Playoff Teams= Passing Teams

Playoff Teams= Passing Teams I was going through the final stats for 2011, trying to find what each of the playoff teams did well to get them to the playoffs. It seems that the NFL really is a passing league as so many TV analysts and commentators endlessly scream at us. If you throw the ball well on offense and stop the pass on defense (on a per attempt basis) you had a very high probability of making the playoffs. The other category that stood out was offensive 3rd down conversions. The best offenses stay on the field and convert third downs, but interestingly the best defensive 3rd down teams didn't have a good chance at making the playoffs (Arz, Miami, NYJ, Chic stand out) Why run the football anymore when Rodgers, Eli Manning, Brees, and Brady get you over 8 yards per attempt and the average NFL team this year earns 6.7 yds per attempt (last year it was 6.57 per attempt). The avg rush per attempt this year was 4.28 and the two best teams Phily and Carolina got a little over 5 yds per attempt and didn't make the playoffs. Maybe running the ball will be important in the playoffs but it wasn't very valuable to teams during the regular season.

With the new defensive hitting rules, teams should NEVER run.

Game is getting boring IMO watching teams run up and down the field all game. Great defensive battles way more exciting. Stringing a few first downs together and moving the ball against a great defense was exciting back in the day....now it's expected. Brees scored every possession last night except when they coughed it up. Where is the excitement and suspense in that?

Came across this stat today... just to reinforce what sean1 said earlier in this thread. [I]For the third time in the past four regular seasons, the league's worst-ranked rushing offense made the Super Bowl: Giants 2011, Colts 2009 and Cardinals 2008.[/I] Green Bay, last year, wasn't the worst but very close to the bottom (3.8 yds per attempt, 25 out of 32 teams)

[QUOTE=johnboy;49875]Game is getting boring IMO watching teams run up and down the field all game. Great defensive battles way more exciting. Stringing a few first downs together and moving the ball against a great defense was exciting back in the day....now it's expected. Brees scored every possession last night except when they coughed it up. Where is the excitement and suspense in that?[/QUOTE] Great points and I couldn't agree more. It was football than and now with all the bad rules its more like fast break basketball. You tab the QB in the head flag you hit him low flag you breath hard him falls down flag. All that being said there is still great betting opportunites so thats why I still follow more than any other sport.

I dont really see the personal foul penalties being an issue. Guys like Brady, Rodgers, and Brees seemingly have all day in the pocket behind the OLs they have. pass interference calls seem to be big for offenses but it's clear someone is looking at the stats and more or less proving that you get more yards per play by passing. there are still some good defenses out there though. Giants (now that they are healthy), SF, Balt....were able to succeed with good defenses. SF and Balt may have advanced had it not been for special teams....