unpredictable as the defenses have become.

We probably don't have an elite QB in Henne, but I'm encouraged that our offense and offensive personnel are evolving to a many-headed, flexible system that should give the dominant defenses something to think about at least. It may prove to be a benefit that we have our hardest games first, as the defenses have very little to work with in terms of game film.

 

[JCane]

I think the game has migrated more to a "defense-first" league than a "pass-first" league. Defenses are evolving quicker and more extensively than offenses, IMO.

Have you taken a look at the offensive output from just the first week of the season?

Baltimore put four touchdowns and hung 35 total points on that vaunted Pittsburgh defense.

Can't be a defense first league when so many rule changes are made specifically to promote offense.

 

[armyphin]

Actually, yesterday had the most players (6) rushing for 100+ yards since 2008 (7) and there are still 2 games to be played.

I wouldn't read too much into it. Short preseason and some teams/players aren't firing on all cylinders yet.

 

[MikeO]

The days of running the ball in this league are over. All the rules are set up for passing it often and throwing it deep. Teams that try to grind out victories are living in the dark ages

 

[Dolphanaholic]

Good point from a fantasy perspective the run game was invisible yesterday excluding Ray Rice.

 

[Jamaicankid21]

And there were nine winners of games that didn't have these rushers, as well, so you stand more of a chance of winning if you don't have a player who rushes for over 100 yards.

Completely not true. 5 teams won games that had over 100 yards rushing and only 1 team lost that had 100 exactly, BUT, the 9 teams this just means they didn't face a team that didn't rush for over a 100 yards. Meaning the rushing teams had a 5-1 which is a win percent of .83 for rushing over a 100 yards for a single players. Teams that didn't were 9-13 which is just a win percent of .41 percent. Even though we count the teams that won with not rushing by over a 100 yards, you have to count the teams that last as well when calculating the chances...

 

[dolphone]

You don't win to run. But you do run *when you're winning*.

You don't necessarily need big yardage, but you do need first downs and to eat a lot of clock. The NFL has indeed shifted to a pass-oriented league, but you still need a strong running game - not to set the pace, but to close the game.

 

[Rhoadsy13]

Did anyone esle notice how bad the O-Lines were? I was watching the Falcons/Bears game and both lines looked pretty bad I think Ryan was sacked 5 times and the Jets/Cowboys game was pretty bad from a O-Line perspective neither could run or pass protect that well. Obviously hoping out O-line loks much better but it seemed that way all day while watching highlights.

 

[Canadianfishfan]

The game has morphed into a "score more points" league, more than the type of offensive philosophy teams have. It's about points. Quick score possibilities. It's like the AFL has infiltrated the NFL.

People don't want low scoring 10-6 games. They want 40 something to 30 something games like the Packers and saints posted on Thursday.

Just the way it is.