I'm seeing people saying last night (Rams-Chiefs) was an awesome game. It sucked

[Deus Irae]

The Flutie play was a great pass that got right through to a player that wasn't well enough covered.

Fixed.

 

[DarrylS]

Turned on talk radio yesterday AM and Bertram was questioning are the Patriots ready to play this type of football?? He was pontificating about the merits of the Rams/Chiefs and how well they were built etc. the future of the NFL blah, blah, blah...

Get to thinking that this was one game, even though the scoring in the NFL is up quite a bit... why change a winning formula to appease the rating folks?? Both of these teams will have to make changes when all of their younger stars "get paid".. Goff and Mahomes will break the proverbial bank..

This was not the greatest game, the greatest game I ever saw was SB LI, when the Pats cam back and beat the Falcons.. then there was the Giants/Colts game in 1958, which was pretty good also.

Needless to say I turned off Bertram and his crew and turned on Pandora, again..

 

[goheels22002]

Defense actually won it for LA

Sort of. The next to last interception was a combination of great pass rush and an interception. The final play was just an exhausted Mahomes throwing a dying duck ten yards short of a double-covered receiver for an INT. But it's indisputable that the Rams didn't have a clue about controlling Tyreek Hill or Travis Kelcey. The soft middle of their zone was open for 1st downs all night long.

I'm glad that the Chiefs lost and tightened things up. The Pats have to run the table in the AFC games including beating Pittsburgh. Somebody has to pick off the Chiefs. They have the Raiders 2x, the Ravens, the Chargers and the Seahawks left. Andy Reid has a clock screw-up in their somewhere.

 

[Observer]

I thought it was a very fun game between two lopsided teams that were way better on offense than on defense. Both teams had very good but risk-taking quarterbacks, excellent wide receivers, and good coaches. The scoring bonanza was much more related to the very aggressive offensive style and subpar defense of both teams rather than any new rules. For example, the rules did not prevent the Titans from keeping the Pats to 10 points last game.

"The “Monday Night Football” classic was the perfect storm of incredible speed and individual talent, offensive coaching brilliance, and sheer defensive ineptitude. "

 

[ivanvamp]

The game reminded me of playing Techmo Bowl in college wasted with my housemates.

Absolutely. It was crazy town. Yet there were tons of huge defensive plays. Three defensive touchdowns. Lots of plays made. This game had everything.

Maybe we should long for the days of 1936.

1936 NFL Standings & Team Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Here are some teams' passing stats:

Boston Redskins: 77-214 (35.9%), 1102 yds, 5 td, 23 int
Philadelphia Eagles: 39-170 (22.9%), 603 yds, 3 td, 36 int

The best passing team in the league that year was Green Bay:

108-255 (42.4%), 1629 yds, 17 td, 19 int

Those were the days!


EDIT: This isn't a criticism of you, by the way. Just the general "this is an NFL abomination" sense I'm reading here...

 

[Kontradiction]

Absolutely. It was crazy town. Yet there were tons of huge defensive plays. Three defensive touchdowns. Lots of plays made. This game had everything.

Maybe we should long for the days of 1936.

1936 NFL Standings & Team Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Here are some teams' passing stats:

Boston Redskins: 77-214 (35.9%), 1102 yds, 5 td, 23 int
Philadelphia Eagles: 39-170 (22.9%), 603 yds, 3 td, 36 int

The best passing team in the league that year was Green Bay:

108-255 (42.4%), 1629 yds, 17 td, 19 int

Those were the days!


EDIT: This isn't a criticism of you, by the way. Just the general "this is an NFL abomination" sense I'm reading here...

Yes. That's what everyone who is critical of this game wants. 1936. Outstanding work.

 

[ivanvamp]

Yes. That's what everyone who is critical of this game wants. 1936. Outstanding work.

Lighten up, Kontra, and have some fun. The point is that the game has changed and is always evolving. I don't love how everything is weighted towards the offense either. But cries that the game is ruined need to have some perspective.

I'd like to know from people what the "ideal" game is like. What the "ideal" score should be. How many yards gained is "ideal". How many yards should be on the ground and how many through the air.

 

[obgod3]

I did notice at least once and maybe twice that Kelce clearly pushed off the defender yet never was called for it....had it been Gronk Im certain they would have called it. I think along with the rules there is clearly bias by the officials and NFL.

 

[Kontradiction]

Lighten up, Kontra, and have some fun. The point is that the game has changed and is always evolving. I don't love how everything is weighted towards the offense either. But cries that the game is ruined need to have some perspective.

I'd like to know from people what the "ideal" game is like. What the "ideal" score should be. How many yards gained is "ideal". How many yards should be on the ground and how many through the air.

When the league is taking pretty clear steps to legislate one side of the ball almost completely out of the game, the game is being ruined.

 

[PatsWSB47]

I'll bet most the people who like that kind of football are fantasy players.

 

[1960Pats]

Sort of. The next to last interception was a combination of great pass rush and an interception. The final play was just an exhausted Mahomes throwing a dying duck ten yards short of a double-covered receiver for an INT. But it's indisputable that the Rams didn't have a clue about controlling Tyreek Hill or Travis Kelcey. The soft middle of their zone was open for 1st downs all night long.

I'm glad that the Chiefs lost and tightened things up. The Pats have to run the table in the AFC games including beating Pittsburgh. Somebody has to pick off the Chiefs. They have the Raiders 2x, the Ravens, the Chargers and the Seahawks left. Andy Reid has a clock screw-up in their somewhere.

Speaking of Reid, how about the way he told off Goff when Reid was berating the officials for a blatant missed tipped ball on a PI call (overturned on review) and Goff came over to the KC sideline to mouth off? Reid pretty much put the kid in his place.

 

[1960Pats]

Absolutely. It was crazy town. Yet there were tons of huge defensive plays. Three defensive touchdowns. Lots of plays made. This game had everything.

Maybe we should long for the days of 1936.

1936 NFL Standings & Team Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Here are some teams' passing stats:

Boston Redskins: 77-214 (35.9%), 1102 yds, 5 td, 23 int
Philadelphia Eagles: 39-170 (22.9%), 603 yds, 3 td, 36 int

The best passing team in the league that year was Green Bay:

108-255 (42.4%), 1629 yds, 17 td, 19 int

Those were the days!


EDIT: This isn't a criticism of you, by the way. Just the general "this is an NFL abomination" sense I'm reading here...

How about a compromise and we just take it back halfway to 1976 and get the correct calls in the Raiders game.

 

[Flash]

So supposedly the Rams are only the third highest scoring team in the league this season at 35.4 PPG, which would rank them as the fifth highest scoring team of all time if the season ended today.

This is insanity. I'm all for moving on from the defensive slugfests of the 1900s but there should be a balance. Scores between 20 to 30 should be normal with one team averaging over 30+, three teams averaging over 35 PPG in the same season is not. All passing records set will become meaningless in the future.

 

[ivanvamp]

NFL teams are averaging 24.2 points a game this year. Scoring is up for sure, but let's compare by year:

2018: 24.2
2007: 21.7
2001: 20.2
1990: 20.1
1980: 20.5
1972: 20.3
1958: 22.6

So teams are averaging 3.7 points a game more than they did in 1980. 3.7. Just over a field goal more. And they're averaging 1.6 points more a game than they did in 1958. A half a field goal more.

It feels crazy. It feels out of whack. I'm not saying scoring is not up because it is. But it's mainly because we have a few unfreakingbelievably good offensive teams and the other night, two of them played each other.

 

[Kdo5]

What used to make football great was the strategy, and it has been compared to chess for a good reason. You have a whole bunch of different players ranging vastly in weight, size, speed, and skills.

It was at its best prior to roughly 2004. That’s because teams had identities built around various areas: a smash mouth running game, a shut down defense. Games could be won by field position and turnovers were critical, and there were many ways to build a winning team. The variety is what made it interesting, as you often had a clash in styles.

From roughly 2004-17, it got pretty bad with such a heavy focus on the passing game, but defense at least mattered somewhat.

In 2018, it’s just absolute crap. Winning the turnover battle is almost irrelevant. Margins of error are huge and virtually irrelevant. It’s just a gigantic scoring fest. There’s no suspense since the offense just dominates the defense. Bad quarterbacks have better passer ratings then Joe Montana. Good quarterbacks frequently top 40 points. In many ways, it’s a disservice to good QBs and good players in general, since anyone is capable of completely dominating a game rendering 88 players virtually irrelevant...it’s like turning football into a tennis match between two players. This is isn’t a competitive, balanced sport that requires a lot of philosophy anymore, it’s just fireworks and flash. It’s total **** that isn’t worth watching.

I have watched maybe 2-3 games this season that did not involve the Patriots. You hit the nail on the freaking head. People have a right to enjoy this kind of Arena League-esque product but I'm not interested.

The Chiefs and the Rams are supposed to be two of the premier teams in this league. If this was a 38-35 type of game, I could definitely enjoy it. But them giving up 50+ each? I hope both of them get shellacked on defense in the playoffs and get knocked out because of it.

I want to see if Belichick and Brady can wrap this dynasty up with one more ring. That is probably the extent of me paying much attention to football anymore.

 

[Soliel]

I have watched maybe 2-3 games this season that did not involve the Patriots. You hit the nail on the freaking head. People have a right to enjoy this kind of Arena League-esque product but I'm not interested.

The Chiefs and the Rams are supposed to be two of the premier teams in this league. If this was a 38-35 type of game, I could definitely enjoy it. But them giving up 50+ each? I hope both of them get shellacked on defense in the playoffs and get knocked out because of it.

I want to see if Belichick and Brady can wrap this dynasty up with one more ring. That is probably the extent of me paying much attention to football anymore.

I agree. These Two teams are likely blown out in the playoffs

 

[sean10mm]

NFL teams are averaging 24.2 points a game this year. Scoring is up for sure, but let's compare by year:

2018: 24.2
2007: 21.7
2001: 20.2
1990: 20.1
1980: 20.5
1972: 20.3
1958: 22.6

So teams are averaging 3.7 points a game more than they did in 1980. 3.7. Just over a field goal more. And they're averaging 1.6 points more a game than they did in 1958. A half a field goal more.

It feels crazy. It feels out of whack. I'm not saying scoring is not up because it is. But it's mainly because we have a few unfreakingbelievably good offensive teams and the other night, two of them played each other.

Specifically, the best teams aren't balanced this season, they're all big-play offenses with no defense. So to win they have to keep scoring until the clock strikes 0:00. Nobody is getting "only" 31 points and then running a bunch in the 4th quarter to win like the Patriots did a ton of in 2014-2016. The Saints might be the most "balanced" team at the top of the league and they're still #15 in points allowed.

 

[Kontradiction]

From PFF, so take it with a grain of salt...

 

[Doctor DDS]

It seems now that if a top offense is on their game there is virtually no way to stop them. Any decent offense would prefer to have the ball at their own 20 down 2 with 2 minutes left than be on defense. Maybe even with 1 minute. Passing yard records are being set weekly - freaking Tampa Bay is on pace for over 5,700 passing yards. This is even more noticeable in domes and warm weather venues. Too many ticky tac calls on defenses to extend drives (taking away automatic first downs for some penalties would help) and the inability to touch a WR is really hurting the game. I don't hate it and will keep watching but I just find the product less interesting. Like baseball with too many strikeouts and basketball with too many 3's. Maybe I am just too old for it but I feel all the big sports had more nuance and strategy 10 years ago than their current versions.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Expand the chuck zone to 10 yards and eliminate the automatic first down for defensive holding and illegal contact. (Though the automatic first down might need to be kept in place in same way when the offense is inside the defense's 10 (especially within the 5) or else the defense can commit fouls for basically no penalty (since half-the-distance will get smaller and smaller).