NFL's problem: Yards up, but scoring down
NFL's problem: Yards up, but scoring down
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
POSTED: 03/26/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
ORLANDO, Fla. — Pay attention to the flow, and disruptions, of a typical NFL game and it seems the league has unintentionally divided the field.
The action between the 20s is swift, furious, electrifying. With the league adopting rules that allow offensive linemen to grab and to prevent cornerbacks from touching, the terrain is easily navigated. A quick pass to the side, a slant along the hash marks, a handoff for balance sake, and zip, zap, cheer, the ball is inside the opponents' 20.
Once there, the field becomes so different, it has its own name: the red zone. It's here that the game often stutters and even stops. Bam, thud, boo, and here comes the kicker.
In 2009, the NFL set a record with 670.3 yards in total offense a game, up 2.4 percent from 2008. Yet, for the first time since 2005, scoring declined, by 1.13 points a game and 2.7 percent from the previous season.
Welcome to the NFL's Miller Lite era — more yards, less scoring. The league, ever-mindful of enhancing the entertainment aspect of its game, has yet to find an answer for the red zone.
"There might be a day when they even eliminate the zone defense when you're down there," defensive-minded Carolina coach John Fox said. "I hope I'm not here for it. They did in the NBA."
Indeed, the NBA lane became so crowded with taller and wider bodies, the zone defense was disallowed for years. In the NFL, moving the ball up and down the field is easier than ever before. But for many clubs, those final 19 yards can seem like the difference between country and city.
"I think it pertains more to what's happening outside the red zone," said Mike Shanahan, the former Broncos and newly minted Washington Redskins head coach. "I think the red-zone defense has stayed pretty consistent. It's always been tough to score in the red zone.
"What's different is teams are finding different ways to move the ball between the 20s. They're a little bit more open, a little more spread out. People are not necessarily believing in the running game like they used to. It used to be a philosophy that if you didn't have a balanced attack, you couldn't make it to the playoffs."
In 2009, the teams that ranked second, third and fourth in rushing — Tennessee, Carolina and Miami — failed to reach the postseason, while the two worst rushing teams, Indianapolis and San Diego, combined for a 27-5 record.
This is not Jim Brown's NFL anymore. Passing is clearly the way teams are moving into scoring position. Completing passes to the end zone, however, is almost easier from outside the 20.
The ultimate between-the- 20s team was the 2008 Broncos, which not so coincidentally became the last of Shanahan's 14 seasons as Denver's head coach. That year, with Jay Cutler at quarterback, the Broncos ranked second in total offense but 16th in scoring.
It's the first time in history a team ranked in the top two in yards failed to rank in the top 15 in scoring. Not that the 2008 Broncos don't have plenty of company with their red-zone misery. That same year, the Houston Texans were third in yards and 17th in scoring.
"I think red-zone defense has reached a new level," said Texans coach Gary Kubiak, Shanahan's longtime offensive coordinator in Denver. "For me, as an offensive guy studying what people are doing in the red zone, defending the goal line, I think it's become excellent."
Specifically, Kubiak said, the red-zone innovations are in coverages. For the longest time, there were three types of red-zone defenses: defensive backs splitting into four zones; the two safeties playing zone and the cornerbacks playing man; and the all-out blitz.
"Now, some people will double and bracket receivers," Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "So there's probably four main concepts you'll see."
A red-zone defense has even been known to have its nose tackle, or at least a player lined up in the nose tackle position, dropping back into coverage. No wonder Cutler, as a young gunslinger, completes so many passes to the wrong- colored uniform in the red-zone area.
"The hot concept now in red-zone coverages is the combination of zone and man," Kansas City coach Todd Haley said. "That's always difficult."
Difficult for the quarterbacks to read?
"And receivers," Haley said. "And coaches."
The red zone, though, is only one half, so to speak, of the field. The other half is how offenses consistently cross into opponents' territory. In 2009, there were a whopping 38.5 yards more per game than in 2005.
That's three Drew Brees' first-down completions.
Lewis said the evolution of the game is easy to understand. All one has to do is watch the first 15 picks in the draft, then follow the money.
"The game is put together for quarterbacks, receivers, pass rushers and cornerbacks," Lewis said. "That's who we're paying. And so it's put together that way. And that's where the game's give-and-take lies. You're going to move the ball a little bit more, but maybe in the end, that's where the cornerback position can earn his money."
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/premium/br...#ixzz0jLXdFT4N
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by turftoad
